Day 1: How to Use a Coupon Binder System Effectively

If you’re just revving up to starting clipping and redeeming coupons, you need a firm foundation. And those whimsy according-style holders will only inspire a few choice words before encouraging you to quit. Get going on the right foot with a proper binder—it’s like learning to run with a solid pair of Nike shoes.

You’ll need:

• sturdy 1″ or 2″ binder with pockets
• pencil pouch
• scissors
• pen
• tape and sharpie or heading labels
• calculator
• college-ruled paper
• plastic baseball card inserts (5-10)
• thick plastic page protectors (3-5)

The biggest drawback to traditional coupon books is the difficulty of sifting through each category of coupons as they are impossible to view at once. With this coupon binder system you won’t need to hunt and peck with mounting anxiety at checkout:

1. Put calculator, scissors, and pen into the pencil pouch. The pen is dedicated to this binder alone—no wandering hands may snatch it for other creative endeavors!
2. Insert baseball card pages followed by page protectors and then blank paper at the back.
3. As you cut coupons, slide them into the baseball card inserts with the product information and expiration date showing. Display coupons on both sides of the plastic insert and place multiples behind each other. If you’re new to couponing it will be much harder to have a good idea of what categories you’ll need, so I recommend waiting to label your plastic inserts until you have a body of deals saved.
4. Insert store circulars into the page protectors behind the coupon pages. Circle the deals you’re interested in so you have a clear idea of which store offers what deals.
5. Match up the store circular sales with your coupons on the blank paper and then create a meal plan based on the coupons and sales available. Unless you write down what you’ll eat for the week, you won’t remember about the acorn squash and it will spoil.
6. Over the course of three months, compile a “common price list”; the average, non-sales prices of the foods and products you buy. Write five or six products every trip to not overwhelm yourself. Type the list and stick it in your binder to remind your brain that the bright yellow sales sign might not save as much as it claims.
7. Set a date each month to clear out your expired coupons.

That’s it! Get it set up while you help junior with his school binder and you’ll be well on your way to living like a coupon queen!

An alternative to making your own coupon binder system is buying one for $24+shipping from Save at Home Mommy.