If you have followed Pocket Your Dollars for any length of time you probably have a drawer full of coupon inserts and are wondering how you’ll know when to get rid of them. I use the grocery coupon database at CouponMom.com to help me purge. Here’s my step-by-step to purging your coupon inserts:
1. Once per quarter log into CouponMom.com
2. Pull out all your coupon inserts and set them on your desk in date order (I keep them in date order, oldest on top)
3. Visit the grocery coupon database for your state
4. The first screen you see has a list of all the non-expired coupons in your area with the most recent inserts at the top. I scroll way down on the page until I reach the date for the oldest insert I have.
a. The left-hand column in Coupon Mom’s database is the date of the insert and an abbreviation for the publisher
5. I flip through the inserts and scroll up the list removing any inserts that are not listed online (since that means all the coupons are expired) or that only have coupons in them for things I will never buy.
6. Tah-dah, purged. I let my toddler play grocery store with the coupons before I throw them out and she loves it!
As you can tell by my process I do not hang on to expired coupons simply because it is too much for me to keep track of and I get plenty of freebies without them. I also do not keep much of a coupon file box. I have a binder for loose coupons I pick up, but I don’t use them that often and I purge it once per quarter too.
Your turn: How do you purge out of date coupons?
About Carrie Rocha
What about online coupons? Do you print everything you think you might buy? Or do you wait until there is a deal that you can use the coupon on, then print it?
Lindsey – I have started to print the “hot” coupons even if they are not ones that I can use immediately, especially if it is for something I use often and then I wait in the weeds for the sales. Each week I also go onto the shopping lists of the stores that I don’t use and check out the printables listed on those lists just in case there is a good online coupon listed. I learned that if it is something you use often and you wait for the item to go on sale, that coupon may no longer be there. I have had it happen often that something in one of the sale fliers does not currently have a coupon out there, but I have one in my coupon box that I printed a couple of months ago when it was online. Especially with grocery items that I can get at Cub, I know I have the luxury of the extra 3 months to get the most out of that coupon.
I am curious how people store their coupons… I am new and find that I am a little lost when it comes to storage. Thanks!
Cool!!!! Carrie, that worked great! Thanks for the tip!
There are some places where I’ve read that expired coupons can be sent to Military families who are able to still use them (on bases? I don’t remember anymore). I usually wait until I have quite a few then look it up online to send my expired away.
There is a website called http://www.ocpnet.org that will tell you how to send the expired (or non-expired too, of course) to overseas military bases that can use them. I sent some back in May to a base in Sicily. (the OCP part stands for Overseas Coupon Program).
About storage: I have one of those portable file boxes with a handle on top. I use a PENCIL to write the date and insert on the top tab of a file folder (ie. 11/8 SS). I put all of the same insert in each folder. Some weeks I only have my one, and some weeks I have several, depending on who saved them for me or if I bought any extra papers. Every so often I go through and get rid of the old ones. Then I can erase the old date and reuse the same folder. I put my little plastic accordion-file that I bring to the store in the front of the box ahead of the folders.
I have folders in the front (ahead of the weekly inserts and behind my plastic file thing) for the odd coupons-mailings, ones from packages, ones I clipped and then didn’t end up using, etc.
Love the ideas, thank you! I have a file box with a handle that I recently cleaned out and that will work absolutely perfect!!!
People like you make it possible for us to continue to Operation.Coupon.Karma. We are a volunteer group donating grocery coupons to help our military
families stationed overseas. If you’d like to include your donation please, let me know mailing is on it’s way. They can only accept regular manufacturer’s coupons like from the newspaper inserts–no special “in store” coupons or internet printed coupons. Also, remember to look at the products that you have purchased for redeemable coupons. We will take unused/expired coupons from October thru 2010. They do not need to be cut yet if being shipped to us, it does cut down on your mailing cost. Please visit our blog at http://operationcouponkarma.blogspot.com/
Please let me know if you have any more questions. Look forward to hearing from you.
Lee
Our mailing address is PO BOX 581 Milton-Freewater, OR 97862
Do you keep the weekly CUB, Rainbow, Target, CVS ads?
I do not.