I am always amazed by the number of people I encounter who don't utilize coupons and/or plan their meals for the week when they create their grocery lists. I honestly can't imagine how my husband and I would have anything to eat in our house if I didn't plan beforehand. I think I would find myself at the grocery store every other day, and frankly, I don't have time for that. (Or we would find ourselves eating out every night--and we don't have money for that.) In addition, I'm just a little Type A, and I feel somewhat stressed just imagining how I would feel any given day if I didn't know what I going to make for dinner in a few short hours away.
Yes, for me, there is a certain peace to be found in knowing exactly what I will eat for dinner each and every day of the week. But whenever I tell people that I operate this way, they react with shock. How could I possibly be so organized? How could I not?! I would go crazy. Here, I share with you my "system." It saves money and time, two resources I think we all wish we had more of.
Organizing Your Coupons
First, you have to clip coupons every week. I find this activity somewhat relaxing--kind of like window shopping. If the weather is nice, I'll sit out in the sunshine on the back deck and clip away. If the weather isn't so nice, I'll sit on my comfy couch with my dogs while I clip my coupons.
This coupon-clipping follows a pretty easy, organized process. As I clip the coupons, I sort them into piles based on the month they will expire. When I have finished clipping, I place each stack in the appropriate section of my coupon folder. The first pocket is the current month, the second pocket is the next month, and so forth. At the end of each month, I recycle any unused coupons from that month, and move each group of coupons forward.
Typically, the whole clipping/sorting process takes only 10-20 minutes, depending on how many coupons there are to clip.
Deciding What to Clip
This seems like common sense, but for some reason, I feel the necessity to include how you should decide what coupons to clip. Personally, I clip a coupon for one of two reasons. Either I already buy the product on a regular basis, or I know I would like to try the product, and I might as well get a discount the first time, in case I don't like it.
Planning the Trip
Before I go to the grocery store, I do three things.
1. I look at the week ahead in my planner and decide which meals I plan to make each night of the week, always trying to plan for leftovers. Then, I write down on each day what meal I will prepare.
2. I make the grocery list based on the ingredients I will need for each meal, and other items we may need around the house (shampoo, paper towels--stuff like that).
3a. I go through each month's coupons in the coupon folder, one month at a time.
3b. When I come across an item that is on my list, I put a star beside that item (to indicate to myself that I have a coupon for it) and set the coupon aside.
3c. I group the coupons together according to type of product they are for.
3d. I then put them in order according to where the products can be found in the store. For example, at my grocery store, the cereal, Pop Tars, dry fruit, and nutrigrain/granola bars are all in the same isle, so I would try to make sure that coupons for those products are together. Then, I put all the week's coupon in the very front of my coupon folder
This process sounds complicated and time-consuming, but it's not. These three steps combined probably take me only about 15-20 minutes.
Getting the Groceries
Remember, you're not married to your coupons. Be sure to check the unit price for the items you plan to buy. It should be listed on the posted price tag somewhere. Although you have a coupon for Name Brand Cereal A, Off-brand Cereal A--or maybe even Name Brand Cereal B, which is on sale--may still cost less. In that case, you can do one of two things:
1. Save the coupon for later. Simply re-file it under the appropriate month and use it at a later date.
2. If the coupon will expire before your next grocery trip, leave it on the shelf beside the product it applies to so someone else can save the money.
What's in it for You?
Here are a few benefits of operating this way:
1. You will likely save between $5 and $10 per week on groceries. That may seem insignificant, but it could total to between $260 and $520 per year. Today on my weekly grocery trip, I saved $13.50 with manufacturer coupons.
2. It will likely lead to more cooking at home, which is good on two fronts: it will save you money, and it will likely be better for your health. People often consume more calories when they eat out than when they cook and eat at home. Read more here and here.
3. Even though it may sound time-consuming, the estimated 25-40 minutes per week you are likely to spend clipping coupons, planning meals for the week ahead, and coordinating your coupons with your grocery list, is a lot less time than you would likely spend trying to figure out what or where to eat, and then going to get it--potentially multiple times a week.
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