Coupon Binder For One!

I'm about to look like a huge nerd. I am going to try really hard not to care.

I kept telling myself I didn't need one. But the pile kept growing and the search for what I needed got longer and longer every time I went to the grocery store.

It soon became apparent that I needed a coupon binder.

My binder! And my overflowing desk trash can, because I am a college student and sometimes if the trash doesn't smell, it doesn't get taken out. In my defense the only thing in that trash can is paper anyway... hehe

This binder has become a life (and money) saver for me over the past few months and I'm going to give you a general overview of how mine works!

Supplies needed for a kick-ass coupon binder:

• Large, durable binder (mine is a 1.5" Target knockoff of the Avery Durable binders, but I know that I need a 2" or bigger very soon)
• Pencil pouch
• Sheet protectors
• Binder Pockets
• Dividers
• Trading card pages
• A lot of time on your hands
• The desire to not spend a ton of money on things you buy often

I got tired of cutting out every single coupon that I printed out in addition to coupons in ads/other places so I started numbering them and hole-punching them to be cut out and used as needed!

Let's start with the life cycle of a coupon in my possession:

1. I receive the coupon (Sunday newspaper, printing it out, stealing from my boyfriend's copy of the Spanish Saturday paper that he for some reason receives)
2. The coupon goes in the "inbox" file holder that I have hanging above my desk (I am a 30-year-old business man crossed with a 30-year-old professional homemaker stuck in a 20-year-old psychology major's body)
3. I work up the motivation to take it out of the inbox file.
4. The coupon is entered into my spreadsheet (more on that in another post... I'm still trying to get that damn spreadsheet up to date!) and either clipped or hole-punched (if it's hole-punched, it gets a page number).
5. If the coupon is clipped, I fold it up and stick it into the right section in my binder. If it's punched and numbered, I'll stick it in the front of my binder, in the right place for its page number.
6. I work up the energy to look through weekly ads and decide which coupons and sales correspond with items I need or will need in the very near future.
7. The coupon is taken out of its home in my binder and moved to its correct section in my small 4"x6" expanding file, along with a shopping list, which is thrown into my purse.
8. I begrudgingly hand over the coupon to the cashier and save a lot of money on things.

When you first open my binder, this is what you'll see. In the pockets on the left are usually just a couple of coupons/ads that need to be sorted. These are usually "special" or different from the others in a way... for some reason I felt the need to keep these separate, so, that's what's happening.

On the right is a pencil pouch, with scissors, a highlighter, and a pen. I usually only use the things in here when I'm planning for a shopping trip or stealing coupons at Ryan's house. I hope I never have to use these things to clip a coupon in the middle of a store. I'd sooner leave my cart, go out to my car, clip the coupon, and go back in.

Behind the pencil pouch is a clear binder pocket which is pretty much only used for coupons that have already been cut out and need to be put in their section. Usually these are coupons that I took out with me and didn't get a chance to put back in the binder yet.

Behind the clear pouch starts my coupon pages! I used to clip every single coupon that ever came my way, but this week when I started working on my spreadsheet, I decided I'd only clip the printed coupons as I needed them. What I do now is number the pages, enter them into my spreadsheet (including the page number), and just hole-punch them so they can be inserted directly into the binder.

After the coupon pages is a screen protector holding some inserts from the Sunday paper. I just write the date on the front cover of the inserts and put them in here. Once I put the coupons in each insert into the spreadsheet, I will clip out the coupons that I KNOW will be useful, and put the rest of the insert into a screen protector and leave it there.

My categorized sections begin after the newspaper inserts! Each section starts with a divider - it turns out I need bigger dividers. But that hasn't really bothered me, and I've pretty much memorized the layout of my binder, so it works for me.

The dividers are labeled to correspond with their respective categories. Innovative, right?

To make myself feel better about the fact that I have a coupon binder, I made a "cover" page for each section. They are pretty and I love them.

The reason I started this blog is because I was interested in things like keeping an organized home and saving money on groceries and other necessities by using coupons, but I didn't need those things for an entire family - just me - and it's impossible to find resources on the internet for things like this for a person like me. So, that's where my categories come in. A lot of coupon binder tutorials you'll find online include super-specific sections that are helpful for families with young children and varying needs, but I'm a single college student and honestly, I only really need one "cleaning" section rather than "bathroom cleaning," "kitchen cleaning," "cleaning for the neighbors," "cleaning at my son's elementary school," etc.

