I Need Your Help!
I have something really exciting in the works! At this point that’s all I can say… But I could really use your help! If you all could answer any of the questions below in the comment section- I would be very appreciative!:)
- How do you organize your coupons?
- What do you like about your coupon organization method?
- What don’t you like?
- Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
- Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
- How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
I use a small 4×6 photo album that i have divided into sections i.e. groceries, beauty,household products. Then I label different photo slots with particular areas such as pasta,juices, oral hygiene, etc. I clip all of my coupons and take them all to the store with me in my reusable grocery bag. I don’t like the fact that this is so small. It is beginning to split at the seams. It has been working for now, but I am new to using coupons and am trying to figure out a system that doesn’t take me so much time at the store. I think I would spend about $10 on a system. I would not want to spend a lot, then find out after using it that it didn’t meet my needs. I would probably spend more if it was great and I felt it would really work for me. Good luck on whatever project you have in mind. Thanks for sharing all of your great ideas with us.
How do you organize your coupons?
-Sadly I don’t! I have a folder in my car for all of my printouts, and an envelope with all my cut-outs and just have to look through them before I go =(
What do you like about your coupon organization method?
-I have a lot of coupons? I really need help with learning to plan a great coupon deal! (hint hint)
What don’t you like?
-mostly everything. disorganization, no seperation of stores or items. My parents have one that has seperate sections but I still have no idea whats in it so it doesnt help.
Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
5-8
Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
For the printouts, its a whole page. But I cut out the magazine, newspaper ones.
How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
I’m not sure. $10?
I can handle my method, but it does have its moments.
I bought a 3 ring binder ($1.50 on clearance) Get one with good stiff rings that snap shut.
I bought sports card sleeve protector sheets (made for 3 ring binders) It holds something like 400 cards for about $4.95.
I usually shop at Walmart because I’m always stressed for time and usually have 2 kids with me lol. So I organize the sections by department I go to first. Health and Beauty Dept items in the front. I also know the aisles so I separate them by aisles..razors..toothpaste…soap..hair care items…shampoo and conditioner aisle and finally makeup and nail..face care etc.
I also organize by the grocery aisles I go to first like dairy followed by cleaning supply, chips, cereals etc. That way each aisle I go down next is ready for its coupon section.
The problem is that I have so many coupons for each Dept. and aisle that I’m constantly going “Where did I just see that dang coupon?!” while other customers are starring at me funny.
And I always take my binder with me hidden in my big beach type purse so that I don’t miss out on say a big savings opportunity. You know the Health and Beauty Dept. usually have the clearance items at”end caps” (end of aisles)that you can pair with coupons for dirt cheap. And you never know what will be on rollback.
I use a large divider case, cloth bound, with my Q’s sorted alphabetically A-Z. I like this method except with certain things like cereals, because they are made by a parent company (i.e.General Mills Total cereal – and I confuse myself as to how to organize .. General Mills or Total – lol). I carry ALL my Q’s with me to the store; you never know what you’ll see on sale to combine with a Q! I carry LOTS … I also have an Excel spreadsheet I created to log them all and it’s right now at 518! Definitely a bit overwhelming. I clip my Q’s & I’m not sure how much I’d be willing to spend on something else .. I’ve put about $15.00 – $20.00 towards what I already have.
1.How do you organize your coupons?
Right now I have a 3″ binder with plastic page inserts(was wanting to do one like everyone else is talking about w/the zipper and baseball card sleeves but where do I find these? Anyone?)
2.What do you like about your coupon organization method? Well my coupons are organized catagory so they are pretty easy to find
3.What don’t you like?
The fact that even though they are all in categories I can’t seem to pinpoint certain coupons into a category
4.Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
Depending on what I am buying on that trip maybe 30+
5.Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
Both
6.How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
Not alot…maybe $5 I mean SAVING money is the whole point right?? LOL But I guess it would all depend on the product..
1. I organize my coupons in a plastic accordian 5″ x 7″ holder.
2. I like the dividers and the categories. Also, that it has a rubber band clasp and only cost $3.50.
3. I don’t like this holder because it won’t fit in my purse, and I worry about losing it.
4. I take 200+ coupons to the store.
5. I clip coupons and also save the inserts in a plastic bin container with a lid. I put sheets of yellow paper marked with the date to divide the weeks.
