Thirfty Thursdays ~ Collecting Coupons

Once you have a means of organizing your coupons, it's time to start collecting them.

Where do I get coupons?

#1 - the Sunday newspaper

We're able to have the paper delivered to our home for $1 a week. I'm definitely saving enough on my grocery budget to cover that. :o) That's the only copy I buy though. I have a friend at church and a couple friends in Chris' office who will often give me their coupon fliers after they clip the few coupons they're interested in. (Thank you, friends!) And our town delivers a Wednesday paper for free. There will often be at least one coupon flier in there as well. So, some weeks I end up with five copies of the coupon fliers ... and some weeks I have just one. I don't worry about it too much. I have more than enough clipping to do without going out and intentionally buying more copies of the paper.

#2 - the Internet

For a while I was printing LOTS of Internet coupons ... not so much now. I was seeing far too many expired coupons printed with my ink on my paper leaving my black box each month. Now, for the most part, I'm only printing Internet coupons for items I intend to purchase at the store that week. (I find most of my Internet coupons through links at SouthernSavers.com, but more about that next week ...) I try to make very few exceptions to that because I invariably end up throwing them away ... and wasting our resources in the process.

#3 - the grocery store

Publix keeps a stash of store coupons behind the service desk. I simply ask for a copy of what they have available as I leave so that I can have them for next week's shopping trip.

When do I clip coupons?

I realize this won't work for everyone for various and sundry reasons, but I generally clip coupons as we're driving to and from church. We have a 20-minute drive and are often listening to audio stories with the kids, so I clip coupons. I simply bring a good pair of scissors, a grocery bag for the waste, and a small basket for the clipped coupons and wa-la! Portable clipping at it's best. As I get coupon fliers throughout the week, I slide the fliers into a folder on my desk, so they're not cluttering things up, but are quick to grab as I'm scurrying out the door. Clipping coupons is definitely something you can multi-task with though, so find a time when you can do double-duty.

Which coupons do I clip?

I clip coupons for ...

1. Products/brands I would buy even if I didn't have a coupon (i.e. Mahatma brown rice, Bisquick, Crest toothpaste, etc.)
   These are my few exceptions to my personal Internet printing policy--if my stock is low, I'll print these anytime I stumble across them.


2. Products/brands I would buy if there was a good deal (i.e. Breyers Ice cream, name brand cereals, spaghetti sauces, frozen veggies, salad dressings, mayo, etc.)
   My definition of a good deal: Sale + coupon < Aldi's price for the comparable product

I do NOT clip coupons for products that I wouldn't use even if they gave them to me for free (i.e. sugar cereals, artificially flavored or colored anything, etc.)

For personal hygiene products, we're a bit brand loyal on deodorant, so I only clip the coupons for those brands. However, I'll take whatever body wash they want to run a good deal on, so I generally clip all body wash coupons, regardless of brand.

When do I sort my coupons?

For what it's worth, I do NOT try to organize my coupons in the van. For me, it's a 5-minute job that's very easy with a large table in front of me. It's just not worth the hassle to try to do it on my lap in a moving vehicle.

Once all my coupons are clipped, I simply start at the top of the stack and go to the bottom one-by-one, putting the coupons in piles according to the categories in my black box. If it's a week with multiple fliers and a wide variety of coupons, my piles will cover most of the table. Once all of the coupons are in categorized piles, I simply slide the piles into the appropriate folders in my box. This is a very quick process for me--I know my categories really well and I know exactly where I want each coupon. It took me a bit longer at the beginning.

And that's about it. Start small ... buy one Sunday paper, and clip coupons for products you're already buying. Sort them and file them. Next week we'll talk about using them effectively.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments here, on Facebook, in person, by email ...