My Empty Coupon Binder….

Today was finally the day! I have felt so lost the last few months. Why lost? Let me explain. You see I had a system set up for all my coupons; my trustworthy coupon binder.

I have everything organized by categories like: cleaning supplies, laundry, beverages, dairy, cereal, etc.. And my old routine was that each Sunday when I would get my coupon inserts from the newspaper,  I would go through and cut out the coupons and then file them away. That when ever I needed a coupon, I knew exactly where to look.

But, I had heard that some couponers preferred a different method. They simply keep each insert and then when they need a coupon, they go back to that insert and cut it out. So I decided to try this method…hence the big stack of inserts pictured below. I thought maybe I was wasting my time by cutting out and organizing the coupons for my binder.

This method did have its pros. 
-Less cutting
-Less time spent on organizing coupons 

But it also had its cons. 
-Big stack of coupon inserts (messy) 
-Storing a bunch of coupons I would never use 
-Spending lots of wasted time flipping through the insert to find the coupon I wanted
-Just an overall feeling of being unorganized

So today I decided I am going back to my trustworthy binder method of organizing my coupons. I cleaned out all the expired coupons and that made my binder look pretty empty!

But then I proudly replenished the binder with all new, up to date coupons! I now know what coupons I have and I know exactly where they are! And I like that!

Now, my coupon method may not work for you. So, I challenge you to explore differnt methods until you find the one that is easiest for you to maintain. Afterall, if you can’t find your coupons, you can’t save money!!