Tammy,
I have this really neat coupon organizer another coupon guru handed down to me when she "upgraded" hers. Try doing a Google search for coupon planner or coupon organizer and see what comes up. Mine says PricePlanner on the front, I think that is the company's name who makes this particular one? It's great: it has 21 different tabbed sections like 'baking goods, dairy sections, beverages, hygiene, etc....
It makes it so easy when I am hunting for them before going shopping. My routine before hitting the grocery aisles is:
1. Make a list of items we need ASAP.
2. Pull up the local grocery store's weekly ad online to see what items and brands are on sale so I can take advantage of BOGOs or other sales in addition to any coupons I may have.
3. I then thumb through my coupon book to pull the things I need and also pull the coupons for any items that may have been good deals in the store circular.... since I am going to need these items in the future anyway, I take advantage of the store sale + my coupons and stock up... stores run their sales on a 12-week cycle so I try to match up my coupons with the sales as much as possible.
4. Final Step: Once I have pulled my coupons I stick them in the plastic baggie (with a pencil and pocket-sized calculator) that lives in my coupon planner.
I take this along with my list to the store with me. I also have found it to be good to take cash into the store so I am forced to stay within my budget - that's where the calculator comes in handy, helps to make sure I am not going to have more items in my cart at check-out before I get up there....
On my grocery list, I often put the coupon amounts next to the item the coupon is for....this is helpful when I am keeping track of my cart balance while in the store.
For these sorts of trips, I make sure I have enough time to "prep" for the trip, and to take my time ensuring I stretch our dollars as far as possible while I am in the store (i.e. calculating my subtotal, making sure I don't miss any good store sales for my pantry stock-up).
Hope this is helpful! Happy Shopping!
