Organizing Coupons

How many thousands of grocery coupons are thrown out without being used, because the owner didn't have them organized and ready to use at the right time? Organizing coupons is the only way to make sure you get the benefit of the money they save you. Sarah Delaporte tells her method of organizing coupons in this short article.

A Hassle-Free Way to Organize Your Grocery Coupons

by Sarah Delaporte

The first step to successfully organizing your grocery coupons is to buy a coupon organizer. Then, choose an organization system that works for you. There are several ways you can organize your coupons. Some people like to sort their coupons by department, others sort them alphabetically by product name and some people sort the coupons by expiration date.

Here is a quick and easy method which I think will minimize the work and maximize your savings. First, choose to sort your coupons by department or alphabetically whichever works for you. Then, you may want to sort your coupons to match the departments of your grocery store. For instance, if the first aisle of your grocery store is the produce department place that section in front of your coupon organizer. This is a great way to prevent digging in your coupon organizer for the "perfect coupon". All of your coupons will be at your finger tips.

The ideas I suggested above are great ideas, but there still is the problem of sorting through the coupons at the end of the month and throwing away your expired coupons. WHAT A PAIN! IT CAUSES SO MUCH HASSLE and TAKES A LOT OF TIME! YUK! Here is a great solution to this problem.

First take an index card and mark it with twelve different colors each representing a different month. Place the color next to the month name it represents. If you can try to make some connection between the color and the month. December could be Red for Christmas, April blue for rain ("April showers bring May flowers) and March green for St. Patrick's Day. Example: Jan. - Brown Feb. - Pink (for Valentine's Day)

Then, every month before you clip your coupons take out two colors of markers. For instance, if it is the month of January, you would use a brown marker and a pink marker. Then mark (place a dot or a mark) the coupons in the Sunday paper coupon supplement according to the month it expires. NOTE: Most Sunday supplements ONLY have two expiration months, because all the coupons were made for the same week. This makes it easy for you! Now, when you go through your coupons and try to spot those expiring coupons at the end of each month, you can easy pull them out at a glance.

Sarah Delaporte is the editor of Freebie Coupon Corner Newsletter. She loves helping consumers save money on their groceries with her helpful publication. For more information about Freebie Coupon Corner Newsletter, you can visit the website at: http://www.couponcorner.net  or send a long self addressed stamped envelope for a free newsletter sample copy to: Freebie Coupon Corner; Try a Free Issue, PO Box 542; Oregon IL 61061