A DAY IN THE LIFE: coupon deals

After finally starting The Grocery Game in January, I have become obsessed with coupons and just how cheap I can get something. Yep, I am THAT coupon lady. I knew very early on that I needed a system to stay organized or couponing would never work for me. It had to be easy and FAST on both ends (both clipping at home and using them in the store). I poured over different coupon organization methods for a couple of days and this is what I ended up using, definitely not my original idea but something that works for me . . .

Here is my coupon binder:

Just look how lovely and FAT it is:

TRUE STORY: A couple of weeks ago I noticed my binder was missing. After frantically combing the house I knew it was gone forever. I just knew that if I had left it behind whoever found it would not be able to resist taking it home with them. So many GOOD coupons! For Free! A couple hours later I realized I am a big fat geek and not everybody shares my same obsession. I called Harris Teeter and it was sitting in the Lost and Found. Thank goodness.

Okay, back to organizing.

I get 4 Sunday papers. I have 3 delivered to my home and I buy one early edition on Saturday. Instead of cutting out one coupon at a time, I stack the four inserts together and cut out all four coupons at the same time. Make sense?? Some people staple them together before doing this - I throw caution to the wind. Who has time to staple? While cutting, I sort the coupons into two piles - Food and Non-Food. This makes it a lot easier when I file the coupons.

My binder is divided into the same two sections. I have alphabetical dividers for both sections, so A-Z for all my food items and A-Z for all my non-food items. In between each divider are baseball card inserts.

I then file my coupons by manufacturer name (i.e. Nestle, Pillsbury, Campbell's etc.). I originally was going to file by category (breads, dairy, etc.) but found that my brain couldn't handle it. There were just too many products that I felt could go in multiple sections and I didn't want to take time guessing which section I thought I filed the coupon under. By filing by manufacturer's name, I know right away every time where the coupon is.

Each individual letter is not alphabetized. For example, if you look under "P," the coupons in that section are not in order. Why? It would drive me insane and take up too much time to move around each week. At the grocery store I can quickly scan my "P" section to see what I have and don't have.

This next part is critical: I then file only one type of coupon per slot. So say I cut out a coupon that reads "Pillsbury Crescent Rolls Buy One Get One Free." All 4 of those coupons would go in one slot. Even if I already have the exact same coupon from last month. I don't put them in the same slot because they have different expiration dates. I need to be able to quickly glance and see what I have without digging through coupons. If the coupons don't fit in the slot, I fold them. I try to keep it so the expiration date is visible on the front. At the beginning of each month I go through and pull out expired coupons.

In the back of my binder I try to keep a calculator, writing utensils, and a price pad to jot down the prices of different things at different stores (I'm not so good at this yet). The calculator is missing in this pic due to a curious 4 year old.

Breakdown of Time: