What is a Coupon Organizer?

I have seen people mention buying things you don't need just because it's a good deal, and that is a definite potential problem. However, I have a foolproof strategy that combines coupon use with good old fashioned thriftiness, and you end up with the best of both worlds, savings and practicality.

I simply do this each week: I go through my coupons and the sale papers to find the things I can get for free or close to free. Then, I ask myself which of those things I would realistically use. There are always at least a few every month, and usually at least something every week.

Then, I go and buy as many as I can get for the good price. One week it may be shampoo, the next boxes of pasta, the next week laundry soap. These things end up costing me almost nothing, and I have my staples bought and stored for months or years to come. Once I have a good supply I don't even save that kind of coupon for a while until I work my way through it, and I put a note in my organizer to remind me.

My grandmother, who lived through the Depression, used to say "Buy it cheap and stack it deep". I think this is great advice, and I save a ton of money this way.

@SurfNTurf - I have to say that I used to have that attitude toward using coupons too, until I started watching a reality show based on people that were experts in using coupons. I could not believe the amount of money they would save.

Most of these people left the store buying $500 or $600 dollars worth of groceries and only paying about $5 for it. It was amazing. They bring their coupon organizing binder with them and sometimes find additional deals.

I saw a lady only pay two cents for an order that was $670. I know that a lot of these people stockpile their products in their home and when they go shopping they shop in large quantities for a few select items. One lady had to special order some sports drinks because she was going to buy cases of them and they were all going to be free.

They also label and date products that can go bad like cereal so that they are always eating fresh food. Some of these people that were featured on the show gave away thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to the members of the military and many local charities.

It is really nice when you give back like that because many of these people develop enormous stockpiles of products that they couldn’t possibly use.

While the manual coupon holder is a good thing, don't forget that there are also several web sites that track and list deals in your area, and also have coupons of their own that you can print and use.

I prefer this multimedia strategy. I go through the Sunday papers and the junk mail advertisements every week, but then I spend a few minutes online and I end up with all kinds of extra deals.

If you are dedicated enough to collect and organize your coupons, then spend the few extra minutes and go online to round out your research. Nothing wrong with using all of your resources.

@SauteePan -I admire people that can be so organized and end up saving a lot of money. I find the coupon organization process so time consuming that I just give up. A lot of times I see coupons for things that I would never buy so it doesn’t make sense to spend hours clipping coupons to save a few dollars. I just don’t have the patience to do it. I really wish I did.

@surfNturf - See that is the beauty of the organizer. I understand that the process is tedious. I found it that way when I started too. I spent a long time clipping and sorting, but I never seemed to use them or never had the right one when I went to the store.

Ironically, it was a free coupon organizer someone gave me that made me so much more efficient. I put all of my coupons in there, and now I have exactly what I need when I go shopping, and I save all kinds of money. It really made the difference.

@Subway11 -I know what you mean. I have a coupon organizer wallet, but I am really looking or a coupon binder because my coupon organizer wallet can’t hold all of my coupons and with a coupon binder I can see the front of all of the coupons by turning the page instead of digging for them in a wallet.

If I am going to the store for a few things, then the wallet is not a bad idea, but if I go for my grocery shopping trip for the week, I would rather have a coupon binder. I usually scout all of the buy one get one free deals and usually will stock up on toothpaste, detergent and foods with a long shelf life that I would normally buy.

I don’t buy things that I would never use just because it is a good deal because I will be throwing my money away and defeating the purpose of using the coupons in the first place. But I think that having the right coupon organizer does make things easier.

I think that coupon organization is probably the hardest thing with regards to coupon clipping. I clip coupons and I sort them by classification and when I go shopping I separate the coupons further by aisle.

I usually take a look at the weekly grocery ad to a couple of my local grocery stores and decide what I am going to buy and what coupons I am going to use. I also usually buy two newspapers for the Sunday coupons because this way I can add more coupons to my collection.

If you are organized and have a system down you can save a lot of money. I usually save more than half of my entire grocery bill in coupons and I know people that save even more. You really have to plan for the trip, and don’t pick up impulse items.

I am looking to get a coupon binder so that I can carry my other coupons with me in the store. Sometimes stores put certain items on clearance because they will no longer be carrying the item and you can really save a lot of money on those if in addition to the discount if you also use coupons.

I love using coupons. It is addicting and it makes grocery shopping so much more fun.