I’ll be honest, I’ve been slacking with labeling and filing my Sunday Coupon Inserts. I think this seems to happen every few months and then I get caught up. Today though I had some help, Morgan a very sweet local gal came by to help me whip my *still in boxes* office into shape. If she doesn’t know how to use coupons, she will soon! (Hi Morgan!) Do you ever fall behind on your coupon organization? Do you ever just want to quit using coupons altogether? I think that’s totally normal and exactly what our stockpile is for, so we CAN take those breaks.
My office…
Speaking of breaks, Awana. It’s our saving grace right now. Having just moved to Bend and not knowing a single person, nights out with Mr. Frugal is pretty much a thing of the past. That was until Awana at least! All 4 of our children are old enough to attend, they’re absolutely loving it and it means TWO WHOLE HOURS kid-free each Monday night for us. This my friends has been an incredible blessing to us.
So I know you’re wondering what we did tonight during our 2 hour break. Well the first 30 minutes was spent running back to our house for their forgotten Awana Bucks. You see I cleaned out their bags tonight and decided it would be wise to leave those at home so they weren’t lost. Of course tonight is the night when they could spend them to buy toys for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, so back home we went. My poor Haley was almost in tears when we arrived back at Awana. She didn’t know we were coming back with the Awana Bucks and her time at the store had already started, she thought she was going to miss out on shopping for the children we had been talking about all evening.
Then Mr. Frugal and I dart over to Starbucks (my second office) to catch up on emails and find the really good deal on this American Girl Book Set. We spent some time gathering our thoughts over a warm cup of coffee for me and hot chocolate for Mr. Frugal – he despises coffee. It’s true, crazy huh? Then from there we went up the road to Goodwill in search of laptop bag for him. You see I’ve been carting BOTH of our laptops in my bag, and well it’s a pretty purple bag and he’s not to keen on carrying it himself. Then I saw it. I had to have it. The lovely coupon rack pictured above, it’s perfectly sized and easy to use and hopefully Morgan will approve.
When we arrived back at Awana to pick up the kids, my son Tyler (5 years) began to tell me about all the items he purchased with his bucks. Then he went into a rant about the lack of deals at the Awana store and how everything seemed to be overpriced. I’m trying hard at this point not to laugh. Then he said “I spent all of my bucks even though I think I could have gotten better deals at Target, but they don’t take Awana bucks.” Aw, gotta love the little frugal kids.
So that’s a peak for you into our day today (and my uber hot date night with Mr. Frugal!). I won’t go into details about our unexpected guest this morning and our crazy mad dash to get the house in order. I won’t tell you that our kids almost missed out on a full day of school because mommy needed help washing windows and shaking rugs. Ah the life of a homeschooling work at home family is never dull.
Kim Dauer via Facebook November 7, 2011 at 9:14 pm
I have to get better about mine also.
Jenny Hurst via Facebook November 7, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Can I ask a possibly stupid question?? Why do you need a coupon rack don’t you just clip them??
The Frugal Find via Facebook November 7, 2011 at 9:22 pm
No such thing a stupid question! This is called the whole insert filing method. Basically each week I clip ONLY the coupons I am certain I will use, the others get the date slapped on the front and then they’re filed away. Then when a deal comes up or I need to find a coupon I just use the TFF Coupon Database and it tells me exactly which insert I can find the coupon in. Saves me a BUNCH of time each week. I explain it a bit more in the Online Coupon Class video here – http://thefrugalfind.com/online-coupon-class/organizing-your-coupons/ Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jenny Hurst via Facebook November 7, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Oh makes sense!!! Well I love the idea…
Carole November 7, 2011 at 9:49 pm
…love your blog~ God bless you.
Julia November 7, 2011 at 9:56 pm
You’re so sweet, thank you!
Janelle November 7, 2011 at 9:58 pm
I have seen this coupon filing system a lot recently and it looks so appealing because clipping and putting in a binder takes so much time. However what if you go to a store and see an unadvertised sale? All your coupons are at home right so then do you have to go back?
