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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

wfmw - coupon binder.


do any of you coupon??

have any of you ever gotten frustrated and just given up?


because you end up spending more time clipping coupons than you do using them?

because you buy stuff you don't need because you have a coupon for it?

because you hate that stupid, accordian thingy that you always forget in your car?

or even when you don't forget it, you hate it because you have to take out all the coupons to sort through them looking for the one you need, while you're pushing a cart, and your pocketbook is falling off your shoulder while it's hanging wide open, and your husband is trying to hurry you along so you can get home in time to watch the duke pre-game, only to find the coupon and figure out that it's expired? [not like i know anything about this one...ahem.]


well, i'm with you.  promise.  i have the same problems.  i have started couponing fourteen-bazillon times.  only to get frustrated and stop.


so, today i'm going to offer you a tip that has made all of this so much more managable.

behold, the power of the coupon b.i.n.d.e.r. 



my friend julie sent me the link to a fabulous website [hip2save] and collin has opened my ocd eyes.


yes, it's a binder.
[and a cute one - which makes it even better!]

no more accordian action.  no more baggies full of coupons. 


it's organized by the aisles at the grocery store.  which makes the trip so much easier! [i used plastic dividers - so they won't tear].



and i mean aisles, not categories.

for example, in the [dairy] section of my binder there are orange juice coupons and pillsbury coupons and cookie dough coupons because that's where you find these items.  over near the eggs and cheese.  it's much easier because i don't have to dig through my broad category of "dinner/sides". instead i have more narrow categories so there is not as much to sort through.


and then, within the dividers....there are baseball card holders.



with all of my coupons folded nicely in each pocket so the item, savings and expiration date can be seen. 

it's wonderful. 
i'm serious.


don't close the browser!  i know you're thinking, this crazy gal has lost her mind.  but seriously, it works.  let me tell you why:

  1. everything is more visible:  i can flip through the coupons and see each one without taking them out.
  2. fits in the cart: the binder fits perfectly in the cart. there's no more craziness of trying to hold everything and look through the coupons and push the cart. 
  3. i'm organized once i get to the register:  as i find the coupon i need, i pull it out and stick it in an envelope in the front so i'll remember to use it when i get to the register. 
  4. it didn't cost a lot:  i was worried that setting this thing up would take more time and money than i would save by using coupons. but it didn't! i already had the binder and then i bought two packs of plastic dividers at walmart for $2.88 per pack. and i bought the baseball card holders at target [one pack for $4.99].
  5. there's a routine: now that i've started, the upkeep is minimal. i have a system that works well and it's overwhelming. on sunday afternoons, while worker man and i are watching a movie, i flip through my book and pull out any expired coupons.  then, i clip my new coupons and insert those.  it's a mindless task, so i just do that while we watch a movie.  then, on wednesday nights, i look through the grocery store sale papers with coupon binder in hand.  when i come across anything that i have a coupon for that is on sale, i circle the ad and i pull the coupon out and put it in the 'harris teeter envelope' or the 'lowes food envelope'.    i also circle any good deals of things i want to get that week.  so, when i got into harris teeter, i have my binder, my sale paper, my grocery list i made from the sale paper and my envelope of coupons to use at harris teeter. [i still carry my binder in case there's something i find that i need/want and look to see if i have a coupon for it].

in my first trip to target, after completing my binder, my items rang up to ~$47.00.  After she rang up all of my coupons, I walked out paying ~$25.00.

definitely worth it in my mind!


you should go watch collin's video about her coupon binder to get even more great ideas!  you won't be sorry!!


i'm joining works for me wednesdays with kristen [WeAreTHATFamily].


8 comments:

  1. You're binder is way cuter than my binder.

    Love it!
    Julie (fellow coupon binder fan)

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  2. ummm, could I just give you my grocery list and my coupons????? This is really great though!

    P.S. Did you get my email about Harris Teeter emails?

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  3. I keep mine in their original circulars (also in a binder) but I've seen a few binders using baseball card holders that I really like. And I love your idea to divide your notebook by aisles, not categories. Brilliant!

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  4. I just switched over to a binder! I love it so much more than the accordion file.

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  5. great idea that i will have to try! i just saw a women who is a clipper and she got 180.00 worth of groceries for like cents! not even a dollar! i so need to do this my system doesn't work.

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  6. questions:

    how many coupons are going in each hole (???)...the pocket (???) whatever you want to call it.

    How many pages do you ahve all together?

    What do you do with all the long coupons?

    I've tried the box and the binder...and neither are workign for me.

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  7. Way to totally show me up! Wow! Fantastic :). I'm just trying to commit to getting better at the whole coupon thing and that binder looks fabulous. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  8. Saw your post on The Stories of A to Z. I just started using a binder this week! I dropped my whole accordion file coupon holder at the store and decided it was time to get better organized. Yours is so cute. Mine is just a plain binder but I think I might throw a little scrap book paper in front area to pretty it up a bit. I love the plastic divider idea( had not thought of that).

    ReplyDelete