The Coupon Binder...Getting Started

My binder is not my dream set up at the moment. I only have a cheap 2 1/2" 3 ring binder. I am on the hunt for one of those zip up ones, however they are going on Ebay for 20 some dollars (crazy hu?). So this little set up will have to do for a bit.  There are 3 main things you need to get going with a coupon binder: a 3 ring binder, tab dividers, plastic sport card sleeves.  The cost is pretty cheap to get set up.  I used a binder I already had at home for school.  I actually had several sets of tab divides already as well, but I did purchase 4 more sets at Walgreens (they were marked down to .50 a piece). The sports card dividers are probably the most expensive item, the cheap pack at Walmart is almost $5 However, my husband had quite a few of the expensive kind that he wasn't using in his sports card collection (I guess that silly hobby of his did pay off), but I have had to purchase an extra set of them. So my overall cost for my starter binder was about $6.50, since I made use of materials I had on hand. I would guess that you could get all of the items new and spend under $10 (depending on what you choose).

So why a coupon binder, what's wrong with those little coupon file folders?  Well, nothing is wrong with those little pocket-book sized folders if you aren't a big couponer. I used to use those too, but once I switched to my binder I asked myself why I didn't do it sooner. Having your coupons organized and visible makes a world of difference, so that initial $10 pays off!  You will probably feel silly walking into a store for the first time with your coupon binder, but once you see how much you save, you won't feel silly for long!  I too felt nervous and silly with my coupon binder the first time.  However, I had an Ah-Ha moment in the middle of Walgreens (after I had gotten some weird looks)...this is now my motto:
"Who's the crazy one?  Me for getting products extremely cheap or FREE, or them for paying full-price for items? DUH they are!"

So that's the way I look at it now...you can give me weird looks, huff and puff behind me in line, whatever, but honey you are CRAZY for paying full price for stuff!  All it takes is a little and effort (say 15 minutes a day, if that), and you will be on your way to saving BIG!

So anyway...here is how I have organized my coupon binder.  This is what works best for me, you may have a total different approach, and that's absolutely fine.  I use about 6 different sets of tab dividers (now this isn't my ideal set up, but it's working for now. I would rather have one big set of dividers.) I have each of the tabs labeled from A-Z.  I have an index as my first page that lists what products are included in each tab. So for tab A it's produce, B it's Condiments/Dressings, C is rice and pasta, D is canned food...so on & so forth,you get the idea right?  I have mine organized according to the isles of the grocery stores, that seems to work best for me.

I keep all my sales flyers in my binder in a folder. I also have envelopes in my binder with the names of my most visited stores, i.e. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Food Lion, etc.  This is where I place my shopping list, and the coupons I know I will be using. I always sit down with the flyer, Southern Savers.com, paper, pen, calculator, and my coupon binder. If I see a good deal I want to snag, I will go ahead and pull out those coupons and place in the envelope.  While I'm in the store if I find any other good deals I will pull those coupons out and place them in the envelope as well.  That way I'm not trying to figure out where all my coupons are when I check out. I also keep all my Extra Bucks, Register Rewards, and +Up Rewards tickets in the envelopes for each store. Sometimes, esp. if I'm in a hurry or if my son is with me, I will only take my envelope in, on those trips it's more of an in-n-out kinda deal.  However, if I have time and am by myself I will always carry in my binder, so I can look around (esp. in the clearance section) to see if there are any great deals to be had.

So like I said, this is the method and organization that works best for me. The most important thing is find the setup and organization that works best for you.  If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to let me know!

Thanks for reading!!  God Bless & Happy Couponing!!