Properly organizing coupons is essential to maximizing your savings. There is no one better way to organizing. The way I organize may be a benefit or a disaster to you. My good friend Vanessa organizes her coupons completely different than me. I will go over both our methods.
I use a 3-ring binder and baseball card pages to organize. I label each page with a particular type of product. I have sections for laundry detergent, snacks, drinks, meat, make-up, deodorant, hair care, lotion, etc. Then, I organize my coupons by expiration date on a page. Next, I organize my pages by the isles I visit while grocery shopping. Though this may sound like a lot of work, it is the best method for me. In the front of my pages, I keep a small pouch, ink pen, and a calculator. I use the pouch to store my coupons as I go through the store. I keep all the coupons I will be using in the pouch until I get to the cash register. I use the pen to cross off items on my grocery list. The calcular is used to determine the discount rates when something is a percentage off. I also keep coupons for restaurants, vehicle repair shops, and ads from handymen in my folder.
My friend doesn't clip any coupons up front. She uses an accordian style binder to store her coupons. She prints a list from www.southernsaver.com that tells her all the coupons that are contained in her insert. Then, before she goes grocery shopping, she compares her list to items which are on sale. She will then clip the coupons she plans to use during that grocery trip.
There are several other ways to organize coupons. I chose a method that works best for me. The reason it is important to organize is because you will be able to maximize your savings if you know where to find your coupons.
