Organize your coupons

There are several ways to organize your coupons. The first method I used was a binder system. I cut out every coupon (yes, every single coupon from my 5 copies of the paper!) and placed them in a binder that was filled with baseball cardholders and divided into categories such as; dairy, bread, paper products, meat, toiletries etc. You could use whatever categories suit your needs.

Prior to a shopping trip, I pulled out the coupons I needed and put them in an envelope but I took the binder with me. I was able to find deals that I wasn’t aware of and had the coupons with me to use. However, I spent 2-4 hours on Sunday cutting out and organizing the coupons. I figured the amount I was saving on extra deals wasn’t enough to justify me spending that much time getting them ready.

I have since switched to a filing system. I use manila folders and file each Sundays coupons in their own folder labeled with the date. I only cut out the coupons I need prior to going shopping.

FYI: Many oversea military bases can use expired coupons.

Using coupons to save and make money

I was never a big coupon user. It just made no sense to me to spend time cutting out coupons to save a couple of dollars a week. About a year ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the Pinching Your Pennies website and my life has never been the same. That may sound a little dramatic but I went from spending around $150 a week on groceries to spending $40 a week. Not only do I save money I also have an incredible amount of food storage and toiletries built up.

The key is using multiple coupons to purchase items in bulk when they are on sale. I currently get 5 copies of my local Sunday paper and I’ve traded and purchased coupons off of Ebay when there is a great deal.

Very rarely do I pay for toilet paper. I never pay more that 25 cents for toothpaste, more than $1 for cereal or $1 for deodorant. My kids joke that they need to go to the store (which is the basement) for a new tube of toothpaste.

You can also make money using coupons. Recently, my local Wal-Mart had Powerade on sale for 60 cents. I had coupons for 75 cents off each bottle, so I made 15 cents on each bottle I bought. It my not seem like a lot but I had 30 coupons so I made $4.50 and got the Powerade for free. Not all stores will let you take the full value of the coupon but my local Wal-Mart does.