Organizing Coupons

What do you do to store your coupons? There are many ways to do it, but two are the most popular. The first is the way that I like to organize mine.

Binder Method
With the binder method, you clip and store your coupons according to date or type in baseball card holders in a 3 ring binder. Separate the sections with index dividers. Here is a picture of the first page of my binder.

I choose to sort my coupons by type and then by date. That way when a new month starts, it is easy for me to clear out the expired coupons. I prefer to use a zip up binder, because you will take this binder into the store with you. Since there are so many little slips of paper in there, it is easy for them to fall out. Being able to zip it up ensures that nothing will get lost. I personally separate my binder into 24 sections, so if I am looking for a specific coupon, it is easy to find it.

Accordion File Method
This method is much more time efficient. You store your whole inserts according to date (the date they came out in the paper). Print out a list of the coupons that came in your insert to keep with the coupons. When there is a sale on a product and you want to see if you have that coupon, just look at the sheet with your coupons to know if it came in your paper. If it did, take out the inserts and clip that single coupon that you need. You will still need to store coupons that you print from the internet, so you will also need a small accordion file, index card box or binder for these coupons. For a list of what coupons came in your newspaper, many people volunteer to write the list and send it to Southern Savers. Around mid week, this list will be published and you can print it for your files.

I prefer to use the binder method. This makes every coupon already clipped for when I need it. If I run into an unadvertised sale at the store, I have the clipped coupons with me to use. I also send my expired coupons overseas, so I will have to clip them anyways. If you are on a strict time limit to spend on couponing, use the accordion file method to save yourself the most time.