Saturday, June 22, 2013

How to Make a Coupon Binder

coupons, saving money, coupon binder


I have been couponing for over a year, but could never come up with a system I liked for holding/organizing them.  I didn't think I had enough coupons to make a binder, so I usually just kept them all in an envelope and took out what I thought I would need on my shops, and kept in a separate spot in my wallet.

However, over the last few months this has not been working so well. I decided to go ahead and make a binder.



What you will need:

  • 3 ring binder (one that zips closed is best)
  • page dividers
  • inserts (trading card inserts or 4*6 photo pages work well)
  • pen
  • scissors
  • coupons
  • ziplock bag
Getting Started:

Once you have all of the required tools to build your binder, you need to decide how to organize it.  Personally, I organized mine the same way I do my shopping list - by grocery department.

  • Produce/Bakery/Meat
  • Fridge/Freezer
  • Grocery
  • Household
  • Personal Care
  • Miscellaneous (coupons that may be for a specific store)
  • For Trade (extras or ones that I won't use)
step by step coupon binder guide

Once I had my dividers labelled, I placed them in the binder.  
I gathered all my coupons, lay them out on the floor and grouped them together based on my above categories.  
I then made sure that I had all duplicates together, and decided whether I could realistically use them before expiring.  If no, they went to the trade pile.
Once all coupons were organized, I started inserting them into my trading card inserts (I used the scissors to trim up the coupons neatly; some still needed to be folded to fit though)
Once I had each category filled, I placed them into the binder behind the appropriate divider.

The last pages at the back are my "trades"; however, I won't trade them all. Often times I become a "coupon fairy" and leave them on the shelf with the appropriate item for someone else to use. I have been the recipient a few times of other coupon fairies, and it is a great way to give back to others.

The ziplock bag is kept inside so I can add any coupons I find from tearpads and what not.

Now that I have everything organized, I am amazed at the amount of coupons I actually had. I found FIVE envelopes on the go in different places - crazy.

This is just a very basic how to; there are actually many different ways to organize them. Some people use coupon wallets/clutches; others use boxes or envelopes.

Do you coupon? How do you organize yours?

8 comments:

  1. i really need to make one of these. ive only been couponing heavily for a couple months, and im still sooo disorganized

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's amazing how much easier it is. I wish I hadn't waited so long

      Delete
  2. I need to get organized like you are. Mine are sorted by expiry date in an envelope in my purse. I like the way you are doing it and will try to find the time to do the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least you have a way of organizing - I just had mine all thrown into the envelope. Thanks for visiting

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the great idea's.....need to move up so lots of great suggestions! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. no problem - hope it helps give you some ideas!

      Delete

I love hearing from my readers, feel free to leave me a comment! (Comment Moderation is enabled, it will be published after approval)