Every Sunday when my papers come in, I pull out all the ads and the coupon inserts.\u00a0 The three inserts that come in on a regular basis are Smart Source (SS), Red Plum (RP), and Proctor & Gamble (PG).\u00a0 I then take all my Smart Source inserts and flip through them real quick and find the coupon with the highest expiration date.\u00a0 I then take a piece of scrap paper and write the insert code, the insert date, and the highest expiration date+1 day.\u00a0 For example, the Smart Source insert in the 1-15-2012 Sunday paper, the coupon that expires the latest is 7-31-2012.\u00a0 So my chicken scratch on my scrap paper is:<\/p>\n SS 1-15-12\/8-1-12<\/p>\n \u00a0I then paperclip this paper together with all the Smart Source inserts I have from the 1-15-2012 papers.\u00a0 This tells me at a quick glance that these are the Smart Source inserts from the 1-15-12 paper and all coupons in the insert are no good after 8-1-12 and this insert can be discarded.\u00a0 The reason for the paper clip and the note on scrap paper is I have found as I start clipping coupons, that the inserts start to fall apart and are hard to keep together.\u00a0 The paper clip does the job nicely and my paper with my handwritten code on it is always clipped at the front of my inserts so I do not need to guess what insert a page came from or the date I got it.\u00a0 I then do the same thing with the other coupon inserts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I file these groups of inserts by the company and the month and then sort them by date.\u00a0 So I have folder for all my Smart Source inserts for the month of January, another folder for Red Plum inserts for month of January, a folder for Smart Source inserts for the month of February, folder for Red Plum inserts for February, and I think you get the idea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How do I know which inserts have the coupons I need?\u00a0 How do I know that I am not missing coupons that I could use?\u00a0 Good questions!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before filing my inserts in my Staples hanging file folder box, I go through them and clip out the coupons I know I will use as these items are always on my shopping list and\/or brand specific.\u00a0 I then file these coupons in a coupon holder that I take shopping with me.\u00a0 For the other items where we are not brand specific or we do not buy on a regular basis, I use Hot Coupon World’s coupon database<\/a> to help me find the coupons from my inserts I could use for my upcoming shopping trip.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hot Coupon World’s coupon database<\/a> is a great resource for finding coupons.\u00a0 Their database includes the coupons from the inserts in the Sunday Papers with insert and insert date so you can quickly find the insert you need if using my filing method.\u00a0 Their database also includes printable internet coupons, peelies that may be on the product in the store, and coupons from many other sources.\u00a0 If you have not checked them out, I strongly suggest that you do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Restaurant coupons are also clipped and they are all filed together.\u00a0 If we decide to go out to eat, where we go sometimes depends on what coupons I have and\/or gift cards.\u00a0 By clipping the restaurant coupons and keeping them together with the restaurant gift cards, makes the process of looking through these coupons\/gift cards so much simpler.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How do I cull out all the expired coupons?\u00a0 I have two ways of culling out the expired coupons.\u00a0 The first way is about once a month pull out all inserts where all coupons have expired.\u00a0 The second way is sometimes when flipping through the insert looking for the coupon I found in Hot Coupon World’s coupon database<\/a> I will pull out the sheets that all the coupons on it have expired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do I do with my expired coupons?\u00a0 I am sorry to say I usually just throw them in the recycle bin.\u00a0 I have looked into sending them to military families that are stationed overseas, but almost all of the programs want you to clip and sort the coupons and do not want anything that is expired more than 60 days although the families can use them up to 6 months past the expiry date.\u00a0\u00a0 If I do not have time to clip and sort coupons for my own family, why take the time to do this for someone else’s family.\u00a0 That may sound selfish, I know,\u00a0 but it is much faster and more convenient for me to throw them in the recycle bin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If any of our readers know of a program that will allow me to send them without clipping and sorting, I would welcome that information.\u00a0 Or if you are a reader and you are a military family stationed overseas or know of a family like this, I will gladly send them my expired coupons if they do not want them clipped and sorted.\u00a0 I have no issue with attaching paper like I do to my own inserts so they know the insert type and the insert date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a><\/p>\n