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Blog: If Your Money Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy
 Save Lots of Money By Using This Quick Solution for "Lifestyle Coupon" Clutter…the Coupons You Want
Coupons can be great at saving money, but messy to keep around. Here is how I organize my coupons and tell my clients to as well so you will be able to find them when you need them because that's the whole point, right? I'm not just talking about grocery coupons, there are lots of coupon organizers for those or some easy categories, but I am talking about the coupons for dining, clothes shopping, gifts, home stuff. The coupons you put in a pile because you want to use them but so often get lost in the shuffle. I have learned how to organize them and figured out what works best to keep them in so you can find what you need, when you need it.
Lifestyle coupons are what I am going to call the coupons that help us save money while shopping or dining. There are categories that I use that help me easily find the right coupon at the right time or replace an outdated one with a new one. I have shared with you in my last blog how I purchased a $60 shredder for $4.99, yes I used a coupon and I knew right where to find it. This Christmas using coupons is going to be huge in people being able to buy items that cost more but can be bought at a discount. Here are my categories which I separate in a letter envelope sized expanding file where the tabs can be labeled by you. Keep this in the car with you, bring the coupons to the car, not the file into the house. It's too easy to leave it in the house and forget it and then when you are running your errands you will be frustrated.
The categories are most of the same ones I use in my cash expanding file where my budgeted cash for each item goes into a wallet sized expanding folder. So you can use these categories to get a cash budget started as well.
The first one, Auto, any oil change or car repair coupons from dealerships, etc can go in this slot.
Second, Clothing, many department stores have coupons for shoes or clothing or your favorite store will send you a gift card looking coupon and this is the perfect place to keep that in safe keeping so when your ready to shop its there waiting.
Next, Dining, this holds dining coupons that comes in mailers or magazines for restaurants in your area. Tear off the excess around the coupons so you have a nice sized coupon to put in the file. It will eliminate the coupons you don't need and keep the ones you may use easier to see. Don't put the whole magazine in the car, take a couple minutes to look through it and find the ones you most likely will use, recycle the rest of the magazine or other mailed coupons.
Next, Entertainment, this can be for movies, special events, games, tickets for an event, fun activities for the family that offers a discount that you could cut out of a magazine or paper, etc.
The next one is not the whole category, I use a separate expanding file for manufacturer coupons, so my Food/Grocery category is for a special coupon like a percent discount or $10 off coupon or vouchers or rain checks for grocery stores or for specialty grocery stores like all natural ones.
Gifts, my next category is where I keep gift cards I buy for gifts or if there is a store that I know I will get a gift for someone I will put it in there like a book store or cosmetic store.
Household, holds coupons for stores that I know I can items for my home for décor or home improvement like Home Depot or Lowe's. Again if you have a store credit this is a great place to put it.
The last ones are Kids – anything that are coupons for your children like portrait discounts, toy stores, etc.
Next, Medical, just in case there are any coupons for prescription promotions, etc.
Pet, anyone who has a pet will appreciate this. It can be used for their food and treats coupons or more for grooming coupons.
My name is next, this is coupons just for me that I might want to use! Hey there has to be some perks to this job.
Office is my last one for coupons for office supply stores. This comes in handy when I need to purchase something and I don't have to worry about remembering the discounts sent to me.
I hope this clears up some of your coupon clutter! I know it did for mine and gave me some willingness to keep up with it as well since I go by the theory if it works for me then its gotta work for someone else too. Happy shopping!
posted on: 10/22/2008 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell
category: Finances
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If Your Money Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy
by Triste Horrell
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About Triste:
Being an organizing expert makes one want to be a "showroom" in all areas of life. However reality can hit hard when you're a mother of small children and a military wife and own an organzing business. Of course Triste would like to have a picture perfect Better Home and an even Better Garden. Throw a Pottery Barn in the backyard for exceptional creative time to become the wiz-woman for all the ideas and inventions that the world could not live without. But Triste has settled on the fact of telling herself "I can be perfect in my mind and no one can mess up my space there!" In reality Triste is very self-motivated and has true business accomplishments like having SYSTEMIZE since 1997, the first home and business organizing firm in the state of South Carolina. She has been repeatedly recognized in her Greenville, SC area for her organizing expertise and makeovers on local NBC and FOX news, Greenville News, local magazines such as Greenville Magazine and Upstate Parent and NPR radio. She has turned people's lives around by focusing on what she calls the "four building blocks of being organized" consisting of space, time, financial and personal. This is even represented in her business logo. "That's what I'm in business for, turning people's lives around!" Also applying her popular 3 Steps to Systemize have not only organized her clients but KEPT them organized for years.
Triste's Website:
www.systemize4u.com
Downtime Activities
- Reading Magazines
- Spending time at our cottage
- Keeping our Westie pretty
- Putting tealights around after the kids are in bed
- Adventures with my awesome hubby
- Making microwave smores...just for me
1 graham cracker, broken in half 1 small piece of chocolate 1 big marshmellow On one side of cracker put piece of chocolate and marshmellow on top. Place in microwave and heat for approx. 17 seconds (while cooking replace marshmellow on top of chocolate if needed). Put other half of cracker on top, eat and enjoy and watch out for oozing chocolate!
My Organizing Tool-Box
- Time - Outlook
This is a great way to keep papers off the desk and track where you need to go, task list, jot down quick notes on the virtual "post-its, keep up with contacts in the virtual Rolodex
- Personal Finances - Quicken
This simple yet practical program keeps your bank accounts in tact...did I mention simple?!
- Business Finances - QuickBooks
I have used this program for years and have set many clients up on it. It is a must for keeping track of business transactions and keeping tax time easy...push a few buttons and out come the reports, your done and your tax preparer loves you.
- Space - turntables
I love these things! You can put them in cabinets, the fridge, garage, and closets. They are inexpensive, easy to find and available at any discount store and you can even find fancier ones. If you are not sure what they are, they are the white (or other fancier kinds) and spin around like a lazy susan, you can have a single or double-tier one for spices.
- Personal - Magazines and Internet
I love to look at magazines and the internet for good articles on personal development, pictures for decorating inspiration and fun projects to do with my family. I keep my magazine subscriptions to a minimum (3) so I can read them and enjoy each one. I look for things on some of my favorite websites for whatever fancies me at that time.
- Online Recipe Boxes
Use these on some of your favorite websites, bring the laptop into the kitchen while the recipe is up and you never have to have the paper clutter. One of my and my husbands favorites is Williams-Sonoma.
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www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
