You won't find coupons for every item you want to buy, but you will be able to find coupons for many of the items you routinely buy. Coupons are not just for junk food! I have used coupons for fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee, meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, bread, toiletries, toilet paper, school supplies, dining, entertainment, recreation, and more.
Sometimes your coupons will give you an overage, which helps offset the cost of items you don't have coupons for. Seasoned couponers have even been known to use coupons to get items they don't use in order to get that overage, and then donate those items.
For now, let's get started with WHERE you can get coupons, and how to ORGANIZE them.
* First of all, don't ever pay for coupons from clipping services. There are plenty of ways to get coupons for free.
* Sunday newspaper. If you don't get the paper, do you have a neighbor who does? Perhaps they will give you their inserts. I have a retired couple across the street who don't use their coupons. Every Monday I find them in my mailbox.
* Check for abandoned newspapers at coffeeshops on Sunday afternoons. Many people leave their newspapers behind when they've finished reading them.
* Trade. Do you need diaper coupons but don't have a cat? Does your friend need cat litter coupons but doesn't have a baby? Trade your coupons!
* Blinkies. Many stores have "blinkies," those blinking coupon dispensers or tearpads on the shelves. Other stores, such as Walgreens or Ralphs, have their own coupon books, usually at the front of the store, which you can stack with manufacturer coupons.
* Check your mailbox. Coupon inserts sometimes come in the mail.
* Magazines. Many magazines have coupons. One of the best magazines for coupons is All You. You can sometimes find cheap deals on subscriptions at Best Deal Magazines or Amazon. Watch the blogs for special codes to get them dirt cheap.
* Online. Yes, you can print coupons from your computer! Just remember, only 2 prints per computer are usually allowed. It is illegal to photocopy printable coupons. Print in black and white to save on ink costs. Some great coupon printing sites are:
Smartsource
Redplum
Coupons.com
Shortcut$
CouponMom
Grocery Smarts
The Frugal Girls Coupon Database
Many company websites offer printable coupons. Check the websites of your favorite brands for coupons and sign up for special offers and promotions while you're there.
Now that you know where to find coupons, how will you organize them? You need to find a system that works for you. This is what I do:
I have a 4-inch 3-ring binder. I have divided it into sections for Samrtsource, Redplum, General Mills, and Proctor and Gamble. Those are the main inserts that come in my newspapers. I print the insert lists from Sunday Coupon Preview (I signed up for email reminders so they are always ready before Sunday). When my coupons arrive on Sunday, I use a marker to write the date on the front. I skim through for local coupons such as restaurants, and I then file the whole insert in a page protector with the list of what's inside on top.
I don't clip anything until I need it. The Grocery Smarts site, and many of the blogs I follow let me know which insert the coupons I need are in. That way I don't have zillions of individual coupons to file. I keep each insert for at least 3 months, or until I'm sure all the coupons in it are either expired or clipped.
I have a small plastic file box, meant for 4 x 6 index cards, with dividers for my clipped and printed coupons. I've seen other people use plastic shoeboxes, accordion files, binders, and an envelope system. Use whatever categories make sense to you. For instance, I separate "soup" from "canned" but I lump yogurt and biscuits together under "refrigerated." since they are next to each other in the store. There is no right or wrong way to file your coupons.
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