Coupon Organizer

     After searching online for methods of organizing coupons (google it, there are lots), I went to the Dollar Tree and figured out my own system from what they had available. It is working for me so far. Here are some pictures. (Having trouble with pics right now, will post them later)
      I am using a weekly planner (academic, so it goes through 2010) to write down weekly specials at local stores. Then I paperclip store coupons to the pages. I also write down any money related tasks for the week and coupons or specials that will expire. I use the days to menu plan and write out my grocery/shopping lists. This is working for me so far. The bonus is that after I’ve been using it for a while, I will be able to track produce price trends for next year.
      I was able to get adorable mini file folders for my coupon box and I labeled them all. There are a lot of lists online for categories to sort coupons into. I found that a lot of them didn’t apply to me, so I made my own based on what I buy/use. I’ve included a list in case it will be helpful for you. I’d love to hear from others as to how you organize your coups.
     I made a separate mini organizer for restaurant coupons. This way I can take that with us or into a restaurant without bringing my whole big filing box. I organized these into 5 sections (that’s how many slots the plastic organizer has): Fast Food, America, Desserts/Beverages, Mexican/Asian and Italian/Pizza. In retrospect, I should have done a fine dining slot, but then again we don’t “fine dine” that much around here.
     I got a small notebook with sections to make a price book. I am just getting started on that. My plan (after reading suggestions online) is to visit some of the stores that have the lowest prices and record their prices (breaking the price down into weight units). Then I will record lowest sale prices I have seen at other stores. I will add to this as I go along. Eventually, I would love to have a PDA with all of this information at my fingertips in spreadsheet form. Maybe my blog should be called The Frugal Geek.
     Dollar Tree had these great soft sided lunch box with a zipper top that is the perfect size to hold ALLof my coupon organizing equipment. I can even fit my entertainment book in the box when I need to. I added a calculator, small pair of scissors, pen and paper clips for a finished organizer. I made it about a week ago and have been using it daily since. I know I will have to keep up with it or I might lose track of deals, but overall I think it’s going to work great for me.

Categories in the Coupon Box

Note: I put coupons in each file by expiration date, those expiring soon in the front. As I plan my weekly shopping, I look in the file for that item, ie pasta, to see if I have a coupon for it.
Front Section
• Gift Certificates
• Affinity/Loyalty/Membership Cards (ones that I use often are on my key chain or purse)
• Rebates
• Receipts
Grocery Section
• Baking
• Beverages
• Breads/Grains
• Canned/Jarred Goods
• Cereal
• Condiments/Spices
• Dairy
• Desserts
• Frozen Foods
• Meat/Poultry/Fish
• Nutrition Bars/Powder
• Pasta/Pasta Sauces
• Prepared Foods
• Produce
• Snacks
Non-Grocery Section
• Auto/Tools
• Batteries
• Beauty
• Books/Gifts
• Cleaning Supplies
• Clothing/Shoes/Accessories
• Décor/Home
• Entertainment/Recreation
• Feminine Hygiene
• Household Goods
• Outdoor
• Paper Products
• Party Supplies
• Personal Hygiene/Bathroom
• Photo
• Prescriptions/Medical
• Professional Services
• Technology
• Travel
• Vitamins/Health/Fitness

Day 9 - Week 1 Complete

     I haven't been blogging for a few days since my eyes have really been hurting when I'm on the computer too much. The diet overall has been going very well, although I have to admit that $$$Dad is doing much better than me. He hasn't spent ANY money, except for gas in over a week. He needed new jeans but dug around in his wallet and found a Costco cash card to pay for those. He is the ALL STAR in the diet at our house. I have spent money as needed on groceries, gas, etc, but have been carefully shopping to spend as little as possible, just not as careful as him.
     However (big confession) I did stop at the Goodwill yesterday (first mistake). I was looking for something specific and got sidetracked by an awesome bag/purse. It's a backpack purse, which I really can use since I like to walk alot of places but hate carrying a purse. However I didn't technically NEED it. I caved and spent $6 on it. So now, I have to find a place to cut or make the $6 so I won't feel guilty. I did not, however buy the amazing coffee table they had for $150. I was sorely tempted as it was just the type I've been looking for. Of course it would be at Goodwill during the diet to test me like that.
     In other news, Small Change started school today. They feed him breakfast and lunch for free (part of the program he's in) so that should save on groceries a bit. I am inspired by all of you fellow dieters and your posts. Let's make this a game and try everywhere to get deals. It never hurts to ask!!!

Day 3

Day 3 has begun, well actually 4 for me since I started early, of the $$$ Diet. So far this week, I have spent $23. $21.45 on gas and the $1.55 on groceries. That's pretty amazing for me. I am truly starting to get how much of a habit spending money is. I spend on stuff I totally don't need. I think there is a little "rush" that comes with spending that I miss already, though. I did read a study a while back that said that if you can trick yourself into feeling like you're spending money when putting it into savings, then you will still get a spending rush. I am going to make some charts today to track our progress in saving at home. That should help! I'll post pics when I get it done.

