Guest Post: Keeping Your Coupons Under Control

Couponing has become a popular topic over the past few years. From television shows featuring enthusiastic couponers who save hundreds of dollars per shopping trip, to the wide array of coupon-based blogs, there is a lot of information to absorb for beginners. While couponing can save you a great deal of money in the long-run, getting started can be overwhelming with all the different methods available.

Amy's Kitchen Freebie Coupons (Photo credit: iateapie)

As someone who is just beginning their couponing endeavors, your best bet is to start basic. Aside from finding a viable source for your coupons, ensuring they are organized is a vital element to success. Fortunately, you need little more than a binder and some dividers or plastic sheets to keep your coupons in order and organized.

Whether you frequently use printable coupons through RewardIt, or prefer the traditional clipping from Sunday papers, the binder is the perfect basis of a successful system.

Wondering how such a simple method of organization can make a noticeable difference? Consider the following ways in which organizing your coupons in a binder can make your shopping experience not only more profitable, but efficient as well.

Easy Accessibility

Typically, a binder is arranged with any number of plastic sheets that your coupons are placed into. As such, while you are out shopping, you no longer have to sift through a pile of coupons. Instead, you simply flip through the pages of your binder to clearly see and compare each coupon you come across.

Know Exactly Where That Coupon Is When You Find the Product

This concept is somewhat vague, but is the core of what makes a binder an effective means of organization. There are multiple ways you can arrange your coupons within a binder. Below are a couple of the most popular ways that allow you to know exactly where a coupon is that requires matching for a product.

• Product Category: Arranging your coupons by product category is the recommended method of organization for beginners. For instance, if you come across a coupon for cheese or milk, you file it in the binder under "dairy". Whereas if you come across a coupon for shampoo, you file it under "hair care". This makes it easy to locate coupons for particular products when you are at the store since you know exactly where they will be in your binder.
  
• Alphabetical Order by Brand Name: This method of binder organization is effective, but better for experienced couponers who have products and brand names memorized. It works primarily the same way as arranging your dividers by product category, only you do it by brand or manufacturer name instead.

A binder is the perfect way to begin your career as a successful couponer. They are a simple means of organization that will increase your efficiency while shopping and keep you on top of current sales for maximum savings.

This post is a paid guest post written and sponsored by Rewardit