A Coupon Organizer Takes the Guesswork Out of Clipping Coupons
More and more people are becoming thrifty, well-informed consumers. They are taking the time to comparison shop, both online and in traditional stores, before spending their hard-earned dollars. Coupons have become a large part of this drive toward economic responsibility. Many people will spend time on evenings and weekends, reviewing the local newspaper and industriously clipping out any useful coupons they find.
If you have joined the movement toward creating a budget and finding new and creative ways to stick to it, then you have probably become a coupon clipper yourself. You’ve probably felt that gleeful delight that comes with the knowledge that the purchase you’ve just made was an undoubted bargain and you’ve probably already discovered what an addictive feeling that can be. Having said that, you are probably also familiar with the feeling of disappointment that accompanies the knowledge that you have forgotten to use a really good coupon and that the coupon has expired before you can take advantage of the savings.
Having a reliable coupon organizer can really take the guesswork out of using coupons. You can easily shop for a coupon organizer, sometimes called a coupon wallet, at several online retailers and you can probably also find them in many traditional retail variety stores as well. If you like, you can probably even create your own useful coupon organizer by purchasing a three ring binder, some clear plastic pouches, and some tabbed sheets.
However, a manufactured coupon organizer will probably have the advantage of being more portable than a binder. These organizers come fully equipped with index tabs that can help you sort your coupons efficiently. Potential coupon categories include:
- Food
- Health and Beauty Aids
- Over the Counter Medications
- Cleaning Products
- Pet Supplies
- Professional Services
- Automotive Parts, Accessories, and Services
A helpful coupon organizer might also include a few blank tabs that you can fill in with additional categories yourself.
Organizers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, so you will have to do a bit of shopping around to find the ideal one for your purposes. Some are equipped with small partitions into which you can slip each coupon, while others are fashioned more like a book with clear plastic pages so you can clearly see your coupons.
Even while using an organizer, you may still find that a coupon or two will slip through the cracks and go unused. If you are a really dedicated coupon clipper, this may be the result of not cleaning out your organizer often enough. If you do not clean out your organizer, then it can quickly become a jumble of both valid and expired coupons. Here is a helpful process for helping you weed out expired coupons.
- On a 3 X 5 index card, write out each month of the year
- Beside each month, place a different colored mark using a highlighter, marker, crayon, or colored pencil
- As you clip coupons, note their expiration month, and mark the coupon with the appropriate monthly color
- At the beginning of each month, quickly weed out last month’s expired coupons based on last month’s color
You’ll never have to sift through a variety of valid and expired coupons looking for the right one again.
Coupon clipping can be a rewarding task, but it is even more fun when it is approached from a well organized and efficient angle. Buy a suitable coupon organizer and you’ll soon find that you are taking better advantage of all the bargains out there.
