Should I stop clipping and filing?

[adriansmommie]

My goal is to have all of my coupons cut, sorted and filed, although that rarely happens. I like to have my binder full in case I come across and unexpected sale or clearance. There is nothing worse than knowing that a coupon that u need is at home unclipped. - do the best that I can. I have been taking a difficult summer class and have a 4 year old so I am really behind on my deals. I file all of my inserts by date, so at least I can catch the big.deals that way. I just feel like - am missing out when all of my coupons are not filed.

[Lmnde]

It's normal to get burned out every so often, for me [after 2+ yrs of hardcore couponing and stockpiling] it seems to have settled to be a 2-3 month rythm. I coupon and shop like crazy for 2-3 months [sometimes less if the deals are not good] and then I hardly set foot in store for a month or two or three.

I used to be meticulous about keeping my coupons clipped, filed and sorted - now it goes with my shopping rythm - there are times when they are downright perfect, and others where I'm floundering trying to find the right ones... I'm not sweating this any longer - relax - the deals will come about again, and when you see gaps in your stockpile - it's an automatic motivator to get busy again. The better rounded out my stockpile, the more likely I'm to not shop...

[scoopdecoop]

Originally Posted by PirateQueen I do the "cut what I know I'll use" and file the inserts away, and then cut any that are hot deals for that week after reviewing all the store threads.

This is working perfectly for me. I do like to sort all the inserts so if I want to use 10-20 I'm only cutting once. This takes only about 10 mins per week. Great for trading too, I just need to put them in the envies. I've gotten to the point where I know exactly which products w. coupons I use, and I can trade for what I need. The only time I buy any junk is if it's free or I'm getting paid to buy.

I so don't miss my binder. I'm using 2 huggies boxes at the moment - one for the food and one for the non foods, broke them into more categories and just pull out what I need for the stores each week. This is the best system I found so far.

[ladycat00]

Originally Posted by marysuzannej Now, I don't clip anything unless and until I know that I need it that week. I keep all of my old inserts in a file cabinet drawer, in folders by date. I check out the ads for the week, and then I go into the coupon database and find out where the coupons I need are, and clip them. Sometimes takes me 1/2 an hour or so before a shopping trip, but I've found that to be better than the 3-4 hours per week I used to spend clipping and filing stuff that I eventually threw away!

That's how I do it (I use a hanging file). The coupon database is wonderful to have available!

The only coupons I put in my carry-with-me expanding files are the few I cut out of the inserts that I KNOW I will use, and the ones that come in the mail.

Originally Posted by Macaela25 If I were to cut and sort every coupon I owned into a binder, I'd have to quit my job to stay home to care for my coupon collection. Have I missed out on hidden deals and clearance because I didn't lug every coupon I own to the store? I'm sure I have, but it's worth the thousands of hours I save in the end.

LOL yes, it could easily be a full time job if you let it!

And yes, I do miss out on some deals when I don't have the right coupons with me, but it's not worth the hassle and stress to put too much time and worry into it all.

There's this thing called "The law of diminishing returns". That means there is a point at which there's not enough return to justify the extra effort. So... you put in the time that you are comfortable with and that will get you the most deals for the least amount of effort, and let the rest of it go. Otherwise you'll get burned out and miss out on life.

Besides, if I tried to carry ALL my coupons with me, I'd be lugging around one of those child's red wagons to hold them all.