Super Couponing Part Two: Getting Organized

Super Couponing Part Two: Getting Organized

Before you dive right into Super Couponing you want to make sure that you don’t put the cart before the horse. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been unprepared and missed out on not only good deals, but things that my family needed. In the end, I had to spend more money. As far as I’m concerned, disorganization costs me money. A coupon unused is like throwing money down the drain. I might as well just hand the store my checkbook.

So let’s get started getting organized. There are really only a few key things I recommend everyone do.

First, you’ll need to decide how you want to store your coupons. I know many people who follow the Grocery Game that don’t actually clip their coupons. They keep them together and dated and then file them that way. When a sale comes up, they simply look up the date of the insert and choose the coupons out of it and then cut them. Personally, I don’t do the Grocery Game myself and I don’t keep my coupons that way. Right now I store my coupons in two separate organizers. One is a medium sized expandable file with thirteen slots and the other is a smaller sized expandable file. I keep grocery/food item coupons in one and drug store/big box store coupons in the other. I file my food items according to the types of items. All of my breakfast items such as cereal, oatmeal, etc. go in the “breakfast” category. Yogurt would fall in the “dairy” category and so on. For my drug store/big box store coupons I file them alphabetically according to the name of the product or manufacturer. This is just what works for me. I know some people who use baseball card holders. Others use a file box. It’s not important how you store your coupons, it’s only important that the filing process be something that works for you.

Second, you’ll want to make a price list of your most commonly purchased items. This goes not only for items you would use a coupon for, but also other items such as produce and meats as well. If you partake in a service such as the Grocery Game this step may not be necessary for you, but I still think it’s a good idea to have your own price list either way. What you want to do is record the least amounts you spend for these items, the dates, and the stores. Next time a sale comes around you’ll then know if the price offered is the best price you can get. Obviously, you’re not always going to get rock bottom prices on the essentials. For my family I consider that to be milk, bread, and produce. I do, however, have a set price I’m not willing to go over for those items. You can include those in your price list as well. When non-essentials come up at a rock bottom price that is when you should take the opportunity to stock up. It takes a while to build a decent stockpile, but once you do, your grocery costs will drop drastically. I haven’t purchased tomato soup in almost a year. Another thing to consider are expiration dates. You don’t want to stockpile more than you could use before it all expires. Then it’s a bad deal! In any case, a good price list will help you make better buying decisions and it will save you time and money.

Third, if you can you should get a map of the store’s layout. Most stores have these at customer service if you ask. I know a few stores I frequent actually have them on the seats in the cart. If your store doesn’t offer a printed version, pick a day and take your notebook with you and write down the layout yourself. This is an important step that will save you time. Once you have the layout of your stores, it’s easy to make your shopping list according to the order of the isles of the store. I’m sure many people can relate to going back and forth to find items or even not knowing where the items are kept. Stores can be tricky though. Many times sale items won’t be in the regular isles, but rather on the end caps so you’ll want to watch for that as well. What you’re really doing with the map is getting to know your store. When you go out shopping, you want the process to be smooth and pleasant and this is one of those things that can absolutely help make that happen. Also, make note of where the store usually puts their clearance merchandise. I know my stores don’t have that listed on the map, but it’s a section I always walk through.

Coming up: Part Three – coupon acquisition