Make sure you read all of the Couponing 101 Series here.

So you are all ready to start planning your coupon trip. These are the steps that I go through while planning my shopping trip.

Creating the list

With a memory like mine, having a list is essential. I would be lost without it. Without a list, I would have to wander through the store, probably twice – wasting time and money from loading unnecessary items in my cart.

Shopping list = money saved

I make my list a little differently than some people. I like to use Steno Pads to write my list. (If you don’t have a steno pad you can also just draw a line down the middle!) I have a different list for each store that I plan to go to.

The first thing I do is I go to this week’s ad match ups. If it has a stock up symbol I add that item to my list (on the left hand side). On the right hand side I put important information (for example, must buy 2 or part of a spend $10 get $5 ECB promotion). You will notice some (c) marks next to some of the item names on my list. Each (c) represents a coupon. This makes it easy to count how many coupons I should have and double check that I have them all.

I gather and print my coupons at the same time I add items to my list! I put them in an envelope with the store’s name on the front.

After I list the stock up items I go back and add any other items that I need that week. This is where meal planning and keeping a stocked pantry helps you keep your money in your pocket! (Don’t worry a meal planning series is coming after the couponing series finishes!) 🙂

Then I fold up my list, add it to the envelope and stick the envelope into my Couponizer. Everything that I need for the store is inside the envelope. Organized and convenient.

Check back tomorrow for setting up coupon transactions!

To read all of the Couponing 101 Series click here.

You have your coupons and you are organized! Congratulations! Now you are getting ready for a vital part of couponing – planning your coupon trip.

Just because you have a coupon does not mean you have to use it. Which leads us to the Golden Rule of couponing: Use a coupon in conjuntion with a sale. Now, there are some occasions when I use a coupon for a non-sale item but we will get to those exclusions later. By using coupons while the item is on sale it will really help you maximize your savings. Now keeping track of what items are on sale each week and what coupons will match up with those sales is some work (trust me!). Luckily for you – we do all the work for you!! Each week (on Saturdays) we post ad match ups. This is a list of the items on sale and what coupons you should use for each item. Ad match ups also tell you where to find the coupon.

Ad match ups can be intimidating if you are new to couponing. But they shouldn’t be!! Here is how to read an ad match up!

Above is part of an ad match up. It’s a lot of information! Ad match ups can be intimidating if you are new to couponing. Let’s go through the different parts.

First, on some items you will see this Stock Up Price sign. That means the price isn’t going to get any lower so go ahead and stock up!

You may also see this Good Deal sign. This means while the price isn’t as low as a stock up price it still is a really good deal. It’s a good enough deal to pick one or two up to get you through until a stock up price comes around!

The first line tells you the item description. It tells the item name, the size and the price.

The second line will tell you if the item has a special requirement, sales or promotions. It will tell you if you earn any ExtraBucks, Register, Rewards, Balance Reward Points, or Catalinas. It also will tell you if there is a limit on the number you can buy.

Then you will find the coupons that are available for this item. Sometimes there are multiple coupons available. I try to list the best coupon first. It will also tell you where the coupon came from. This particular coupon came from the Parade Magazine from the Sunday paper on 12/16. The coupon expires 1/31. The dates are to make it easy for you to find that particular coupon. If it is a newspaper coupon you may see these abbreviations.

PG means it came from the Procter and Gamble insert

SS means it came from the Smart Source insert

RP means it came from the Red Plum insert

If the coupon is available online it will have a link to direct you right to the coupon! Remember you can print coupons twice per computer.

This will tell you how much you pay. If it is an item that you receive either a rebate, Catalina, ExtraBucks, etc. it will be listed here.

If your item has a rebate, Catalina, ExtraBucks, Register Rewards, Bonus Reward Points, etc you will have one more line on the match up. The last line has your final price after all coupons and “extras” have been taken into account. In the example above, you start with a razor that costs $6.99. Subtract $3.00 for the coupon and $5.00 for the ExtraBucks that you get back and you have a final price of a $1.01 money maker!

Make sure to read all of the articles in our Couponing 101 Series here!

