Saturday, February 27, 2010

Becoming the Coupon Queen



Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned papers, tag: Cosmo Cricket; brad: Doodlebug; Baker's twine: Martha Stewart; letter stickers: Making Memories; library pocket: L'il Davis; Punch: Stampin' Up; Envelopes: Wells Fargo (LOL)

I am trying to be economical...saving money is important to me and my family...so I clip coupons. The most I have saved is about 28% of my grocery bill. That is a lot. I have signed up for several websites for coupons and buy a paper every Sunday. That helps so much. The key for me, is clipping coupons for things I know we will use and occasionally, I will try different items that we would not normally buy, ONLY, if I think that it is a good buy and will be used! I hate waste and will not buy something that will sit in my cupboard and only be useful for the food shelf donations.

In my creative being, I had to make something pretty to put my coupons in. I have been using it and even had a great comment from a fellow shopper who thought I was incredibly organized. She said "ooh, that is so cute, where did you get it? It looks so organized." Of course I had to show her all the compartments in it.

So, here is how I did it...I found 6 envelopes...garnered from bills that I pay on line and those are my compartments.

Cover: I cut cardstock to from a 12 x12 sheet...a little bigger than the envelopes (no measurements here since old bill envelopes vary slightly in size)...but I would say, about 7 x 12. I embossed 2 lines 1 inch apart at 3 inches on the short side on one end and then again at 1 1/2 inches for the top. I covered it with my favorite papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper and embellished it with borders and tags/letters.

I used a big brad and button (button is stitched on) to make the closure and used baker's twine for the closing tie.

Inside: cardstock cut to same size, made into an accordian fold for the six compartments. I glued one end into the inside of the folded cover and an envelope into each fold. After all the envelopes are in place, I glued the other folded edge to the inside front cover.

Inside front cover: I glued a library pocket in the center so that I could tuck my list in the front with my planned list for the trip.

I embellished the envelopes on the inside and added little labels of the categories...for me, and my grocery store, I lined them up according to route I shop at my Cub Grocery store...Produce, Meat, Dairy, Frozen, Grocery, and paper products...I organize my coupons this way and before each trip to the grocery store, I go through them and am aware of what I have.

My grocery habits are pretty predictable. I go to the grocery store every two weeks on Sunday mornings. I plan our meals for the two weeks in advance and buy what is needed for them. Our grocery budget is about $150 for two weeks and we try to stick pretty closely to that budget. Coupons help immensely and with 2 growing teens in our house, as well as tons of teen friends filtering through throughout the week, it is pretty hard to keep the coffers full, but we do it!

4 comments:

mborrero said...

My MOM was a coupon queen...it works if you are a convention eater..

wendipooh13 said...

funny.. my DAD was the coupon king that what he called him.. and I'm following in his steps.. adorable coupon book and way to go to sticking to a 2 wk budget that is hard!!!

Kristii said...

Such a cute coupon organizer!!!! I totally love it!!! I am terrible at coupon clipping, but you may have just given me the motivation I need!!!

BabyBokChoy said...

That is a wonderful organizer! Say I can't help but notice on your profile that it says St. Paul MN? For real?? Are we in the same TOWN? LOL. And your sister Jacquie? too?? lol.