For me, just a binder as a coupon organizer is completely impractical. I don’t usually have quite that many coupons so it is overkill for me. Instead, I like to use a wallet-sized expandable filer.
It lives in my purse that way if I forgot a coupon or am shopping when I wasn’t planning on it, I’m covered. My coupons are always with me.
Inside I have my coupons separated into categories to make it easier to find. In the categories, the soonest to expire coupon is in the front and the longest is in the back.
As you can see, my categories are: Cold, Food, Non-Food (everything from cat food to batteries to toilet paper), HBA (toothpaste, face wash, make-up, etc.), Cleaning Products, Baby, Restaurants, and Stores. I find it is easiest for me to keep it simple and not have a ton of different categories.
I do my grocery shopping on Fridays. On Thursday I will go through my coupons and see if there are any expiring before next week’s shopping trip. I also check to see if I have any coupons for the items I need to buy that week, like diapers. The coupons I will be using get attached to my shopping list. My list is scrap paper on a mini-clipboard. The coupons get clipped in right behind my list.
So there you have it. My super simple and easy way to keep my coupons organized. Bonus: Far cheaper than a binder too.
What about you? Do you keep yours in an envelope? Binder? What method do you find the easiest? Leave a comment and let me know!
I use the exact same method as you and find it works well for me. I used to have a binder before I married, but this keeps it simple and fits my needs better. _fellow wife of a logger
I love hearing that someone else uses the same method. Having all my coupons with me when I wasn’t planning on shopping has come in handy more than once. 🙂