I like to use coupons to save money on the items that my family uses. I’m not an “extreme couponer” in any means, although I think the deals they get are spectacular and very entertaining to watch. My coupons come in handy, but when I first started to use them, I was a little disheartened by the amount of time that it took to organize them. Some days I would spend up to two HOURS just clipping, categorizing, and storing them. That became a hassle. Then, when I got pregnant, I pretty much fizzled out of couponing altogether because if you have ever been preggers, you know that the first trimester is very draining. I was too tired to clean the house, cook, or barely even shower. Couponing was the last thing on my mind.
Fast forward to a few months back. I decided that now I am little more comfortable in my role as mommy and I was ready to tackle those coupons again. While going through my closet, I found an old container that I used while I was a school teacher. I noticed that it provided tabs to organize documents by month and alphabetically. At that point my little nifty senses started to tingle and I wondered if I could use it to easily, and time effectively store my coupons.
This method works for me! What I do now is use a coupon app on my iPhone called “Track My Coupons”. It allows you to add coupons directly to your database from every Sunday Newspaper. There is no need to manually enter them at all (although there is a scanning function you can use as well). It’s super simple. And it’s a time-saver that I thankfully accept.
After I enter the coupons into the database, I clip each one (or two, or three, or four…) and file them in my binder by brand name. This method works well for me because before I go on my shopping trip, I can just browse through my app, find the coupons that I want to use, and then pull them straight from the file. It also eliminates the need to have to categorize every coupon. There’s no guess-work in determining what the brand name is. I was also really happy to get rid of having to use those pesky baseball card holders.
If you want to see the inside of the filer and get a few extra tips, check out my YouTube video.
I’m proud to say that I’m a happy couponer again.
I hope this helps you!
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