How To Organize Coupons
Efforts to save money have become essential for the financial survival of many families. Grocery stores, big-box stores and specialty shops are offering money-saving coupons to draw new customers into online and traditional storefronts. Finding the coupons when the time comes to use them has been a challenge for anyone who has not taken the time to organize the stack. There are some specific steps required to organize your coupons, including:
1. Collect every possible coupon – The number of sources of useful money-saving cou pons is difficult to overstate. The savvy shopper will collect every possible coupon that might be useful for saving or trading. Online and print versions should be gathered on a weekly basis.
2. Select the method – Some shoppers have devised unique methods for organizing the coupon collection. Each organization method prioritizes the cou pons into groups based on individual preference and shopping habits. The services of a professional organizer are not necessary for managing the coupon collection organization method.
• The Binder Method – A large, three-ring binder with clear pages that have pockets is used to contain grouped cou pons. The categories are established by the coupon collector.
• The File Box – Any size of file box can be used. Dividers are used to separate one coupon group from the others. The collector creates the sorting method.
• The Hybrid Method – A combination of multiple methods can be used to maintain the large collection and the cou pons that will be used in the current shopping trip.
• The Scrapbook Album – Similar to the Binder Method, the starting point is a book that is designed to be a scrapbook. The internal pages can differ based on the categories defined by the collector.
• The Day Planner – A book that was once used as a day planner can be converted into a convenient coupon organizer. Folders and clear pages can be acquired from the right sources.
• The Mega Coupon Bag – A modest approach that is not visibly obvious when taken into stores, the mega coupon bag has a small organizer inside a bag that keeps the collection together.
• The Coupon Clutch – A small book that has folders for food and other cou pons. This approach is easy to use and stands up under intensive use.
• The Couponizer – Offering the best of both worlds, the Couponizer has a binder inside a designer tote bag.
3. Organize coupons logically – Categories must follow the shopping habits of the collector.
4. Refer to the collection often – Prior to every shopping trip, the coupon collection must be reviewed for possible useful coupons.
5. Purge unusable – Keeping the collection organized must include removing all of the unusable cou pons. Expired cou pons might be usable. The stores will allow many expired cou pons to be used long after the expiration date.
6. Balance time investment – Collectors should balance the potential monetary savings against the amount of time required to manage the entire process.
7. Share with others – Trade valuable cou pons with other collectors. Create a category that holds cou pons that might be of interest to friends.
Organizing a coupon collection might require the services of a professional organizer if the breadth of the collection is allowed to become unwieldy. Frequent efforts to stay organized will save time in the effort to organize your coupons.
About the Author: Brenda L. Martinson is owner and founder of San Diego Personal Business Services, a Personal Assistant/Business Consultant company located in Carlsbad, CA. For more than 20 years, she has been in leadership roles for small to mid-sized companies in the health-care, real estate and training & personal development industries. Working with top-level executives and managers, Brenda has designed and implemented organizational and efficiency systems to help companies improve profits and optimize their people.
As a Professional Organizer in San Diego/Business Consultant, she utilizes her skills and experience to assist busy and/or retired professionals save Time, Money, and Space. Brenda’s organizational systems have helped people manage the personal and business clutter of one’s life through a customized and easy to maintain process. This process includes setting up systems and gathering resources to organize and improve one’s working/living spaces.
You may reach Brenda at her website Visit San Diego Personal Business Services.
Chris McCrone
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