6. I would pay $15 on a new organizer if it had some great features.
I don’t have time to clip coupons and keep up with a binder, so I group them according to date and store them in a large bin. I like this method most b/c it saves cutting and organizing time. The down side is (of course) that I still have to spend time hunting and finding when it’s time to plan my shopping list AND that I am unable to take advantage of great clearance or in-store deals.
I carry only coupons for what I plan to buy at the store, usually 20-30 in a regular-sized envelope.
I would be willing to invest $20-30 on a well thought-out organizer (and slightly more to get the time to keep up with maintaining it!)
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS: I HAVE LOOKED HIGH AND LOW FOR A DECENT COUPON ORGANIZER AND I AM FRUSTRATED!!! I WOULD LOOOVE ONE THAT IS LIKE THE HALF SIZE OF A BINDER WITH REMOVABLE PAGES TO ADD/REPLACE WHEN I NEED TO. I WANT PAGES THAT HAVE A CLEAR POCKET THAT CAN BE SECURELY CLOSED ENVELOPE STYLE TO HOLD MY COUPONS. I WANT INDEX TABS STICKING OUT THE SIDE. DESIGN IT AND MAKE FOR ME! HONESTLY, I’D PAY UP TO $20 FOR IT!
1. I have a pile by the computer that I cut out after I print them.
2. The computer is the only area of the house that is MINE so nothing gets messed with and it’s right where i left it.
3. The fact that I dont know how to organize them. (do i got by sections, expiration date, or what?
4. Only the ones that I need. I don’t dwaddle in the store so I have a game plan before I go in and anly take the coupons that coincide with whats on my list.
5. I dont get the paper b/c ours stinks when it comes to coupons. I only print from the internet, use what i get in the mail, or what comes with products I buy.
6. Not sure…Would have to be pretty convinced it would work for me.
i use a pleather-like(lol) zipped up cd case that actually holds about 120 cd’s that i purchased at walmart for about 20 bucks. it works great!! imade side tabs so i can just flip to each catagory, i have like 30 different ones and then on each page i sub-catagorized with washable marker on the front of each cd pocket. these pockets work great cuz they are big and the coupons don’t fall out when turning the pages cuz of the material like stuff on the back of each slot. i can re-arrange things real easy by just wiping off the marker and re-marking it when a slot is empty or what-not. i use the back page for all my store coupon policy printouts, very handy and much needed some times when dealing with some cashiers and or managers that don’t really know there own policy lol..
i clip and keep all my coupons in here, and with me at all times, i have prob. a thousand or so (about 10-15 inserts each week) and as i use them at the store i am at, i have a plastic pencil holder case attached to the front that i slip them in for checkout.
it lays in the front of the shopping cart just right and makes looking for the coupons very easy.
i am always looking for new ideas, and can’t wait to hear what you have going on.
I currently use a binder with trading card sleeves. I organize by category. I like that all the coupons are laid out and I can see each easily, but this has been very hard to keep up with. With 2 kids and a full time job I don’t have a lot of time to clip every coupon and put them in the sleeves, so i have gotten really behind. So I still have my binder but I also have 2-3 weeks of coupon ads that haven’t been clipped.
I try to take all my coupons to the store.
Since I just bought the sleeves, and binder, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on another coupon organizer. Unless of course it really worked for me and exceeded my expectations. Then maybe $20 at most.
I look forward to seeing the other comments and maybe getting some new ideas. Thanks.
I cut all my coupons out of the inserts each week. I clip what I know I use, or the types of products I might use if the price was right. I file it in an accordian style, plastic coupon holder. It fits legal size envelopes, which I include in my coupon holder to help sort my items better. I take this with me anytime I shop. I just never know when I’ll need, or wish I had a particular coupon. Each week when my ads come, I browse through them, write down what items featured I’m interested in, go through my coupon holder and pull the coupons that apply. Those coupons then go in legal size envelopes with the store’s name on it. So when I go shopping, I bring my envelopes with the store name on it and my coupon book. I have 2 small kids, so being prepared ahead of time with coupons ready makes things easier. I WISH I had some good sturdy store envelopes. Mine are just the regular paper ones, but they probably should be laminated because they are falling apart. I am pretty cheap (thus the coupons!), so I wouldn’t pay much for a new system. Probably the max I’d pay would be $10, but that would have to be all supplies included. I’ve seen people with the notebooks and sheet protectors for their coupons. But honestly, for me, it’s too big, and oftentimes I have a kid sitting in the top of the grocery cart and just don’t have room for something bulky like that. I like my system that will fit inside my diaper bag.