So we’ve talked about different ways to organize your coupons, but today I’m going to show you how I organize my coupons.

I use The Couponizer. I ordered mine on Amazon for $19.95. 2 day shipping is included for Amazon Prime and Amazon Mom. If you are not an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom member you can sign up for a free trial! Or it will ship free on an order over $25 (I would add $5 of something to your cart in order to get the free shipping – you would spend about $5 to have it shipped anyways!)

The Couponizer has lots of pockets to hold your coupons.

There are spots for your shopping list, store loyalty cards, a savings tracker and more!

It also has plenty of pockets for coupons. Like the binder or accordion methods The Couponizer has different categories to help get everything organized. I like the fact that it’s compact (much smaller than the binder – and much lighter!) so it’s easy to carry around. I have everything in the book that I need. And it’s easy to store in my purse so I’m never caught without my coupons!

Book Description

The Couponizer: Save More Than Money

Have you signed up for Ibotta yet? If not – why not?! In fact it was just on Good Morning America the other day! Ibotta is one of my favorite apps – hands down!!! I’ve cashed out numerous times already. And my favorite thing aboutIbotta? You can use Ibotta and manufacture coupons together for HUGE savings!

You can read about how to use Ibotta here or you can download it here!

Make sure to check all of the Couponing 101 Series here. You will find all kinds of great information! 🙂

The binder method of coupon organization is a great one if you buy multiple inserts each week and you like to be able to see all of your coupons at once. The disadvantages of the binder methods are that it takes more time to organize, the start up cost is higher and they are bulky to carry around.



Case-it 2-in-1 Adjustable Zipper 3-Ring Dual Binder, 1 Set of 3-Inch Rings and 1 Set of 1.5-Inch Rings, Black, Dual-500-BLK

I used to use the binder method when I was building up my stock pile. I liked it! But now, that my stock pile is built up I don’t shop as much so I was able to downsize. If you are going with the binder method I really recommend using a binder that zip closes. It didn’t take me very long to figure this one out! Nothing is worse than spending time organizing your coupons to have them slide out! I’ve got quite a few couponer friends who swear by the Case it 2 in 1 Binder. (Check out the different colors! Sometimes different colors are cheaper!)

Want some proof it’s the best binder out there?

– Tiffany from My Litter uses it (you may recognize her from Extreme Couponing)

– A Thrifty Mom loves hers

– Making Life Sweet has hers filled up

– And as you can tell from the photo above, Deep South Dixie Couponers is a big fan!

It’s big – 4 inches! And it has a small accordion folder attached which is good for storing your store ads and your coupon inserts (until you can clip them!). This is an extreme couponer’s binder! If you want to start out with a smaller binder you can just note you will have to transfer everything once you outgrow your smaller binder (and it will happen faster than you think! Trust me!!) Our Walmart has the Case It Binder and it’s on clearance right now! I think it was on clearance for $7.50. You might want to check out your store!

You will also need dividers, baseball card sleeves, and page protectors.

Want a good deal on coupon holders? Split this 3/page and 9/page pack with a friend! Having the two sizes will definitely come in handy!

Setting up your binder:

The first thing you need to do is to set up your dividers. Then add your baseball dividers inside and slide your coupons in the card sleeves under the appropriate category. I like to print off a copy of each store’s coupon policy and put it into the page protectors to have handy in case of any problems in the store. I can’t recommend this enough – it sounds silly but I have used my store policies on numerous occasions. You also may want to keep pens, a small notebook and a calculator in your binder.

Make sure your name and phone number is on your binder!! You don’t want to lose it!

I know that it may seem like a big investment but it will last you! Plus, it will save you tons of time (and money!). Use the accordion method for a few weeks, and put $10-$20 of your coupon savings towards the cost of your binder. You will have it saved up in no time!

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting It’s A Fabulous Life.

To see all of the posts in our Couponing 101 Series click here!

Great you know where to find your coupons! Before you know it you will have a big pile of them just waiting to be used!

There is nothing worse than spending time clipping great coupons only to not be able to find them when you are at the store. Well, or forgetting them. OR letting them expire.