However, I took cues from all of those super specific posts and came up with these less-specific categories that have worked well for me:

• Food
• Pretty self-explanatory; since I tend to only eat the same specific foods for the most part, I try to only print/clip/save coupons for food and drinks that I know I'd actually ever buy. I also save coupons for things that I might buy if I can get a great deal on - usually treats, like cookies or candy. I am trying to get healthy, but I also do really love Oreos. And I thoroughly believe in the treat yoself philosophy. This category also holds my prized printable "$9 off a handle of Jägermeister" coupon. It expires a few months before 21, but, ya know. I have older friends. I'm sure they'd appreciate it. (And I mean it's kind of a life goal of mine to have a Jäger bomb with my father)
• Health & Beauty
• This is generally where products that you'd find in my medicine cabinet or under my bathroom sink go, and probably the category where coupons have saved me the most money as well! Shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, deodorant, razors, etc.
• Medical
• This one's really simple. Medicine, vitamins, first aid. That's it. This section is generally pretty small, but also very helpful.
• Cleaning
• There is where you will find all things cleaning! I've saved a lot of money in this part, too, because there's ALWAYS a sale and there are ALWAYS coupons. If it has to do with cleaning, it's here. Exception: Paper towels. Those go in the next section.
• Home
• Household goods! Things like lightbulbs (one of my most cherished couponing moments is when I got enough CFL lightbulbs to change out all the lightbulbs in my bedroom, my dining room, and my living room [and still have two packs to spare] for $5), paper towels, toilet paper, batteries, Zip-Loc bags, air freshener, laundry detergent, etc. It's all in here. I find that I use this section a lot less than I'd like to, but when I do, it's soooooo worth it.
• Office
• Thanks to my addiction to planners and office supplies, this section is really great. Unfortunately, however, office supplies are expensive and so this is one of my smallest sections. But around back-to-school time, I was able to get $2 off a pack of my favorite pens (which are generally like $6 for a pack of three, which is heartbreakingly expensive) a few times, so anytime I see a coupon for office supplies I put it here. Pens, paper, notebooks, binders, printer ink, etc. will be found in this section.
• Pets
• I created this section hoping that there would be more pet coupons out there, but there really aren't. Luckily, caring for four mice and two rats is not very expensive, and I have come across coupons here and there. Currently I just have a coupon for bedding and a coupon for food in there.
• Miscellaneous
• If it didn't fit elsewhere, it goes here. This section is usually very small, because my categories pretty much cover everything I need. This is where I put coupons like "15% off your entire purchase" from stores like Kohl's, Joann's, Michael's, etc. The only exception is if they expire soon after I get them or they're from a restaurant - I usually just pin those to my cork board or keep them in my wallet so that I don't forget them if I happen to need one.

Within each category, you'll find sheets of trading card pages. I just fold up the coupons so that I can see the savings and the product and slip them in. I like that I can just glance at the page and locate a coupon, and that each trading card page can contain up to 18 coupons.

Behind all of my categories is where I keep printouts of the digital coupons I have. Publix does a program where you select coupons online and then enter your phone number at checkout to apply them - I use these printouts to see which coupons I've added to my digital coupon bank. Sometimes I circle ones that I know I'll use on an upcoming trip, so that I remember not to use a printed coupon for it, as these are manufacturer's coupons.

Finally, in the back pocket of my binder, there is a little envelope that says "Ryan" on it. One of the main points in my intro to coupons was "don't be greedy," and I don't know if I can say that enough! If I come across a coupon for something Ryan uses, I'll stick it in this envelope. I give him the collection every once in a while with a quick run-down of what's in it. I have no clue if he actually uses them, but what am I gonna do with $2 off men's deodorant anyway? If I come across coupons that other friends might find useful, I'll just give them the coupons. Sometimes my roommate finds coupons on the fridge for things she can use for her pup, and I know those come in handy!

ANDDDDDDDD THAT'S IT for my coupon binder. I genuinely love this thing. It has helped me so much, and I hope that sharing it helps others, too!

Linked up @ A Bowl Full of Lemons!