WFMW: cheap coupon organization

During these unfortunate economic times everyone is thinking of saving money.

There are generally two types of people when this type of recession hits home.

1. Those who save their money by cutting back on the unnecessary. The cable. The air conditioning during the summer. Ordering porn off the naughty channels. The eating out at restaurants. You catch my drift. The 'unnecessary'. They cut back on certain things in order to continue their lifestyle in other ways. The ways that matter to them.

2. Those who go out and either get a second job or simply spend smarter. The second job funnels in the needed 'extra' money to keep life at home above or around the status quo. Spending smarter enables you to continue doing everything you were doing before...only by doing it a bit differently.

I am SO a spend smarter type of person.

No, I do not always spend smart...just smartER.

Well, to be fair our house doesnt even have air conditioning so we cannot cut that out.

But I am NO WAY IN HELL getting rid of my cable.

Seriously.
Ask me to cut off a finger or a couple of toes why don't you?

Yes, I feel that strongly about my tv viewage.

What else am I supposed to do at night?

How would I know what is buzz worthy?

How would I find out who is our resident murderer on Melrose?

Is Annie ever going to fit in and have friends again on 90210?

Will Dan still be a tool at NYU?

If I didn't have cable...I would never find out.

So in order to spend smarter I started at the place where I spend the most amount of money each month...the grocery store.

Couponing is such a tightly knit cult of people that those 'on the outside' have no clue that it even exists.

Its the fight club of the grocery realm.

Except the first rule of couponing is to help everyone who asks for it and sometimes those who don't ask but look totally lost and seriously don't understand how to stack coupons or take advantage of triple coupon events.

So what works for me is being super organized (surprise!) when it comes to my coupons.

I purchased this binder a few months ago and it has made a world of difference in my couponing.

It is the Dual-100 Dual Binder 2-in-1 Zipper Binder.

And they should say the word dual and binder again in that title.

I bought it for $18 at Target - in the normal school supplies aisle.

I keep my food items on the left side in different categories...frozen food, refrigerated food, baking aisle, breakfast foods, snacks (chips, cookies, crackers) and other.

The right side is the non-food side. I also keep my store specific coupons here. Such as Kroger, Giant Eagle, Meijer and Walgreens. They I have cleaning, baby, cats, bathroom, kitchen and so on.

This obsessively anal organization of my coupons has lead to some great deals that I honestly would have missed out on because everything would be laying in a pile on my coffee table.

I was at Target today and happened past the school supplies 75% off aisle and saw about 20 of these bad boys for only $4.98 each!

This is a frugal deal that I couldn't pass up!

"But wait...didn't you just say you already had one?"

Oh yes indeed.

But with it only being $5 I would beat myself up if I didn't pick up at least 1 so that I have a backup. A standby. A pinch hitter if you will.

Go to Target.

Purchase this awesome 2 ring binder for around $5.

Organize.

Save money.

Don't cancel your cable.

What works for you?? See what works for others HERE.