I guess, it’s also not very much fun when you run into the store for a gallon of milk and the lady in front of you is dumping out her purse because she “has a coupon for that…somewhere.” Or not being able to get through the aisles because of all of the people standing at their carts searching through piles of coupons.

The only way coupons are worth it is if you use them smart. If it takes you 10 minutes to find that 25¢ coupon is it worth it? I don’t know about you but my time is worth more than 25¢! You need to be efficient in order to maximize your savings! Organizing your coupons and your list is just as important as planning out your trip (more on that later!). There are quite a few ways to organize your coupons. Here is one.

The Accordion Folder:

(I got these at Target in the dollar bins)

Simple, easy to carry, cost effective and most of all, it gets the job done! I recommend that you buy 2-3 accordian folders – the small ones not the big ones! That way you can have one for food, household supplies, and one for personal care products. Having 3 different ones (in different colors – or labeled) will really help you categorize better which means finding coupons easier.

Now there are a few disadvantages to having accordion folders. You can’t flip through and see all the coupons at once and you may outgrow it.

Here is how you set it up:

Come up with your categories that you want for your folders. Label them. Add coupons to the appropriate folders.

That’s it. Easy huh?

Here are some categories that you might want to consider:

Food folder:

1. Bakery/Deli/Produce (You can lump these categories together since coupons are sometimes harder to come by. Plus they are generally in the same area of the supermarket.)
2. Meat & Dairy (including cheese and yogurt)
3. Cold items (like Pillsbury, pudding, pre-made cookies, butter)
4. Condiments/Marinades/Dressings
5. Drinks/Drink Mixes
6. Chips/Crackers/Cookies
7. Freezer Items – Meals (Pizza, skillet meals, frozen dinners)
8. Freezer Items – Sides (Breadsticks, frozen veggies)
9. Freezer Items – Desserts (Ice cream, popsicles)
10. Canned Goods (veggies, soups,
11. Breakfast items (cereals, pop tarts, oatmeal)
12. Snacks – (fruit snacks, nuts,candy, granola bars)
13. Other

Household folder:

1. Dishes
2. Laundry
3. All purpose
4. Bathroom
5. Air fresheners
6. Paper Towels
7. Toilet Paper
8. Other paper Goods
9. Batteries
10. Other
11. (this is also where I put Extra Care bucks, Catalinas, & Register Rewards)
12. (Also where I put my dining out coupons!)

Personal Care products:

1. Make-up
2. Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Stylers, Hair dye)
3. Shaving (Razors, Shaving Cream)
4. Teeth (Toothpaste, toothbrushes, Floss, Mouthwash)
5. Feminine products
6. Deodorants/Body Spray
7. Soap/Body Wash
8. Lotions
9. Medication – Children’s
10. Medication – Adult’s
11. Medication – Vitamins
12. Other

Want to see the other articles in our Couponing 101 Series? Check them all out here!

Did you know you can get coupons at home? You just simply have to print them out!

Some popular places to get them are coupons.com, target.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, couponnetwork.com . You can print each coupon out twice. One thing that I recommend is finding a website that you like that will match up the coupons and the sales ads for you. They will tell you what coupons you need to print. I recommend this so you don’t waste your time (and your ink!) printing off all of the coupons and then end up not redeeming them. (We do the coupon match ups here! Coupon match ups are posted every Saturday for CVS, Walgreens and Target)

Lots of times you can ‘like’ a company on Facebook and they offer coupons or will alert you when a promotion begins!

Want more coupons? Recycle Bank is a great place to get coupons! And Recycle Bank offers some really awesome coupons that aren’t available anywhere else (and some high value ones as well!) It’s free to sign up to Recycle Bank. You earn points for recycling, answering questions, or going green. Then you can trade in those points for really great coupons! (OR trade them in for gift cards!)

Some coupons don’t require printing – you just instantly download them onto your store loyalty cards.

One of my favorite places to download coupons from is Savings Star. It’s free to sign up. When you sign up you will enter your cards onto your account (like your Kroger card, CVS card and so on). Then you will select what coupons you would like to add to your card! It’s really easy! Saving Star does do things a little differently however!

