- You need a holder. The little pocketbook things work for some, but to get the most out of your time clipping, I suggest either an 8x10 or a 12x12 photo album with individual picture sections. Or a binder with plastic sheets used to hold baseball cards. That way, you can have all of your coupons at a glance and don't have to shuffle through every time you want to find one. Here is a picture of mine...
- When you get the holder, you need to set it up to work best for you. I simply cut little pieces of paper, wrote on it and taped it to the page. Make categories that will work for you. Some examples are Beverages, Snacks, Canned Goods, Baby, Health and Beauty, Meats, Refrigerated, Frozen etc... You can see how I did it above...
- Depending on the size of your family, you may want to purchase multiple copies of the Sunday paper to have multiple copies of the coupons. Another way is to ask friends and relatives to save the coupon inserts for you. You can also sign up for them on your store's website. If you have a Kroger card, log on and make sure the address is updated. They send out really good ones every month according to what you buy. CVS, Walgreens, Meijer, Giant Eagle they all have ways to get coupons on their websites.
- Another way to get coupons is to print them off of the internet. You will need a working printer (black and white is fine) or you can go to the local library. There are many coupon websites that offer printables.
- To get the most out of it, you are going to want to cut out most if not all of the coupons. Even if you don't think you will need it or you won't use it. Sometimes things go on a sale and together with the sale, maybe a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon, you can get the item for 70%-80% off if not FREE!! Everyone likes FREE... I will cover in another post what to look for when deciding which ones to cut.
- I suggest getting a coupon cutter if scissors don't do it for you. I got mine from Pampered Chef, but I know you can get them other places. It is a little piece of plastic with a tiny blade in it that you just drag along the line and it is MUCH faster than using scissors for me. You will want to get a mat to put under it so you don't scratch your table or counter. If anyone scrapbooks, one of those rubber mats works well.
I will add more when I think of them, but this gives you a start. I really only spend about 4 hours a week AT MOST cutting, sorting, and organizing my coupons. I have 4 kids and including a toddler and a baby, so if this wasn't worth it I wouldn't do it... Read more to find out how to shop wisely with your newly cut coupons...
