Where do you Find the Coupons You Need? – And, How to Store Them!

By: Amy Hannold, 247Moms Frugal Living Editor

Consider Creating Storage of Weekly Coupon Inserts

Using the “File Drawer System”:

Tools: Filing Cabinet Drawer (Other Options: A file box or 13-pocket accordion file)

Directions:

Once you’ve clipped from the inserts coupons you’ll use immediately:

1. File the Weekly Inserts: Files Labeled by the distribution date and:

“RP” (Red Plum), “SS” (SmartSource), “PG” (Proctor and Gamble) and “GM” (General Mills)

Example: “5/19 S” would file the May 19^th Smart Source Inserts)

2. When you have a list of deals for your favorite stores, listed for you from the money-saving blogs/forums (such as AThriftymom.com or SurvivingtheStores.com), you can then find the coupons by date, clipping them from your filed inserts and sorting them into your shopping coupon file.

-OR-

If you’re looking for a coupon for a particular product: Refer to Couponmom.com’s Grocery Coupon Database. You can enter a “Brand name” or a type of product you’re looking for (ex: “cereal)

If there’s a coupon out there for the product you wish to purchase, this database will provide you with the insert date, coupon discount and expiration date.

For Example, if you were to use the on CouponMom.com’s Grocery Database, searching for cereal coupons, and entered either “cereal” or “Kelloggs”

You Would See:

12-13 RP

01-24

Kelloggs Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, All Bran or Crispix 10 oz or larger

$1.00

2

Then, Go to your dated, filed coupon inserts

“12-13 RP” Means: Find: December 13 Red Plum insert, clip the Kelloggs coupon

“01-24”: is the Expiration date of the coupon

“Third Column”: Tells you “coupon specifics” (i.e.: Brand name, Varieties and Size of Package are listed

“$1.00”: You’ll save $1 on two Boxes of cereal

“2” Means: that in order to get the $1 discount, you need to purchase two boxes of cereal

Creating and Using Your (organized) Couponing Tools:

“Shopping with Coupons” Filing Systems

Tip: Each week, clip from the coupons inserts coupons for products you frequently purchase. File these in your portable coupon file.

Envelopes: An envelope w/ your menu (and/or grocery list) on one side, coupons inside

Small Purse-Size File- Organized by store and/or by grocery category. Carry coupons for items you use regularly and the coupons you plan to use.

Home Coupon File Box : File extras of coupons you have which you are not going to carry, coupons for trading, etc.

Coupon Binder: Binder form of “Tackle Box”, it’s a 3-ring binder categorized similar to other filing systems. Affordably constructed and customized. Plenty of space for carrying larger amount of coupons. Finding coupons is as easy as turning pages.

The “Couponizer” (Couponizer.com): A very simple, visual way to plan your shopping trip with coupons.

Start Now:

Begin collecting coupon inserts from weekend papers, friends, neighbors and places you frequent (start your own coupon insert donation box). Once you’ve got the coupon inserts in a filing system, finding the coupons you need to match with sales will be easy – and it will multiply the money you save each week.