Faith and Finance
Couponing can save you some serious money each year. We’ve saved well over $3,000 this last year though couponing, but it wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t organized. While we aren’t extreme couponers, we’ve learned that if you want to save money and time, you have to learn how to organize your coupons.
We have a coupon binder that we use to store coupons according by categories. It will be available to download (yes, for free) but for those who are interested in making your own coupon binders, we’ll share some tips too.
Organizing Coupons
There really are a lot of ways that you can stay organized with your coupons, but the key is to stay on track with the method you choose. Most people find it easiest to keep food and non-foods separate and to also create sub categories for each. We actually have two 3-ringed binders, one for food and one for non-foods. Since you never know what items are going to be discounted 60-80% (or even become ‘money-makers’) we do our best to clip all the coupons for items that we use. Yes, we end up tossing a bunch of coupons out each month, but since we stay organized, it’s much easier to keep the binders updated.
My wife started organizing coupons with a small accordion like folder that was about 3 inches tall by 7 inches long. It was compact enough for her to bring to the store. Since she saves a lot more coupons (see why in our eBook How to Coupon) she stores everything in the two binders and takes out a handful of coupons for each trip she makes during the month.
Coupon Binder Categories
Whether you decide to use a small folder or a 3-ringed binder, it’s helpful to have a list of coupon categories to keep organized. We use baseball card dividers to store the coupons in each category. It just makes it really simple to flip to the section and place each coupon in a separate holder.
Here’s the list of categories that we use.
- Chips/Crackers/Pretzels/Popcorn
- Granola Bars/Fruit Snacks
Coupon Divider Index - Breakfast
- Baking
- Prepared Sides & Rice
- Pasta & Sauce
- Soup Condiments
- Salad Dressing
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit/Applesauce
- Candy
- Drinks
- Fresh Produce
- Refrigerated Meats
- Refrigerated Dairy
- Refrigerated Other
- Yogurt
- Frozen Vegetables
- Frozen Pizza/Meals
- Frozen Other
- Reynolds/Ziploc/Glad
- Paper Products
Coupon Divider Page Example - Air Fresheners/Candles
- Surface Cleaners
- Dish Washing
- Laundry
- Miscellaneous
- Batteries
- Office/School Supplies
- Pets
- Baby Formula/Food
- Baby Diapers
- Cold/Flu/Allergy Medicine
- Vitamins/Supplements
- First Aid
- Oral Care
- Hair Care
- Soap & Body Wash
- Shaving
- Deodorant
- Lotion
- Beauty
- Feminine Hygiene
Download the Coupon Binder Dividers We Use
If you want to get organized right away, simply download the coupon dividers we created for our eBook How to Coupon. Be sure to download the eBook for even more tips and strategies to save thousands of dollars each year!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In