Organization and Other Tid Bits I've Learned...

I have yet to embark on a serious extreme couponing venture. To tell you the truth, I really am scared to do it. The key to any couponers success as many of you may have guessed, is organization. Whether you are using the small accordian coupon holders, a binder or even a plain old envelope, being organized with your coupons, having your list, coupon policy, and map of the store are all great ways to keep your shoppin trip running smoothly. I cannot stress enough to check the store you are going to be shopping at, for changes in their coupon policies. Keep them them with you, because as shoppers are starting to coupon more, stores are changing their policies.

Another reason why I haven't done a huge couponing trip is that I have a huge stockpile of coupons and I am running out of room in my medium accordian enveloped. I just ordered a "pro" coupon binder with 100 sleeves on Ebay for $15. There are a lot of different styles of binders and sleeves to choose from on there, so shop around and find what's best for you.

One thing that I have run into with some of the internet store coupons is that sometimes they don't scan. I think I have found a solution...make sure your ink in your printer is fresh and dark. The scanners will not pick up the barcode if just one line is off, too light or smugged.

One of the neatest things I have discovered about using your smart phone scanner is, that some commercials have the barcode on the screen of the TV. If you have a DVR, you can paused the commerical and then scan the coupon code to your smart phone and there you have another way to save and in some cases another way to "stack" for even greater discounts. I haven't tried the scanning on my smart phone because I just got it, so when I do, I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes. the barcode looks like this

You can also find these barcodes on almost any insert coupon and on some merchandise. It can be like a game finding different places that they show up. So, keep your eye out for them and of course, find out for sure where this great piece of technology can be used. :)


The last thing many people don't think of are rainchecks. A raincheck is an assurance to a customer that an item on sale that is sold out or out of stock may be purchased later at the sale price. People seemed to have forgotten this long time practice of retailers. I can remember that my mother always asked for a raincheck when an item was out of stock. I very rarely see anyone asking for them, but the way to big savings is to cover all your bases.

Happy Couponing!!! And please feel free to leave comments and any questions you may have.

Red Plum

Red Plumb is the name of the coupon insert that we all can get by buying the Sunday papers such as The Washington Post, Cumberland Times-News, Martinsburg Journal and Saturday's Winchester Star. They do have a great website that you can print off the same coupons that you get in the insert. The link is http://www.redplum.com/ As I have said before, Food Lion, Walmart and Martins all take internet coupons. County Pride does not take the internet coupons, but will double coupons up to $.50. County Pride is starting to give Food Lion a run for it's money and I have been saving a TON of money there lately.

I will say this over and over throughout this blog, make sure that you "stake out" your store and make sure that you organized your coupons according to the lay out of the store. You may also have to make separate binders for each store. There are always "hidden" deals somewhere where you least expect it, so know your store, know your deals.

Maps and Binders

Make a map of every store that you shop at AND buy a binder with inserts for each store. Write down your grocery list according to each aisle. You can buy binders and inserts at Walmart. The inserts should be the kind that you use to collect baseball card with. It sounds like a lot of work, but if you want to be a great couponer it will be worth it . You can also buy the small according style coupon holders and label each slot by each aisle of the store. This method cheaper, but by using the binder method, you can put the map of the store at the front of the binder AND you can see the coupons you are planning to use. Everyone develops the best way that works for them, so it's entirely up to to the individual.