My Coupon Binder

I found this binder on sale at Walmart for under five bucks. If you're going to sort coupons with a Binder, you definitely want something with a zipper and that is heavy duty. I take my binder with me into the store and the zipper makes sure nothing falls out. Mine has some cool pockets on the inside too so I can store inserts, pens and all that jazz. I use the pocket on the front for my list. I wish mine had a handle or a shoulder strap, I'm thinking of getting crafty and making one :)

This is what the inside looks like. I use baseball card sleeves and organize with categories. I also have a sheet in the very front that I put my coupons in for that particular shopping trip. 


I really like this method, but there are some downsides. We'll look at both. 


Pros: You can see all your coupons without having to rifle through them. This is great if you do a lot of unplanned shopping and you see a great deal and want to find the coupon that goes with it. It's also good because the coupons don't really fall out and you're less likely to lose coupons. 


Cons: It's time consuming. Clipping the coupons to fit just right takes extra time. Also, going through and taking expired ones out and putting new ones in takes time. It can also be pricey to start with since you will have the cost of the binder and the sheets. 


My Fix: I was exclusively using the binder but now I'm also using the box :) (I also use file folders for whole inserts that I haven't clipped or that are duplicates of inserts I've already clipped...more to come on this in another post)

What I started doing is clipping my coupons and putting them into two piles. The box pile is all the coupons I want to keep but I know I'm not likely to need them in a store unless I've read about the deal online in which case I can pull the particular coupon out before leaving my house. The other pile is for coupons that I want to put in my binder, that I know I may come across an unexpected deal in the store and need to coupon.  This has saved me an incredible amount of time and it has also kept my binder clear of coupons I might not be likely to use.


As you can see there is no right or wrong way to organize your coupons. It all depends on what works best for you. I've tried pretty much all the methods now and am getting a better idea of what works best for me. I also know that it might change down the road. I'm cool with that :)


What method works best for you?