I usually buy about 6 newspapers a week and clip all coupons. I can usually cut 3-4 pages at a time. I file all coupons in a shoebox I have that has alphabet dividers in it. I then file by brand alphabetically, (ie: Kraft, General Mills). This saves me lots of time when I am preparing to go shopping or while at the store. Before I go to the store I make a list of things I am buying and place in an envelope, usually one I have gotten in the mail with junk mail so I recycle and am thrifty! I bring those coupons and also my whole box in case I see a deal while at the store. It is a lot to carry around but has saved me lots of money. I find this is the best method for me. I would be willing to pay $5-10 for a coupon organizer if it fit my needs and is cute! Thanks for your site!!
I have been using the checkbook sized accordian files and will probably add a small box of similar size. One for me to do the majority of shopping and one for him to do the groceries. Otherwise, every week (and more) I paperclip the coupons to the list, both groceries and mine, and head out the door. It means I tend to miss some clearance deals because I don’t have them all with me. I would be very interested in a new organization method, especially easily portable and able to be split up between users.
How do you organize your coupons?
I’ve been cutting them out of the insert and filing them in baseball cards but I’m new to coupong and I’m about 2 months behind. And I have a lot of insert.
What do you like about your coupon organization method?
It allows me to see the insert and I can go to a specific date for examplbe when you reference 5/3SS. I go right to it
What don’t you like?
The time it takes to cut all the coupons. I dont have all the coupons clipped and organize yet so I miss out on clearance deals
Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
Only the ones I’ll be using I put them in a envelope
Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
I’ve started to clip them and group them by Date
How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
$20. That’s the cost of a zipped binder and I’m still waiting to buy one
I have 2 binders and would really like some help figuring out how I get back to one. The thing became so big, I had to make into 2. I bought mine at Walmart for $25. It has pockets on the outside and pockets in the inside front with a calculator. I have a place to put my scissors and pens as well. I organize mine in ABC order of catorgories, ie, air freshners,baking,beverages,can foods,cereal/breakfast…so on and so on. I also use the baseball cards because that is the easiest thing that has worked for me. I have 2 binders like I said, so one is food items and the other is non-foods. I have looked everywhere under the sun for 1 binder that is big enough to hold all my coupons :-). When I go into the store, I like so many others always take my binders, both of them.They are both with me all the time. I do find myself getting frustrated with flipping between the 2 now when I have to pull a coupon out. I used to pull out what I thought I was going to use at the store but I stopped doing that because it was taking too long to dig thru a pile to find the one I was looking for. I clip all my coupons. Where I live I am lucky enough to have a local paper that comes out once a week that sells the paper for .50 so I get like 10 a week. I stack them on top of each other and cut and file all of them. I would be willing to pay $20-$30 for another one maybe more…I save $2000.00 a month in coupons so why not!!
I use two accodrian coupon files. One for food and one for non- consumables. Then i use an older purse that is just for shopping.It has three sections. one side for the food Q, one side for non-consumeables and store fliers. In the middle section I throw
in my billfold and keys. I do take this with me but i have to sort what I am going to use and put them in my zippered billfold, paperclipped by store. I am a list maker and I never find the deals you all do ie clearance. WOW! I live in a smaller town so I do not have as many opportunities as many of you do—but when we go to visit our grandchildren (which is very often, especially during ball season)in the city i take it with me and share with my daughter. In it i keep little scissors fliers for stores I would never use a notebook of any kind. Too big for me. My purse works best.
As we are traveling in the car I purge the old coupons. The volume drives me crazy and I do not buy extra papers. I am just old and an amateur.