Julia November 7, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Janelle I will say I have missed a few deals, but since I typically clip the coupons for products we always use the chances are if I find a deal I’ll likely have a coupon with me. However that isn’t always the case and sometimes it merits a trip home and back to the store, other times I just count it as a loss. For me, the time I save each week far outweighs the risk of missing a deal here or there.
On another note, I find that I don’t overspend on deals that I don’t really need. Similar to our Envelope Budget, if I don’t have the coupons for a deal we probably don’t need it. Of course that’s just my experience.
Here is a post about the Envelope Budget… http://thefrugalfind.com/my-new-coupon-rack-and-a-peak-into-our-date-night/
Kathy H. November 8, 2011 at 10:17 am
This link just takes me to the top of this post?
Morgan November 7, 2011 at 10:01 pm
She approves and excepts to become well acquainted with it : )
Julia November 7, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Hooray and welcome to Frugal household madness
Beverly November 7, 2011 at 10:14 pm
I also have a question for you. How long do you keep your whole inserts? Is there a list somewhere that shows when it’s ok to toss an insert because they are all expired?
Julia November 7, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Oh Beverly you’re going to LOVE this. Read this post… http://thefrugalfind.com/is-my-sunday-coupon-insert-finally-all-expired/
SueBee November 7, 2011 at 10:20 pm
I love this post! HOORAY for AWANA giving you back a little “date night” every week! I think I’m a little jealous of your coupon rack, too.
Julia November 7, 2011 at 10:25 pm
I’m just so glad to hear I’m not crazy for being so excited over this new rack
Shannon Iliff via Facebook November 8, 2011 at 4:39 am
Julia, where did you find the coupon rack?
The Frugal Find via Facebook November 8, 2011 at 6:20 am
I found it at Goodwill
Shannon Iliff via Facebook November 8, 2011 at 6:20 am
nice buy.. I will have to keep my eyes open for some thing similar.. thanks.
The Frugal Find via Facebook November 8, 2011 at 6:22 am
You’re welcome, ya it was one of those things that I wouldn’t have thought to look for but when I saw it I just knew what it was made for!
Noelle Linden November 8, 2011 at 7:16 am
Adorable! (about your son) And I think that coupon rack is great. I follow you on FB and pop over to your webpage every now and again, but this is the first time I have read something. I just wanted to say Thanks for sharing tips, hot coupons, and money saving ideas. As a Mom of three boys, it sure helps in these tougher times. I appreciate it.
Julia November 8, 2011 at 7:18 am
Aw thanks Noelle! You’re very welcome and I’m glad you’re here!
Kathy H. November 8, 2011 at 10:08 am
I am a new couponer & am already so burnt out on clipping,looking at blogs for the deals,prepping my shopping trips only to get to the store & its all gone
The clipping is so daunting.I literally was about to toss my Binder when I came across your blog.It has renewed me & now I am going to try the coupon insert Rack.I think that will save me Much frustration 
So Thank You..
angela November 8, 2011 at 11:08 am
Didn’t realize you were a homeschooling family. We are as well. My biggest problem w/ couponing is that we are gluten free, natural and fresh food eaters in a small town with no large grocery store. We do have a walmart super center however, the items are very limited…and it is few and far between finding coupons for the foods we eat..or I have to travel far to use them, thus spending the savings in gas.
Melissa Raab via Facebook November 8, 2011 at 11:13 am
You could make one at home by stacking cereal boxes and attaching together. Decorate with scrapbook paper!
Melanie November 8, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Goodwill Rocks!!
Regina November 8, 2011 at 12:47 pm
That is tooo cute.. the story about your son AND the handy dandy rack!
My two year old will find a small piece of paper and tell me “here Momma, your coupon!” He doesn’t know what they’re for but he knows to give them to Momma! 
Kayla November 8, 2011 at 6:11 pm
I love your new coupon rack– and I admit I am slightly jealous. I especially love your son’s description of shopping. My 4 year old was shopping at Safeway with me and grabbed an M&M’s package. He handed it to me and asked if he could have it — he stopped, thought about it, and then put it back and told me it would be cheaper at Walmart anyway. I couldn’t help but laugh. I have only been couponing for about a year and it has severely affected how we shop. Children always make you see things differently.