Coupon Queen? I Think Not!

I have been blessed recently in the coupon world. A couple of people I know had some coupons that were about to expire. These women are obsessed with them (at least I think they are for how many I got). A real quick explanation on the coupon expiring thing. We can use them here at our store for 6 moths after they I asked a few people how they go about organizing these things, and all thing coupons. After all my questions and all the people, I came up with something I think will be easy, organized, and ready to go at all times.

Pretty much my method consists of putting coupons in baseball card holder sleeves. I put each coupon in a slot. If it is a different amount, then it goes in a new slot. It took a lot of work to get them all done, but they are now in their slots, and they are organized by isle in the store. It is very easy to see them all, and it is easy to see what I have.

Last night was my first run at the coupon game. I needed a lot of things for dinner. We didn't really have anything dinner wise at the house, and we usually only buy a few meals at a time. It means we are making more frequent trips to the store, but it also cuts down a lot on our waste. We know what meals we have ready to make, and we know what we need for each.

Anyway, I took off down the isles and searched for coupons of things I needed. I got a couple of looks from a guy, and finally he said while looking at my binder, "That's a REALLY big shopping list." I let him know what it was, and by the time I had explained that it was my coupons, he was calling his wife over to look. Another lady told me that I am the most organized person she knows. I laughed because I am very much NOT organized. I guess with a typed up grocery list and a binder of coupons, anyone can look organized :)

Now for the grand total saved. Keep in mind that we cannot double coupons, use two for the same item (unless they are running that deal), etc. So just with the coupons I used I saved 10 dollars. I came in very excited and told my husband what I had saved. He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, that's not a lot." I then told him because of the ten I saved, we had some extra money for our date night. If you applied that 10 dollars to the fee for our childcare, it only cost us 30 dollars for a full night of childcare for both children. I then went on to tell him it would buy a 12 pack of his favorite German beer. That got him :p So, I think with a few more coupons, perfecting my art, and some luck, I can save like a pro in no time!

I'm going to use now to shamelessly say if you have any coupons you don't use, are about to expire, or just don't want, please send them to me. We don't get much in the way of coupons over here, so my best luck is finding ones that people don't need. My new forming habit will thank you!

A page from my new coupon book