I have been amazed what I have learned for you all this past month. Thank you.
1 How do you organize your coupons?
– I have 2 pouches from Target’s club wed registry LOL (just married in Aug 08!)Approx 10″x6″x2″. It’s a flexible cloth-like plastic pouch with a flap that opens from the 10” side and has a snap to close it in place. The pouch came with about 6 dividers each – pre labeled with wedding slang, but I ignore that. Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Then I have letter sized envelopes labeled by category in each pouch. One dedicated to food items – categories “pantry, frozen, fridge, snack” Â…etc. The other pouch is dedicated to non-food items (“lotion”, toothpaste, medicine cabinet, tampax” Â…etc). At the back of each pouch there is a LITTLE wiggle room for an extra envelope for rebates, and coupons I know I can use virtually anywhere and will use (like the $1.50 Kraft salad dressing or the FREE wrigleyÂ’s gum coupons from a while back). I like to have these handy in case I need a quick “filler” at a store (i.e. another $ or so towards a $25.00 order so I can use my $5/25 RA coupon). I also have store envelopes (i.e. Target, CVS, etc) which I put my list for the current week in and pull/add Q to it as I hear about new deals.
2. What do you like?
I created the categories and I usually know what I have. ItÂ’s fairly easy to find Q at store for unadvertised specials or something not on my list. If I didnÂ’t have time to pull all my Q when I made my list, I can pull at the store fairly easily. I like that my pouches fit in the front of the grocery cart. And I can flip it open pretty easily there. I didnÂ’t pay anything.
3. What don’t you like?
Outgrowing. I need to buy a tote or something, because it’s getting bulky. Maybe I’ll use a “second purse” like someone else said. LOL. I do sometimes feel weird carting around everything. I also now have to cart a grocery bag with me in the car for all of my store envelopes as they no longer fit in my pouches.
4. ALL OF THEM (estimate about 2000+) – except restaurant Q.
5. Clip!
6. $10.00 or less. Maybe more if itÂ’s REALLY GREAT. My husband will prob frown though. How about a rebate plan or a trade deal?
* How do you organize your coupons? Right now in a plastic bin with dividers that I made my self. I pull out the ones I am going to use that week and put in a seperate envelope for each store.
* What do you like about your coupon organization method? Not sure that it is the best one, right now the bin is stuffed full. Am seriously looking for a binder that is big enough, heavy duty enough and cheap enough to change to that style of organizing.
* What don’t you like? It’s currently too full. It’s also time consuming to flip through them in the store aisle looking for a Q for a deal I’ve found.
* Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store? All of the ones that I currently have clipped.
* Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts? I clip all of them.
* How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer? If it were a binder system that was completely set up and all I had to do was put my Q’s in it, I would be willing to spend $20-25 – other types of organizers I’m not sure.
I love Mrs. A’s coupon organizer but the pages are not big enough. I have two notebooks filled and still wish I had more room. I wish it was a full sized notebook. I love how easy it is to add and remove coupons to the pages.
-How do you organize your coupons?
I use a few methods. When I started doing hard core couponing I switched to the baseball style dividers in a notebook and cut all my coupons. That proved to be unrealistic so I still use that method for misc. coupons and printables and now I also have a large divider to keep the whole inserts.
-What do you like about your coupon organization method?
It is easy to maintain without putting a lot of time into cutting.
-What don’t you like?
It takes up a lot of space in my house. I don’t have a place to stash it so I’m always moving it from one table to another.
-Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
I carry a small divider that has a section for each store. I have a category for the main stores I shop at, a section for really good coupons I might want to have on hand and then fast food coupons. The number I carry depends on the week. I usually pull all coupons before going to the store. I have a 2 year old and taking a large notebook is not feasible for me.
-Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
A mixture, but mostly file the whole insert and only clip coupons from other sources.
-How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
Probably wouldn’t buy another organizer… guess it would depend on the price. I’m pretty craft/inventive and usually like to “do it myself.”
I honestly just put them into an empty baby wipes container, so I can lock that and put it in my bag – even though some of the bigger ones get a little smushed, it seems to work. I put them in alphabetically by brand. Then again, I don’t have that many coupons.