Let’s say you download a coupon for $5.00 off a $10.00 Lipton purchase. You head over to Kroger and Lipton is on sale for $1 a bottle! So you put 10 in your cart and head to check out. The cashier scans all 10 of your teas and you scan your Kroger card. The cashier tells you that your total is $10. Wait, you were supposed to have a $5 coupon! You do – don’t worry. In two or three days, Saving Star will recognize your purchase was made and it will put the $5 in your Saving Star account. Then you can chose to redeem it through Pay Pal, have it direct deposited into your bank account

All You (1-year auto-renewal)

ALL YOU is a great magazine that I get every month. It’s full of great money saving articles, recipes and more. But the best part is it’s full of coupons. GREAT coupons!

If you request free samples they almost always come with coupons! Make sure you follow It’s A Fabulous Life for all of the latest freebies!

Coupon Apps:

Ibotta is a new and really great that app that really pays! (Through 1/11 if you sign up here and redeem your first offer you will get a bonus $5 in your account!) This is how Ibotta works: Check the offers and chose the ones you want. Then, go shopping like you normally would. You can even use regular manufacture coupons! Then take a photo of your receipt. Then, your money will be deposited! It’s easy! And 100% legit! In fact it is one of my favorite apps!

Brand’s Rewards programs:

Some brands offer reward programs that can lead to some great coupons! Pampers (Get a bonus 100 points when you sign up here), Disney, Coke, and Kellogg’s are some. All of these programs have free codes online all the time! I do my best to let you know when free codes come available.

Kellogg’s Family Rewards is one of my favorite programs! You are able to turn your points into some really high value coupons!

Buying coupons:

Once you get the hang of things you can choose to buy coupons online. You can buy whole inserts or you can buy them by the coupon.

WHATEVER YOU DO … DO NOT BUY FREE COUPONS ONLINE. Coupons for free items that are for sale online are usually fake. Buying and/or using fake coupons is coupon fraud and is against the law. Don’t do it – the rise of fraudulent coupons makes brands more apprehensive to give coupons out, lowers the value of coupons that are put out and makes retailers more apprehensive to accept them. Don’t waste your time or your money!

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting It’s a Fabulous Life!

So you are ready to learn to coupon. The first thing that you need to know is where to get them. Luckily for you, there are SO many places to get coupons! So many in fact, we will have to have bring it to you in two parts.

Make sure if you missed yesterday’s Coupon FAQ make sure to read them here.

Back in the old days (ok, maybe just a few years ago…) you could primarily find coupons just in the newspaper. Sometimes they would appear on packaging (like on the back of a cereal box).

Luckily for you – coupons are now EVERYWHERE. You can get them still in the newspaper and inside packaging but you can also get them in many other places. You can find them online, you can have them digitaly loaded, stores place them inside their ads and you can even buy coupons.

So let’s start with coupons in the newspaper. Usually coupons come in the Sunday paper. The coupon booklets are called inserts. Did you know that the inserts have names?

This is a Procter & Gamble insert. (You will see it abbreviated as PG) P&G inserts are just for P&G products like Tide, Febreeze, and Gillette. PG ads come out once a month and the coupons are usually good for just one month.

This is a Smart Source insert. (You will see it abbreviated as SS) SS ads come out most weeks in the Sunday paper.

This is a Red Plum insert. (It’s abbreviated as RP). RP inserts come out most weeks in the Sunday paper.

Occasionally there will be a Target insert with coupons that are valid only at Target. Also, Pepsi Moments will occasionally have an insert with coupons for items like Pepsi or Lays.

Sometimes there are coupons in the Parade booklet that you can find in the paper as well.

As you can see, there are lots of coupons that come each week! If you want to know what coupons will be in the inserts before Sunday you can check out the Sunday coupon previews!

In the Store:

One of my favorite places to get coupons is actually the store! There are lots of coupons hanging out waiting for you to find, you just need to keep your eyes open!

Peelies – Peelies are coupons that are attached to the packaging of the product. You literally peel them off. I like to peel off the coupons when I put the item in my cart otherwise I forget!

