Organized savings

For quite some time now I have clipped, printed and stuffed coupons into a small yellow accordion style folder.  It was somewhat organized by type and expiration date.  While this method worked efficiently, it recently started overflowing with savings in abundance!  I had to stop and literally dig for what I needed at each store.  Yesterday I finally spent a few dollars and upgraded my organization skills!  All it took was an old 1" three ring binder and some clear baseball card holder sheets and VOILA!  My coupons are divided into different categories such as Target, Groceries (baking aisle, snacks, yogurt, beverages & frozen), diapers/wipes, toiletries, cleaning supplies and restaurants. 

Once I started puting it together, I realized just how many coupons I have!  As much as I'd like to have as much success as the people on TLC's Extreme Couponing show, I am perfectly satisfied with saving a few hundred dollars each month on a variety of goods and services.  There are no grocery stores in our area who double/triple coupons so there are some mighty limitations.  Yes, this is a tad bit time consuming.  Since I work from home I feel that this is one of the ways I am able to contribute to our financial well being by saving dollars where we can. 

I am not an expert on this, just an ordinary housewife!  But, here are some things I think you should know when it comes to couponing :) 

• Only use coupons on things you would buy anyway.  Don't just buy something because you have a coupon for it (unless of course it's free)!
• Search for savings on the things you buy most. 
• Stack coupons when possible.  Most stores allow you to combination of one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon. 
• Complete customer service surveys found on the bottom of receipts. 
• Have a plan before you go into the store.  It's very easy to get distracted, especially with kiddos!
• The best places I have found coupons is in the Sunday newspaper, Coupons.com and Retailmenot.com.