Becoming a couponer

Friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members have all asked me about couponing.  I am by no means an expert, but I have come up with a few tips/ideas to get you started if you too wish to become a couponer. 

First, you should identify if you are already a couponer, or are interested in becoming a couponer.
You are a couponer if you...

A) like to save money
B) cut coupons
C) buy things on sale (you take advantage of 40% off sales or buy one, get one free)

You might even be a couponer if you use something like this...

(to store your coupons)

If any of the things above apply to you, then you are a couponer.  If you are cutting 10-20 coupons a week and can find them anytime you need them, then this plastic container is perfect for you.  It's small and will easily fit into your purse or car.


Second, you may need to/be ready to take your couponing to the next level if you find that the plastic bag/container you use to hold your coupons is not big enough or you cannot find coupons when looking for them.

Below is what I use to keep my coupons organized:

I started using a 1" binder a little over two years ago.  I bought baseball card holders and placed them in the binder to store my coupons.  About one year ago, I switched to a 2" binder and added dividers to better help find my coupons.

This is my current binder.

I still use baseball card holders to hold the coupons.

 

The dividers are labeled in a manner that I find useful.

They kinda go with the layout of my grocery store isles, but again, it's the way I find most useful.

 

I have categories for groceries, paper products, refrigerated, frozen, pharmacy, cleaning, misc. and other stores.  The groceries, refrigerated, and frozen are also broken up into specific categories such as soup, baking, pasta, or yogurt, cheese, or frozen vegetables, meat, desserts, etc.

 

I also have a section called "other stores" for coupons I get for:

car washes, DSW, Babies R Us, Bath & Body Works, etc.



 

*I always keep this binder in my car, inside a tote bag. 

That way I always have it when I am out and about*

 

Once you have decided how you want to organize your coupons, it is time to organize your shopping. 

 

My next couponing post will be about where to find coupons and how to organize your shopping.