*** So Many Coupons... So Little Time ***

I love my coupons like everyone else.  And I love my coupons because I love to save money... just like everyone else!!  The problem is I am a single mom, I have a full time job and I really like having a life... so ... how do I balance saving tons of money and saving tons of time???  I designed a coupon organizing system to cut the guess work out of clipping, using and saving money with coupons! SO MANY COUPONS... SO LITTLE TIME!!!

Using my organizer makes couponing sooooo easy.  I am way too busy to follow all of the deals etc and spend hours and hours and hours each week to find all of the great deals (however I always keep an eye out for great deals and I do follow as many savings pages as possible on facebook because that way when you are on your home page you will see as many deals as possible.  I also use http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/ as a primary source for the stores I frequent because she is very thorough and if there is a deal at the stores she usually has it on her page.  I always sit down with my Sunday paper and go through all of the sale ads after I have clipped my coupons (if I don't have time on Sunday I will do it Monday on my lunch at work or Monday night if possible).  If I see a great deal on an item that I use I will open my organizer to see if I have a coupon (and with my organizer finding the coupon is very quick).  I then make a list for each store of the things I want to get that week.  I ALWAYS take my organizer in and not just the coupons I need for the list just in case I find a great deal (for example I had a $5/3 for Advil, Robitussin etc. and I found Robitussin On The Go on clearance for $2.17 so I got 3 of them for $1.51.)  I always keep high dollar coupons in the front of my organizer in the card holders in front of the Baby section so I will remember to see at each store I go to if they have any sales on those items (not all sales are advertised).  I also keep any coupons that I am going to use on my trips to each store along with the list in the front of my organizer.  Then as I am going through the store I peruse the aisles for any unadvertised deals.  I try to make sure and stick to my list unless I find an amazing deal (like a few Sundays ago I had just clipped $0.50 off any Dawn dishwashing liquid and Kroger had the small bottles of Dawn for $1.25 unadvertised and they doubled the coupon so I got them for $0.25 a bottle... not gonna pass that up:).  If you veer too far from your list you (or at least I) end up spending more than I intend too although it may seem like a pretty good deal at the time.  In the event that you find stuff you would like to add to your cart... unless it is a clearance item that may not still be there when you get back... I always make a list of the things that I would like to get but that weren't on my list and then take a few days to ponder which things are really a great deal and which things I really need than I go back to the store and get the things I decided are a good buy.

As far as expiring coupons... I keep an envelope inside the front cover of my organizer.  When I am in the store and I am looking for certain coupons if I find an expired coupon I will stick it in that envelope and discard it properly at a later time.  Also, at the end of the month I will go through my coupons and purge the ones that have expired to make room for new coupons.

 I hope this helps at least one person.

COMING SOON... I have binder covers and totes coming next weekend!  And if you refer anyone to me to buy an organizer I will give you a 50% discount on either a binder cover or a tote bag.  Just make sure the person uses the word SAVINGS when they order and that they let me know you refered them to me!