Couponing 101 Part 1

Couponing 101  Part 1 

Everyone is looking for a way to save a little money and coupons are a great way to do it. This is my first in a series of blog posts about couponing.

I have been couponing for years and you don't need to spend 40 hours a week clip, cutting, sorting coupons to save money. There are several different methods on how to store your coupons. I will discuss each and give you the pros and cons of each method and tell you which I use.

I am going to write this series from the perspective of someone who has never used coupons regularly before.

**First thing is first save all of the coupon inserts that come in the newspaper. Ask all of your friends and family to give you their coupon inserts they don't want. Also find out how and where you get your inserts. For example in my area the Red Plum coupon insert doesn't come in the newspaper on Sunday but comes in the mail to every house once a week with the weekly advertisements AKA junk mail. In my area I can get inserts from the large Sunday paper as well as our local weekly paper has inserts also. Another way to save money is to buy the Sunday paper the next day for half the price. I am able to that but I don't know if it will be an option everywhere. 

You can also purchase coupons online from clipping services. I will explain that in another post with the websites I use and the pros and cons of ordering coupons online.

Now that you have all of your coupon inserts how do you organize them? Well there are a few different options.

1. The file and cut as you need method. Write on the front cover of each insert the date. Then seperate them into a pile. Example the first Sunday of the month you could have 3 inserts Smart Source AKA "SS", Red Plum AKA "RP" and P&G AKA "PG". I would add each of those inserts to my pile for that week. Than if I get anymore coupon inserts I will just add them to the pile for that week. With this method you don't cut any of the coupons until you need them and leave the inserts intact. It makes it easy to find a particular insert when you are looking for a coupon. You keep the weekly pile of inserts until the coupons are all used or expired. The pros to this method is it isn't time consuming. Writing the date on the cover and placing into a pile takes 1 minute. You only clip the coupons when you need them. It is easy to find the coupons from a particular week because they are in separate weekly piles. You don't have to spend hours cutting every coupon when you won't use all of those coupons. The cons to this method is that you can't take all of your coupons with you every time you go to the store. It also requires some space for all of the weekly piles/files. I leave mine on a table in my basement. Another option is a file cabinet. 

2. The binder method is completely different. You cut every coupon out of inserts. Then you separate them into the category they will go to in your binder. You will then file them into sleeves that are made for baseball cards. This method is VERY time consuming. The pros to this method is that you can take your binder with you every time you go to the store. In case you see an unadvertised sale you can open your binder and see if you have a coupon that would make that item a great deal. You are able to carry your entire stock of coupons at all times. The cons to this method is that it is time consuming. You are cutting out a lot of coupons you will never use because a deal may not come up before the coupon expires. You have to go through every page of the binder weekly to take out all of the expired coupons.  There is an expense in buying a extra large binder and all of the inserts. 

3. Another method is not collecting coupons at all and just buying them from a coupon service. With this method you won't be able to get as many deals because you don't have coupons on hand. This works best for people who are just going to buy items that they currently buy and wouldn't try a new product or brand. The pros to this method is you don't have to get the weekly inserts or sort them in any way. The cons to this method is you are going to miss out a lot on good deals. You also take the risk of missing the deal because your coupons haven't come in the mail yet. 

I hope you have enjoyed the 1st installment of Couponing 101. Check back for the next installment soon. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Mrs. Fife