My Frugal Year

For a long time I’ve been trying different ways of keeping track of my coupons so that I could actually be organized for shopping trips. I needed a simple, “no brainer” way to to it and a way that was easy enough that my husband could grab coupons quickly when we goes to the store.

I tried my own three-ring binder with the baseball card type slots. I tried an index card filing box. I tried just piling up the coupon inserts and grabbing them to clip right before a shopping trip. All of these methods (that may work perfectly well for others!) just did not work for me and left me frustrated and too often going to the store empty-handed and spending more than I needed.

I was hesitant to pay for any type of solution. Of COURSE I was hesitant to spend money if I didn’t need to – that’s the whole point of being frugal. Why spend money you don’t have to spend so that you have more money for the things you DO need and want? So I gave up and gave in. I’d seen some ads for the Couponizer online and I was intrigued. It said Save MORE than Money with The Couponizer! So, I went to the website and ponied up the dough in a last ditch effort to get my coupon clutter under control.

Let me tell you, this is the easiest, most organized way I have ever come across to handle coupons. I am SO pleased with it. The Couponizer book came with a handy clear pouch, a small pair of scissors and the awesome organizing mat. I LOVE the pouch because it gives me a place to stick my inserts, mailers and random coupons I get until I decide to sit down and get to clipping and organizing.

SO…now it’s time to clip and organize (with the help of my lovely daughter).

The labeled mat makes it SO simple. The way it works best for us is we grab all the inserts and coupons we’ve collected and just sit and clip for a few minutes, ONLY clipping ones we will actually use. Then when we have a nice pile of coupons we will use, we use the sorting mat to put them in logical categories which, of course, correspond to the pockets inside the Couponizer book. I LOVE the pockets because they are big enough for any size coupon unlike the little business card or baseball card plastic inserts for three ring binders. The categories are obviously well-chosen because I never stare at a coupon and wonder “where does this one go?” There’s a logical place for it, always. Amen.

When it’s time to make a store run, I just grab my Couponizer and start making my list and pulling the coupons for that trip. Once I pull the coupons for the trip, they go in the handy pocket in the front reserved for “this trip.” I love it, too, because it makes me create my grocery list in order so that “like” items are in the same place on the list. It makes my time in the store more efficient. The Couponizer is also small enough that it’s easy for me to toss it in my bag and take it to the store with me. That way if I see an item not on the list that I think I want, I can scan quickly to see if I’ve got a coupon for it.

In the back of the book there are also pockets for coupons like restaurant, service and other stores that aren’t grocery items. Nice to have a separate place for those to live.

So…there you have it. As you can tell, I’m smitten with my Couponizer and would highly recommend it to those of you who need a good solution. Give it a shot – you won’t regret it!

Well, just a tiny bit of savings today. I had to do one of those “quick trips” to the store for milk and cheese. I didn’t have any coupons with me, so I just used my store card and saved $3.

I was thinking about various aspects of frugality today, and buying second-hand. For most anything we need I always check second-hand stores. Some things, though, are worth buying new. This occurred to me after a long shift supervising in the ballroom this weekend. Shoes. Don’t get me wrong – I have a lot of second-hand shoes, but those are aren’t the ones I wear when I know my feet are going to take a beating. I’m saving up to buy some nice black Danskos for work. The way my feet feel after a long day walking all over the complex, I think it would be worth it. They’ll last a long time and be good for my feet. I figure $114 at Norstrom is better because they’ll last for years. Better than spending $20 a pop multiple times over the years for cheap shoes that aren’t as comfortable.

When I’m feeling REALLY flush, I’m gonna blow the $300 or so for some LaDuca character shoes for my theater gigs.

That would be heaven! The Rockettes wear LaDucas. I want them!! Aren’t they pretty? And they are sooooooo comfortable. Sadly, you don’t find LaDuca coupons. But you see, that’s part of why I’m frugal…so that I don’t feel guilty when I get around to buying $300 shoes! Someday…someday I will treat myself to that luxury.

Meanwhile, I need to seriously consider turning down the temperature in the house to save some bucks on utility bills.

Saved today: $3.00
Year to Date Savings: $71.29