Here's the final result:
No Coupons in sight... all neatly organized in my binder!
A Couponers dream come true!
A Couponers dream come true!
Once my binder was organized, I decided it was high time to put it to use. I headed out to the Commissary to see what deals I could score with all my newly clipped coupons! Here's what I snagged:
(Click picture to enlarge)
I spent a total of $40 and that includes a $6 surcharge (Commissary tax)!
I was really pleased with all the deals I was able to score! I purchased quite a few items that gave me overage after the coupon and the best part is the Commissary actually allows this! In their coupon policy it states, "Valid coupons will be entered at the value stated on the coupon. If the value of the coupon exceeds the cost of the product, the customer will be given the full value of the coupon." Isn't that awesome?...now if only Target did that!
Anyway, if you're a Commissary shopping, then make sure to check out my sisters extensive Commissary deals list over at Hip2Serve! She does an amazing job and her site is definitely a great resource for all of us military moms and dads!
Thanks again for all your help with this challenge of mine! I hope you all got some coupon organization accomplished too!
56 comments:
I'm so jealous...and seeing that gorgeous binder complete ..makes me want to do my own too...but..not at this time of night!! Maybe tomorrow....sigh....
wow hip!! great job!! looks awsome!! i have to oraginize mine too!! i usually do on monday tho after i get done with the sunday circular!! nice job on your savings too!!
I'll be working on mine tommorow. You are an inspiration COllin, Thank you for everything you do and help us all save!
Hey collin where did you ge that large binder? I am out growing mine... :)
that is awesome you got some good deals.....btw great organizer
Way to go Collin!
We were very excited to find a Hot Free M&M deal at Target Tonight...wooohoooo! We posted the details on our new blog (bargainblessings.blogspot.com):)
Your post reminded me that I needed to get my coupons organized and in my binder. The kids and husband have gone to bed, so it quiet in my house; the perfect time to get my coupons in order!
Gotta love the commissary! Nice binder. I gotta get mine back to functional!!!!
I am soo jealous. I need to get my binder back in order. Great job on the food shopping. You got some awesome stuff.
Watch her video on Coupon Organization. It tells all !
James from TN
I have to do some organizing tonight. Good thing my dh just popped in a "guy flick" I have two hours to surf the net and clip coupons. ;)
Are your fingers sore from all the clipping? Nice job on the savings!!
My house has coupon stuff everywhere. It's so junkie from it. I just need to buckle down and get it done. Congrats!!!!
Good job.
I started organizing mine last night and then I saw your post.
I'm still working on it. Should be done tonight.
Good job.
I started organizing mine last night and then I saw your post.
I'm still working on it. Should be done tonight.
WOW!!! You have completely motivated to finish my binder...I have been "working" on it this week and still have not finished :-) I am going to stay up tonight and get it done!!! Way to go!!!
im so jealous, i wish i could be that effective,even with your posts exactly on how to get stuff free i still end up paying something, but ive been getting better!! im so glad a lady mentioned your website to me when i was standing in babies r us a few weeks ago, its really inspired me!! michellblackwell@yahoo.com
I am sorry for my ignorance but what is a Commissionary?
Where did you get the travel size dial body wash? I've been looking for some, but haven't been able to find it anywhere:)
Wow!! You've got so much for $40. Collin, why don't you post your weekly shopping every week? We're are so thrilled to see what you scored for $40.
Anon- Commissary is a Military only grocery store that is located on a Military installation.
Thaks hip for the motivation! I really need to organize my coupons and go grocery shopping! Think I'll be heading to the commissary in the morning!
how much inserts do you get every week?
73% saving is awesome. great job.
ashley
congrats collin! :) i love seeing the stuff you buy! thanks so much for this post. gotta organize my coupons tonight!
Wow and I thought my 55% in savings today was good!
You are amazing. I have been considering your approach to coupon organization. I currently save all of the inserts and then cut as i need.
My question is: Do you go in the store with a list? And how long do you spend in the store? Are you scouring the ads and figuring out what is on sale? What is your secret? I think I would forget what coupons I have if I clipped them all out but I am still intrigued! Tell us more!!!!! :)
Woohoo girlfriend!!!! Looks good!
You've got me going at my binder. I cheated a bit as I am teaching my 6 year old to pull out the expired coupons for me. She's actually enjoying it and doing a pretty good job too.
Coupon Cathy, it's just the opposite. I flip through the pages of my binder so often that I am VERY aware of the coupons I have. If I don't have my binder nearby, I do still use sites like coupontom to check to see if there are current coupons for things. And, if there's a current coupon, I know it's in my binder (if I haven't already used it)!
OK, so those of you who use the binder method, do you store a single type of coupon per pocket?
LOVE the new binder and the savings! I was wondering if you could tell us what sections you have in your binder? I have all of mine clipped and filed, but I'm not loving the way the binder is organized.
THANKS, YOU'RE AWESOME!
Great job Collin!
You may want to add the link to your September 28, 2009 Follow Me Monday video on "Coupon Organization" to help answer some of those questions about your binder.
Thanks so much for all you do!!!
Thanks for the inspiration Collin, I'm headed to the commissary this morning.
So, I haven't been able to find baseball card inserts anywhere....walmart( where Collin got hers in her video), Michaels, hobby lobby.....I ended up ordering them off eBay - 50 sheets for $11....anyone know where else I could have tried?
I am so jelious! I don't ever do very good at our commissary. And the ladies that work there are not ever nice about coupons, I think they see me comming with them and get at bad attitude from the start. On the plus side, your boook looks great!! Way to go!
