Index card method, Organizing coupons!

I wanted to show you some options of how to grocery shop with coupons!

When I first started couponing this is typically how I shopped.

1. I looked through all the deals and broke them up into transactions, if needed, and wrote each transaction on an index card.

2. Attached all the coupons that I would need for each transaction to that index card.

3. Placed them into a envelope and added any extra coupons I might need in the back.

This method worked well for me for a while. But, I reached a point where I just had too many coupons and where I could just eventually do it all in my head.

This past week with the great deals at Safeway/Randalls for Frozen Food Month, my husband has been running to the store for me. To make it easier for him I have gone back to organizing them in this method so it is easier to shop.

Since the Frozen Food deal requires you to buy $25 worth of frozen items (to get a $10 catalina back) I broke each transaction up into as close to $25 as I can, just going over a little bit. I had to guess on a few of the prices. I attached the coupons to the back, and each day Paul has been grabbing one of the index cards and doing the deal for me!

Isn't he awesome?! :)

This method works really well when shopping at CVS. Infact, I would absolutely suggest doing it this way in the beginning.

Below, you will see 2 examples of what a catalina is. They are the narrow coupons that you get back when the cashier hands you your recipt. These below are just like cash or a gift card to the store. You can use them on your next purchase to pay for it. The $10 one is from the frozen food deal, and the $3 one is from purchasing 4 California Pizza Kitchen pizza's. So when Paul goes tomorrow he will purchase $25 worth of frozen items, then they take off the coupons, so his total is around $16, then he will hand over the $13 in catalina's from today, so his out of pocket total will be about $3. PLUS he will get back another $10 that he will use the next day! This is called "rolling" your catalina's. This particular deal lasts all the month of March.

The gift card is because the cashier messed up with scanning the coupons and so the catalina didn't print. Paul pointed it out and they just issued him a gift card for the $10!

In conclusion, do what works best for you! You will change methods here and there, but it is always helpful to see what other people are doing!

What method did you start with?