Coupons are a  great way to save money and they are free!!!.  If you assign a purpose to  the money you save, it  provides an incentive to use as many coupons as you can.  Ideas such as family travel or a family gift can get everyone involved in the process of using coupons and saving money.

The easiest way to organize and utilize your coupons is to have two coupon organizers or binders with baseball card inserts.  I prefer the accordion file type of organizer.  One is for the coupon’s that are about to expire and therefore must be used quickly.  The other coupon organizer is to keep coupons that have a few months to wait.

Here’s the process on how best to use the coupons. First, cut out the coupons that you use.  If you know of a group of people who use coupons, arrange to have a coupon exchange tea or luncheon where each person brings the coupons that they don’t use to exchange with others during the event. Or take coupons you don’t use to work and hopefully others will bring in coupons that you use. I just leave the ones that I don’t use near the item on the shelf so someone who is shopping for that item can pick it up when they purchase the item.

• Set aside  thirty  minutes once a week to organize coupons by going through the coupons in coupon storage device and removing any expired coupons. Then sort all new coupons that have been clipped according to their expiration date.
• Categorize coupons by type of item: cleaning, baking, canned goods, meats, personal products, frozen, dairy, pet, beverages and other or any additional categories that you prefer. Label your coupon organizer with these categories.
•  Those that will expire within the next 30 days will be put into the coupon organizer that is designated for immediate use.  The coupons that don’t expire in the next 30 days, will be stored in the other coupon organizer.  The first coupons that you will use though will be the ones that will expire to take advantage of the savings before they expire.
• Next, consider your shopping list.  Pull out any coupons from each file, so that you can save money on the items that you need immediately.
• Check store sales and pull out any coupons that are for items on sale to maximize your savings. Use the coupons from either coupon collection to purchase items on sale. WATCH for DOUBLE and TRIPLE coupon events in your local grocery stores. Use coupons for these items on sale to double and triple your savings.
• Plan your weekly menu according to the items on sale and that you have used coupons. This ensures that you are using what you have purchased and that you are taking advantage of sales.

Local business coupons are a great way to save money.  Collect all the coupons from restaurants, activities, stores, etc and check the expiration date.  If you have a wallet that you are not using or a clutch purse, this can be used to store these coupons in.  I prefer to use one that fits in my purse.  I have a wallet that someone gave to me that has several storage compartments and it works beautifully for this purpose.  You can store all the local business coupons in this wallet and keep it in the car or in a particular place, for example where you might store your keys.  When you leave the house, you can grab this wallet with your keys and have it on hand in case you need it.  Then, when you are out and about, you will save money by having the coupon that you need when you need it.  Also, you can browse through the coupons when planning a family evening or quiet evening out with loved ones.  If your wallet has a credit card organizer, you can keep gift cards and store discount cards here for easy access and use.  This saves much time and money as you are taking advantage of coupons and valuable store discounts.  Take time once a month to go through and clean out any that have expired.  Or utilize the time spent in heavy traffic, or  when you are waiting for an appointment or stopping by the coffee shop are all great times to sort these.

What to do with your savings?  If you want to see how fast your savings add up and the extra work that you are doing really saves you money, then keep a tally of all the money you save when you use a coupon.  When you save money from a local business by using a coupon, write that amount on the tally sheet.  When you use coupons at the grocery store, check the total money saved at the bottom of the receipt.  Add this to your tally.  At the end of the month, add up all your savings!!  This is a “paycheck” for you.  You have earned that extra money this month!! You could decide to write a check to yourself and save this money in a special account to purchase something special later.  How about a special outing or dinner that you have been longing for? You may want to open an account to collect your coupon savings.  This savings will grow rapidly and will encourage you to continue to utilize all the coupons for effective shopping.  At the end of this year, tally your total savings and you will be astounded at the money that you have saved and the opportunity that you have taken full advantage of.   One year, I saved over 1,200.00 dollars with coupons. This additional and free money will be a positive benefit your life and when you establish a routine for success, the time you spend organizing the coupons is of little consequence.

Beauty Routine:

Dental Hygiene Day! Thoroughly brush, floss and whiten your teeth today!

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