Saving money without coupons, sort of

I am still using the binder system, but am about a month behind in clipping and filing coupons! I've even gone shopping a few times without coupons (somewhat)! *gasp* So, how did I manage to do that without an anxiety attack? I've decided my time is worth $$$ and sometimes I just don't have the time to keep up. So I'm spending a bit more on groceries, but I'm spending more time on important things rather than ignoring my family, home, and work, to coupon and adding additional stress to my life.

However, I still need to save money, so I am not completely coupon free! I've been shopping mostly at Safeway (though still love Trader Joes with their great prices without coupons, and stock up on bulk items at Costco) using the Just4u program, club prices, and sales of course! On the Safeway website I can click on all I need right at one place, plus I get great personalized deals and can easily load coupons onto my Safeway club card, no clipping! Perfect for when I just don't have time to keep up, but can still feel good about saving money. I know I could be saving more if I got to work on that binder collecting dust in the corner, but I still saved quite a bit and know I've spent my time on the important stuff.

I hear the binder calling... I'll get back to it eventually I'm sure.

Still Couponing, Back to the Binder and no more Coupon Mom

Yes, I am still couponing! But I am back to using the binder, did I already tell you that? For a while I was dating and filing my inserts, than checking the couponmom website for sales & lists of the coupons to clip. However, after a few frustrating months of searching through my inserts and not finding the coupons that were listed, I gave up that system.

Suddenly most of the coupons listed were not in my insert! I believe my local inserts or those where the couponmom site comes from have changed and are just different now. I tried to find another site I liked, but none were as easy to use or gave me what I needed. Plus, I was wasting valuable coupons that I would have used had I known I had them!! So something had to change. I went back to the binder.

I collect my inserts, usually have about three or four of each one. I take one stack of the same date and type at a time and separate each page into it's own pile. Then clip, so that I am clipping all the same coupons at once. I put the clipped coupons into piles per category and once all the pages are clipped, I file them into my binder. I only clip the coupons I know I will use and some I would use if the sale was good enough. Saves me from clipping all coupons and having to clean so much from my binder later.

I know some extreme couponers are cringing that I throw away so many unused because they might get a deal and make money off them, but here in California we don't have double coupon days, there is almost never a chance to make a profit. Even if there were, it's so slim, it's not worth my valuable time.

Before each shopping trip, I look through my sale flyers to find who has the best sales for the items I need. I pull my coupons & put them into a wallet size organizer. If I'm going to Safeway I also click on coupons and deals on their just4u website. They have some great deals! I also still love taking advantage of RiteAid and CVS's rewards programs!

I don't look over the sale flyers every week. Only when I need something. I know I may miss a great sale, but I spend less if I just don't go after sales when I don't need to. I could probably save more money, but I am saving much more than I used to, so I'm very happy with that!