Here is my burning question...
to those of you who have some kind of routine established for saving money, checking websites, clipping coupons, making lists, etc...I am wondering if you have a type of pattern or system you follow?
I have fliers, like CVS and Walgreens, plus my two coupon books, plus the extra monthly coupon book from Walgreens, I have the "master lists" from GBSavers or MoneySavingMom, I have notes with extra deals someone mentioned somewhere, I check websites online and print random coupons, sometimes they would "fit" in categories in the coupon box and other times they are for something entirely different like a restaurant or dept store coupon or a craft coupon...those come in big sheets and need to be cut out...
Then you have deadlines to meet for register rewards, ecbs, coupons, rebates, etc.
You sometimes have discs to cut out of cereal boxes or tokens, you save a variety of things to fill out rebates, get freebies, etc
Do you like to cut out your coupons with scissors or a rotary cutter?
Do you always shop on the same day, why do you shop on that day?
I'm just looking for some tips to see if I can get better at keeping all this "stuff" organized and to help me best use my time and energy while saving money!
THANKS!!!!
Posted by Vivian
4 comments:
I am VERY new at this and by no means and expert, but I have found 1 thing that helps me tremendously. I find some time early in the week (sunday afternoon or monday morning) and check my blog reader to find the deals of the week at CVS, Walgreens, and Target. I then take 3 pieces of paper, write the store name on top, write out the deals, print or find the coupons and fold the coupons into the sheet and put it into my coupon binder. That way when I go to the store I look for the sheet with that store's name on it, pull it out and can just focus on the deals without being distracted by other stuff. Plus all of my coupons are ready to go!
These are all good questions...
I think you need to focus on ONE thing at a time and as you master one move onto the next. It is a commitment, especially at first. You could spent a whole day getting organized, but it won't help if you don't stay on top of it.
While you may get answers from others here on what they do... each person has to find what works best for them.
On a side note, I know just the place at your house where you can set up a nice little coupon station. :) When do you want me to come over and help you set it up!?! :)
Like Shelly said, everyone has to find a system that works best for them. I try to look through the store flyers on Sunday and mark things that I know I want to buy and that I know I already have coupons for. I later visit the deal blogs to see if there's anything else I may want to pick up and print coupons for. I then make my official shopping lists and paperclip my coupons w/ my lists and place them in my coupon holders. Then when I go to the store, I have everything ready to go, and I still have the rest of my coupons with me if I happen to spot a deal or see something I didn't write down. If have two (or more) transactions planned at Copps, I write separate lists for each transaction & put those coupons w/ their respective list so I don't mix anything up.
I always shop at Copps on Weds. for doubling coupons. Festival I go to whenever it fits in my schedule for the week, usually Monday. When the weather is cold, I like to do both stores on Weds. and get it all done at once. I don't do Wags, but for CVS I have a slot in my coupon holder for ECB's and I just try to keep track of how much time I have to use them. I usually only have one or two slips at a time. I don't have a system for rebates, clip out disks, etc. I don't do them often, so when I do, I usually just have it on my desk or kitchen counter until I have it ready to send out.
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