Coupon Organization

I have to admit that I've never been a fan of grocery coupons. It seems like every time I've ever used them, I've ended up spending an extra hour and about $50 more than I normally spend. But I know that a lot of people are anxious to save money these days and coupons really are a great time to do that.

But (and this is a BIG but) in order to use coupons effectively, you have to be dedicated and organized about it. I found a fabulous tip today from Mary Hunt at Everyday Cheapskate. I get her newsletter and she always has some great tips to share.

She has a client who uses those plastic sleeves that are designed to hold baseball cards. She has one page for each category of coupons - frozen foods, baby items, etc. And then she just tucks her coupons into the little pockets and carries it in a slim notebook that fits into her grocery basket. Then when she gets to the appropriate section, she can just flip open her notebook and easily see what coupons she has and select the ones she wants to use and transfers those to an envelope at the front of the notebook.

I think that's a fabulous idea. I probably even have some of those sleeves around from when my kids collected baseball cards. Give it a try and let me know how you like it.