Blinkies – Blinkies are at the store in a red box. There is a little red light that flashes on them. (hence the name blinkies)

Tear Pads – Tear pads are coupons that you find usually attached to the grocery store shelf close to the product. You just have to tear one off the sheet. You can also find lots of mail in rebates in the form of tear pads!

Catalinas – When you check out of the grocery store and the cashier hands you your receipt do you ever look at that “other” receipt? Well that other one is called a Catlina and they offer some AWESOME coupons! Lots of times stores will do promotions such as buy 5 get $3.00 Catalina good for your next purchase. Well that $3.00 Catalina is just as good as cash! Make sure your cashier is handing you back both receipts and that you read them!!

Cashier’s Register Tape – This is affectionately known as CRT. CVS is a big one for using CRT! They give out something called Extra Care Bucks which are good off of your next purchase. They print out on the bottom of your receipt.

In the mail:

Another great place to get coupons is right in your mailbox! We post freebie here on It’s A Fabulous Life. Almost all of the freebies come with coupons! P&G also has coupon booklets that will mail out. I will let you know when the sign ups are open for those coupons!

Do you have a favorite brand? Send them quick email and let them know you love their product! Is there something that you want to try but don’t want to pay full price? Just write to them and ask if there is a coupon they can give you to try it. Living Rich With Coupons has a really great list of companies to contact!

In part 2 of Where to get coupons I’ll show you about getting coupons online, coupon apps and buying coupons.

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting It’s A Fabulous Life.

Have you heard of Ibotta? If you have a smart phone you need it! Ibotta is a free app that allows you earn cash!

After you download the app you chose your offers. You earn money by doing quick polls, watching a short video, looking at a recipe or posting on Facebook. There are lots of ways to earn and it’s really easy.

Then go shopping. Currently you can use Ibotta at CVS, Dillons, Dominicks, Duane Reade, Fred Meyer, Frys, H-E-B, King Soopers, Kroger, Meijer, Pavilions, Pick n Save, Publix, Ralphs, Rite Aid, Safeway, ShopRite, Smiths, Stop & Shop, Target, Tom Thumb, Walgreens, Walmart, and Vons. That’s a lot of places!

Purchase the items as you normally would (you can even scan the item’s barcode to make sure it’s the correct item). Using coupons won’t have an effect on the Ibotta offers! (For example, if Raisin Bran is on sale for $1.00 and you use $1.00 coupon you would still be able to earn another $1 from Ibotta for making the purchase!)

Simply take a photo of your receipt…

And most importantly get paid! Within 24 hours you can have your money either deposited in your Pay Pal account or you can donate it to a school! (You must have $5 in your account to cash out)

Right now you will earn an instant $5 for signing up and redeeming 1 successful offer at the store (meaning uploading the receipt!)

Here is a list of some of the Ibotta offers right now:

• $1/1 Simply Cranberry Cocktail
• $0.50/1 Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers
• $0.50/1 Huggies Natural Care Wipes
• $1/1 Kellogg’s Raisin Bran
• $1/1 Keebler Chips Deluxe Cookies, any flavor, any size
• $1/1 Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix
• $1/1 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Meats
• $1.25/1 Bengay Menthol Pain Relieving Gel Zero Degrees
• $1/1 Advil Congestion Relief, 10 or 20 tablet
• $1/1 Children’s Advil Suspension, 4 lf oz
• $1.25/1 Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough + Chest Congestion DM
• $1.25/1 Robitussin Children’s Cough & Cold Long Acting 4 oz
• $1.75/1 Dove Daily Moisture Shampoo or Conditioner
• $1.75/1 Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leav in Cream, Detangler or Anti Frizz Serum
• $1.50/1 TRESemme Split Remedy Shampoo or Conditioner
• $1.75/1 Clear Men Scalp Therapy 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner 12.9 oz
• $1.25/1 Colgate Optic White Toothpaste 4 oz or larger
• $1/1 Colgate Optic White Mouthwash 8 oz or larger
• $1.25/1 Speed Stick 2.7 oz or larger
• and many more

I really am impressed with Ibotta! It’s a great way to stack coupons and earn some cash – without much effort!!

Let me know what you think!

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting It’s a Fabulous Life!