Coupon Organization- a hybrid system

Coupon Organization- a hybrid system

There are many methods used for organizing coupons.  With only one paper's worth of coupons, most any will work.  But when you collect several copies of a paper things get harder. The two most mentioned are the binder method- involving cutting all coupons as you get them and filing them in pockets in a large binder by category.     Or filing whole inserts and using a coupon database to find and cut only what you need right before a shopping trip. Both have their pros and cons.

The binder method has lots of "front end" labor, meaning you do lots of work at home, in the comfort of your home cutting and filing coupons.  You then take the whole binder to the store with you and everything you need is right there ready to go. Draw back is each coupon pack has about 60 coupons so on a typical week you are sorting 100-200 coupons into your system from the papers alone.  I found it hard to find spaces to put them and to find the expired ones to make those blank spaces.  The binder was large, heavy and hard to flip through in a shopping cart, not too enticing to lug around in each store. Lastly if it fell out on the floor upside down and the coupons fell out, it meant HOURS of work sorting.

The whole insert method means you either cut the coupons at home as you need them, or take the whole business with you to the store and cut as you go with a printed coupon database or mobile access to a web version. With this method coupons are not ready to go, few databases are exact matches to all the papers in an area so you may miss some deals or waste time looking for coupons you never got.  Also you still need a place for peelies and store coupons. But if you tend to get bogged down cutting and sorting coupons every week, this is a way to have access to all your coupons in an organized way with almost no work unless you actually use them.

  The main problem in couponing with several papers a week with either system is the weight.  In order to get the best deals you need to have ALL of the coupons with you ALL the time.  That quickly gets too heavy to want to carry around and couponing becomes not worth the trouble.  

   I have a hybrid system which works only because I found the correct storage equipment.   Whole inserts are stored in five tabbed plastic file folders by month along with All You Magazine in the back.   I normally take at least the current and last month files in the store with me, just in case I see an unadvertised deal.  The rest are kept in the car.  Cut coupons I know I want to use, store coupons, peelies, etc. are stored in two check files.  Non-food coupons  are kept in a small dollar store check file with 13 tabs including each pharmacy. Food coupons are kept  in a large check file with a handle, found only in-store at Staples, with about 25 or so tabs where I include grocery stores tabs as well. "Coupon files" are worthless in my opinion as they are too small so you have to fold the coupons to fit them in.

With this system I can spend as little as a couple of minutes each week sticking that weeks coupon inserts in the file. That way even if I get lazy and don't feel like deal shopping at all, I don't have stacks of insets piling up. If I come upon an amazing deal I can always find the week it was published and cut out what I need.  I only actually use a few coupons per inset, this way I don't waste any time cutting out all those I never use.
I cull the coupon folders when most all have expired, which is when they are about 5 months old. Using a downloadable database site, I sort the coupons by date, inset and expiration. Cut any remaining ones I might actually use and discard the rest.

How to save when you are barely making it?

I read this blog post , and it was good enough to share.  Often I meet people who seem to be in an impossible situation with no end in site. It is hard not to get discouraged.  This post points out some key points, including microscopic goals, which is one of the key things I think is needed for success in any area, not just saving money.

Accomplishing even small goals, sets up habits that eventually reap big rewards. Doing the same thing you have always done just digs you in a little deeper every day.

Make Ahead Bread Mix Day

This week our local frugal support group is going to get together to make  bread mixes. Bread mix is the dry ingredients, pre-measured and packaged together so you can make bread in a machine in less than five minutes. Making bread mix isn't expensive, actually, it is far less expensive than almost any other bread choice, if the ingredients are shopped for carefully.  Yet, how many people own bread machines and don't use them? Because there are so many people who have tried them and not used them, you can find a working bread machine in almost any thrift store or yard sale for $5-20. Well worth the money if you are going to use it.

Our bread mix day included making mixes for basic white bread, pizza dough, Hawaiian bread and two kinds of rolls.  The ingredients were measured into 5c plastic containers (a detail that matters- baggies are a pain to fill, 4c is not quite big enough for some mixes), the containers were labeled and the recipe was written on the lid. (Detail that matters- looking up your recipe to add liquid ingredients each time is an extra step that will make you less likely to use them when you are in a hurry.)  Label the front of the containers as well that way you can see them easily on the shelf.  
Here is what I currently have left in my pantry. Butterhorn rolls are a good recipe to use up extra eggs. I was not on the ball this year putting timed lights in my chicken house and they stopped laying for the winter, so I haven't used up my supply of those mixes.