Kim - Someone posted that Target has the baseball card inserts. I got mine at Wal-Mart the day after Collin posted her Follow Me Monday on coupon organization. But I have heard that since most Wal-Marts are "re-decorating", they don't have the inserts. Oh...someone also mentioned they found them at Dollar Tree. HTH.
I have organized mine as Collin has and I love it! It is so easy to look through.
Good job Collin!
You did a great job on organizing all your coupons....WOW......I wish I had a binder like that. I am still new to the whole coupon world and learning :))
I wish my Commissary trips would be so successful......Do you have the list to your commissary trip which shows what coupons you used?
Good job!!! You inspired my to get orgnaized too, I still have a few inserts to work on, but I think Ill be able to get it done this weekend!
I did the same thing last night! I had coupons and inserts all over the dining room and living room and needed to get them organized. We put in a movie and I got to work. It reminded me why I need to keep up on the organization.
For those of you considering the binder method, here's a suggestion (it's not the only way or the best way, but it works for me): i organize my coupons by date. Now i'm not a stickler about it, but i do have the binder nearly "self-cleaning" of the expired coupons. In every category of my binder, i have at least one page for every month for a few months ahead (you can tell what month the page is by when the coupons in it expire). And then at least a page for the next year and the NEDs (no exp. date). In each section i also have at least one page designated for coupons expiring on the 30th or 31st of the current month -- it seems like those occur the most often.
Now i don't work too hard to make sure the coupons exp. on the 12th come before the 14th, but i do make sure to have some separation between those ending on the 5th and those on the 21st. This way, as my coupons up front expire, i pull them out and move the now empty sheet to the back of that section and the coupons expiring soonest are up front again, and there's now a fresh new sheet for the future months. You'd never again have to flip through your book to weed out the expired coupons -- they're all in once place in each category. Time and use will help you figure out how many sheets you need as you go.
Sorry this was so long -- i hoped it would help some of you keep abreast of what's going on in your coupon book. It's simpler than it sounds :) , and easier to do than to describe!
I also wondered what Coupon Cathy asked.
I pretty much know what I have in coupons because of flipping through so much. Before I go shopping, I separate my "going to use" coupons in those clear plastic face pencil etc. zipper pouches for binders. Each marked TARGET, WALGREENS, and WALMART. I put the coupons I know I will use at each store in their marked pouch. But the rest of the coupons are just finding a deal I wasn't expecting.
My question too was how long does it take for each store to look at all possible deals, not just the ones you know your going in for?
I go up and down the aisles looking for red stickers, clearance markers..roll backs lol and then say "do I have that coupon making that deal even better?" My mind gets so turned around and tire, and a long time has passed and my husband jokes that he was going to send out search and rescue to find me lol.
Is this the norm for everyone? One day dedicated to finding the deal no matter how long? Maybe its just me not wanting to miss ANY deal that I put way too much time into it.
Any ideas from anyone would be great!
Hi Anonymous 11:09, at Walmart i just take my coupon binder to the clearance end caps to look for those deals, and at Walgreens i do wander around since those elusive orange tags are everywhere (plus all the clearance items are gone 12 hours after they're posted here! :) ). But i'm eager to hear what others have to say about this.
Aaahhh... commissary shopping. We're currently "civilian" for the next 2 years and only get to the commissary once a month. But that's when I stock up on their awesome deals. I'm going to check out your sister's site. Thanks so much!!!
You did great... wtg!
Kim - I generally get my inserts at Staples using my Staples reward $$$ from turing in my ink cartridges. It funds itself!
Hey Hip,
Thanks for the example. :) I'll get there someday...
By the way, I love reading about how you grocery shop, even if it's at a place I can't go. :) That's the thing I do most and need most help on. I'd love to see a video on it!!!
Thanks! Megan
I am so inspired by you!
Oh man, am I INSPIRED!!! I see you use a big binder but what inserts are you using? I have looked high & low for something useful to organize my coupons with & have struck out! How'd you do it & what did you use?
I just organized by coupons like you and I bought the big purse too, but I have decided to go with two binders - one for food and one for everything else. I will probably carry both most of the time, but I rarely ever by anything other than food at the grocery store - so I decided this makes sense for me. I live in the land of no duobles. Another thing I do that I just don't think I'll be able to stop is I put my really great - have to use right away coupons in a zip lock bag. I'm afraid if I file them in the binder I could overlook them. Maybe when I get used to this new way I will change - we will see.
It motivated me to clean my binder up today! :-)
WHERE DO YOU PUT ALL THAT STUFF!
I got my baseball card things at wal-mart. They are kinda where you check-out (with Pokemon cards) at my store. Oh & instead of turning in your ink cartridges at Staples Take them to Costco they refill them for around 9 dollars & they work brand new! Thanks For all your hard work hip2save!
I would love to see pix of the INSIDE of your coupon binder, I am rather new to this whole coupon thing and have NO idea how to arrange them inside so that I can best use them?! HELP?! Thanks!!!!
Where did you find your binder? I currently use a 3 1/2" one but it's so bulky with the big ole heavy duty covers. I'd love a lighter weight one like you have.
BTW? You are my HERO. I absolutely love love LOVE your blog!
I love to see others using the Binder Method I created years ago!!
Just found your blog today and am enjoying it. Keep up the great blogging!
Laura
formerly known at LWMSAVON creator of the Coupon Binder Method.
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/07/lauras-couponing-and-refunding-hints.html
and
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/09/comment-from-reader-coupon-binder-and.html
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