Set Up a Coupon Swap

I had a great time with two friends of mine this morning. We met for a combined play date and coupon swap! While the little ones played together, we pulled out our coupons and Couponizers. First, we passed around some about-to-expire coupons. I did this because the month is ending in just a few days, and I figure that if I haven't used it by now, maybe someone else can! Then we flipped through our unclipped SmartSource and RedPlum flyers from the newspaper, and offered any thing we didn't think we could use. I brought all my diaper coupons and handed them off, because my kids are both potty trained. Someone else gave me her children's Zyrtec coupons, because both of my kids have allergies. Everybody found something they could use. It was not only a practical activity, it was a social one. We chatted, drank coffee and nibbled on fruit and muffins. It's so much fun, we've made it a weekly activity. I encourage any of my fellow couponers out there to do the same!

Couponizers are here!

My Couponizer order arrived last night, and I'm so excited! The Couponizer is the best coupon organizer ever, in my opinion. It looks like a spiral ring notebook, rather than a plastic file folder. Some of the things I like about it are:

• It has more categories (13) than most plastic coupon filers, so I don't have 9 million coupons in the "grocery" slot.
• It holds way more than the average coupon filer.
• It is well organized. In the front is a pocket for "coupons for this shopping trip" and one marked "checkout." When the item goes in my cart, the coupon moves from the first pocket to the second, making checkout that much easier.
• It has pockets for my customer reward cards, so they're all in one place.
• It has a pocket near the front for "Coupons to Expire This Month." That helps me make sure I use them in time!
• In the back, there's a pocket for my rewards (Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards), so they're right there when I'm ready to use them.
• In the very back, there's a "Couptracker" for recording my savings.
• It comes with a plastic carrying bag, a cute little pair of scissors and a "CoupStacker." The CoupStacker is a fold-out sheet of paper with a square marked out for each category, corresponding to the categories in the Couponizer. On Sundays, I can clip all my coupons, sort them on the CoupStacker and slip them into the correct pocket in record time.

Couponizers are $20, but I know it will pay for itself by helping me use my coupons more effectively and efficiently, before they expire! I'm a Couponizer Coach, so if you want to order one, check out their website and tell them Shelley sent you!