I also use a binder with baseball card protectors. It rocks compared to my old envelope system! I have found that the 8-pocket pages are much easier to use than the 9-pocket because the coupons don’t need to be trimmed to fit as much. I paid $16 for 100 8-pocket pages from a local card dealer. I don’t remove my coupons from my book until I have put the items in my cart, so I avoid filing them a second time. I then put the coupons in a zippered pouch. I spent $10 on binder/carrying case after replacing a basic $4 binder that tore apart after 2 months. I also spent $4 for 32 dividers. I would have been willing to spend $30-$40 on a complete book, depending on the quality of the binder. I clip all of my coupons and carry over 600.
I clip all my coupons (on average two papers worth plus some printables) and keep them in a large index card box. I have an additional tab for each store that I frequent, to use as I organize each shopping trip. I love the categories, but think I need to switch to a binder with sheet protectors with this volume of coupons (mostly because it would be more secure while flipping through in the store). I carry them all with me while shopping or at least have them in the car.
I organize my coupons in the little money envelopes that you get at the bank.
I don’t really like/dislike anything about my coupon organization method. It works, for now.
I usually take all my coupons with me to the store, but I separate out the ones that I plan to use on that trip. The others are just-in-case.
I clip all my coupons.
I would be willing to spend between $5-$10 for a coupon organizer depending on size.
Organize? Dairy/Refrigerated,Frozen, Meats,Canned/Bottled,Boxed/Packaged, Snacks,Baking Goods,Beverages,Toiletries,Health, Household,Store specific.
Like, method? The grouping makes sense to me.
Don’t like? Coupons have outgrown their holder.
How many Q’s? 200 +
Clip vs. inserts? Clip
$ for organizer? $10
* How do you organize your coupons?
I organize inserts by date in a file folder. I also immediately clip any that I know I will use whether or not there is a deal. I put those in a separate, smaller file folder (organized by type) that I keep in my purse.
* What do you like about your coupon organization method?
I don’t forget to use coupons on items I buy regularly, and I can easily find them for a deal.
* What don’t you like?
Some expire before I use them.
* Approximately how many coupons do you carry with you to the store?
50 (even if I’m not planning on using them)
* Do you clip all your coupons or do you file the whole inserts?
both as explained above, but mostly file the inserts
* How much would you be willing to spend on a coupon organizer?
$12 (I bought my file folders in the dollar sport at target. It’s hard to beat that)
I use two coupon boxes – both plastic boxes with lids about the size of baby wipes boxes – a pink one for food coupons and a purple one for nonfood items with all of my clipped coupons )probably thousands!) sorted out alphabetically into categories with labeled cardstock dividers. I carry them both EVERYWHERE perfectly inside a cute hot pink totebag I got for free for placing an order with Victorias Secret online.
I like my system because it is so easy to quickly sort coupons (first by food or nonfood, and then into categories), and then to flip through my stash to find a certain coupon. Plus, I get tons of compliments on my cute tote from people that would never suspect that it is stuffed full of coupons! 🙂
I use a shoe box, covered in a pretty fabric with a handle attached on the side and an elastic strap to hold the top on. The elastic can be stretched to the front to open the box completely. I use business envelopes with computer printed tabs attached to each one with the item type written on it (customized for what I use most) . I cut out all coupons, and file them so I have them with me whenever I shop. I can carry it by the handle like a purse and fold the lid back to hold it up in the seat of the shoppping cart. It works really great for me. I also have envelopes with Target, Kroger, Wags etc on them, so I can have the appropriate coupons already sorted when I get to the store, but still have the others available if I find a good deal. Probably wouldn’t buy an organizer since mine works so well, and I have made several for friends and family. Thanks for all your work I love your site.
What I really wish I had, and this is my tech geek coming out, was a USB handheld scanner (like you can use to scan book barcodes) that would scan the coupons and then document the information from the coupons in a spreadsheet like format. So you scan the coupon’s barcode, get product company, product name, size or purchase requirements, expiration date, and coupon amount. That way, I have a quick look at my coupons, which are then organized alphabetically. I could use that spreadsheet to compare store prices, etc.
See, my inner geek comes out.