MIA For A While But Now Im Back!

So i have been MIA for a little while and to be honest i took a break from couponing. Since i am very new to this all it took alot of time to learn how to do it and im still learning. But with the holidays back to back like they were and getting ready for christmas i just didn't have the time!

Well now thats its a new year im am going to hit this full force and its part of my new years resolution but the end of the year i will have this down pact! For my first post of 2010 i would like to share with you guys how i keep myself organized when shopping and finding great deals.

First thing i first you have to have some kind of organization and im not talking about all your coupons in an envelope or ziplock bag but im not telling you to go out and spend $40+ on a coupon organizer. I did it very seimple by purchasing a small accordian file (pictured below) it has all the pockets i need plus some!



After i got home i went ahead and labeled my tabs with things that were easy for me but you may want to go more in depth about it but for me i simply labeled:

Food
Pet
Personal
Laundry
Kitchen
Bathroom
Cleaning Supplies
Medicines

and just so i know what coupons im using where i put extra tabs for:
Wal-Mart
Target
Kroger
Food Depot

For wallgreens and cvs i do have ziplock bags that are labled that i stick in the front.



One thing i have learned through trial and error is always always have your coupons with you! You never know when you might spot a good deal that someone didn't mention or something your family uses! I have done this many of times and had to go back again and get it. The good thing to the little organizer is it fits in your purse so there is no need to lug a big book in the store with you and have to keep flipping pages! This was just way easier for me than organizing a book.

Another thing that i do is i keep all the ads and mark the deals that are good on things me and my family use and then i make a shopping list based off of it. Its a good thing to carry the ad with you just in case there is a wrong price and they dont note it like target does.

Then there is a blog. I first created this one just to follow some special ladies that are devoted to this and helping others achieve their goals with it. I will mention them later on so you have a list or who to visit. Almost every week without fail they will list the deals for Kroger, Target, Meyer and etc so you can know what to expect. For me remembering all that was hard so what i started doing was making a deals list for each store. I would copy the deals i could use and past them in word and make a deal list and sort through my coupons ahead of time so i knew where everything was. After i didn't all this i file the list and coupons behind each store tab so its all right there when i need it. Also i make a shopping list with the stores names and what im getting there so i know what i am getting where.




This is just a few things that helped me get started although for others it might be different. I would love to know how you all got started with couponing! Ill post all my good deals i get on friday if it doesn't snow and ice over here!

Here is a list of lovely ladies you will want to check out:

Happy Home Maker Cindy

Money Saving Mom

The Frugal Girls

The Krazy Coupon Lady