Day 2

     Yesterday went really well. I posted that Jake and I went to the bookstore, read for a couple of hours and didn't spend any money. While menu planning, I realized that I have alot of food here. I think for the first couple weeks I am going to try to use up alot of food I have and only buy what is necessary. That way I am using things before they get freezer burned or expire. Often I forget what I have and buy more. I'm also guilty of having to throw out alot of food because of poor planning.
     I am finding that I'm experiencing a strainge emotional phenomenon, though. It happened when I started losing weight too. I think it's the fear of expectation. With weight, I was afraid that if I lost weight but couldn't maintain the loss then I would feel and appear like a failure. With money, it's kind of the same fear, I think. If we cut back and save, then I will be "aware" of the waste and will have to clip coupons and quit spending frivolously forever, right?
     As I was losing weight, I just recognized the fear and didn't allow it to change my behavior. I told myself that failure wasn't an option and as I dealt with the emotional reasons I overate, the urges diminished. I don't fear gaining the weight back anymore. I recognize that I will always need to make good food and exercise choices, but it doesn't seem so overwhelming anymore.
     I think I will have to apply that same practice to saving money. Just take it step by step and not allow the fear of expectation to alter the course. Changes always seem overwhelming at first, but I'm sure as I practice living frugally it will become easier.
     All of this leads me to the larger question. What is it about human nature that leads us to crave excess in pretty much every area of life?

FREE Stuff

    One of the 4 steps in our $$$ Diet is exploring creative ways to bring in money. For the next few days, I am focusing on FREE stuff and FREE money. I did some “googling” last night and spend a couple hours online signing up for free stuff. I will let you all know how it goes when the “stuff” starts pouring in. Since my birthday will fall during the Diet, I am planning ahead and signed up for a bunch of restaurants that offer free birthday treats or even full meals. More on that in November. I also signed up for free samples of everything from cereal to tampons. Below are some links to some great lists of free stuff.
    I have a few tips:
    First, do it at a time when you can sit at the computer for a while (watching TV or fighting insomnia works well), it takes a while to fill in all the forms.
    Second, have a “spam” email account you use for online stuff. You don’t want your regular email account flooded with junk. I use a yahoo email, but there are lots of them out there for free. I go a bit further in this and have a “spam” name I use. OK, I’m outing myself a bit, but sort of as a joke years ago, I started writing my undercover name, Gwendolyna Massatoni on drawings at the fair. I wanted to see how much junk mail I would get. Well, about the time Gwen started getting credit card offers I got worried. No wonder identity theft is so rampant. Since then, I always use that name when signing up for freebies online. I hope the restaurants won’t check ID on my birthday. I did let our mail carrier know so they won’t send my free stuff back (God forbid!) I also use a fake phone number if I have to put one in so we won’t get telemarketing calls. A few places, require you to set up an account on their website. For ease of remembering, I use what my husband the computer guru calls a “naming convention.” I use the same user name and have a standard password I add the company name to: ie chickenpoxredrobin or freestuffkashi333.
    Finally, be careful on these list sites. Some of them have viruses or are purely fronts for information gathering. Don’t download or accept or open anything. Most of the good lists link you to a company site where you ask for samples directly from the company.
    Over the next few days, I will be posting other creative avenues I find to get free stuff or money. Please post anything that has worked for you!
Great Birthday Freebies List
List of free stuff/samples
Another list

Day 1.2

    Apparently unable to read a calendar, I “started” the $$$ Diet yesterday, one day early. I’ll call it a practice day. I will happily report that the practice day went well. I made a menu for the week, clipped some coupons and went to the store to get ONLY the items I had coupons for, double coupons no less! I bought a bagful of groceries and spent (drumroll here) $1.55. Yup, no lie, $1.55. I used double coupons from Albertsons. They have been putting 3 coupon doublers in every flyer, the weekly mailer and the Sunday paper. You can get more by picking up more flyers. They double a manufacturer’s coupon up to $1.00 SCORE! Then I had some $5 off coupons from a previous receipt on a previous purchase. I realized they were expired, but guess what, the register accepted them and the cashier said it was fine. I have found about 50% of the time expired coupons work, so don’t toss them, especially rebate type coupons.

    On a sad note, I learned that Albertson’s no longer accepts competitor coupons like they used to. I am not sure all of the checkers know this, as I used some just weeks ago (apparently the policy changed months ago), but it is the official policy now. Bummer, when a good thing comes to an end!

Day 1 - The Plan

The $$$ Diet has begun. So far so good. We will reach our savings goal by:

1. Avoiding unnecessary or unplanned spending entirely for 3 months
2. Shopping frugally and spending as little as possible on the things we do need to buy or do.
3. Cutting back on regular monthly expenses (ie: utilities, insurance) any way possible.
4. Exploring creative avenues to bring in more money.

Today, I will write a menu for the week based on food we already have and what is on sale this week at the grocery stores near my house. Albertsons has double coupons again, so I will look for things I can stock up for the next 3 months. I’m also going to clean and organize my house (the never ending project). I’ll try to find some things I can sell on craigslist or ebay while I’m at it. At the very least, I can donate items to Value Village and get a 10% off coupon.