I thought I would take things from the beginning and I wanted to show new couponers my system for organizing coupons. You can watch the vlog to see exactly how I do it. I also have included ideas for other ways you can organize them below.
Coupon Wallet HERE or HERE. This is pretty compact and I use mine to hold the stray coupons that I collect throughout the week. This would likely be too small to carry all your coupons. This would also be a handy way to sort all your coupons before you head to the store.
The most popular method and the way to keep the most coupons with you would be the binder system. There is a binder HERE that comes with an expanding file for $19. You can also make your own with the zipper binder HERE and the trading card inserts HERE.
This is my system- I just use a makeup pouch with colored envelopes inside. This system works really well for me and I would recommend looking for a pouch with sturdy sides.
Ok I have had a nasty cold so I was finally able to tape this without coughing through the entire thing! It is a little long but if you are confused by ecoupons- it will hopefully help clarify things!
This week I have a guest vlog from my friend Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living.com. I really hope you can take the time to watch this vlog because she has so many great ideas! She is talking about the great free items she has ordered from Vistaprint in the past. Many of these would make nice gifts for friends and family (or yourself!) and more importantly they are all custom. So it looks like you spent some time and really thought about the gift. I just love the idea of getting separate thank you notes just from our girls. Genius!
Now these items are all free except you will have to pay a small shipping charge. I totally agree with Ashley though that even with the charge it is still less than you will find these products for retail. Here are the resources for all the items she mentions:
Free Business Cards are HERE (250 total)and this is how she made the little gift tags. Such a GREAT idea! (Make sure you select all designs to see the millions of styles they offer)
The Free magnet offer is HERE (love this idea too!)
Free Postcards are HERE- I believe this ends today as well
*If you upload a photo for the magnets there is a $4.99 charge but you get 25 of them!
I believe the offers change all the time. I am not sure if the folded note cards are available but I plan to take a little time today to order many of the items she mentions and I will let you know what I find!
Also, please leave your great finds in the comments! I’d love to hear what ideas you guys have!
PPS: I am thinking of ordering some little business cards and keeping them fairly plain. Then my toddler can decorate them herself. I think she might get a kick out of that.
As I mentioned earlier this week I went ahead and did a quick vlog on my Walgreens trip from Sunday. I am not sure why this is so fuzzy. Sometimes explaining the Register Reward system at Wags can feel like walking someone through landing a plane or preforming brain surgery. It really is pretty simple once you get the basics of their system down- it took me about 20 minutes to go through the deals, figure out my plan and organize the coupons. Not bad. If you don’t want to bother with the Register Reward program, I would still encourage you to pop into Wags from time to time. I have found the most amazing clearance items there! So pay attention as they tend to hide awesome clearance items in every corner of the store- look for bright orange tags!
Here is my vlog on some holiday gift ideas on a budget. I will include links below to a few of the deals I referenced in the video. I’d love to also hear from you guys about how you get ready for the holidays and any tips you have for giving gifts on a budget. I am always challenged with finding thoughtful gifts for people that are easy on the budget without looking cheap. . e.l.f. deal I told you about HERE (it has expired) but there is another deal available HERE . Gevalia Coffee or Coffeepot Deal HERE . Land’s End Deal HERE . Go to cookie recipe for gifts HERE and HERE . Free/Cheap Photo Gifts Available right now: . Canvas Prints $14.95 for a custom canvas HERE Hooray Photo: 30 free 4×6 HERE Snapfish: 50 free 4×6 and a free coffee mug HERE . And a few of the toy deals I have scored (don’t worry lots more will come your way!) HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE
Here is my vlog on menu planning- I hope it helps a little with how I pull things together every week. Remember the key is making sense of all the great deals that you score and to eliminate the need to run to the store multiple times in a week. It does take a little extra time to organize but I have found that the savings at the store every week more than makes up for the extra time I spend. . This does take me 30 min- 1 hour every week to do. However, we used to spend $600/month for 2 people and now we spend $160-200 for 4 people. That includes 2 littles in diapers, dog food and basically all household items from cleaning products to stamps. And let me tell you our freezer and pantry are stuffed to the brim! Menu planning is an important step in making sure you stay on budget every week and that you use up all the great items you score for free or for very cheap. It is also so nice to have a plan and to not have to think every night- “What am I going to make for dinner?” I have it all laid out at the start of the week and I am organized and ready to make super fast dinners every night.
This is my third vlog and I am still getting the hang of things so please bare with me! I took you on a trip to Target to answer some of your questions. You can watch this to see: 1. How to print coupons in Target 2. How to find out if an item qualifies for a gift card 3. Where those travel Hungry Hippo games are hiding . And just to clarify- you can only print current coupons from the Target registry kiosks. Remember they do change every few weeks. You can print older coupons (that haven’t expired yet HERE). . I told you about the Fiber One deal HERE and the Hungry Hippo deal HERE. . Also, I’d like to know if it is helpful to see these videos or is it annoying? I have a few more planned on coupon organization, menu planning, shopping smart at the grocery store and anything else you guys are unclear on.
