Hi! It's Thursday, and supposed to be about 60 degrees today - which is a major disappointment/downgrade from the near 70 they were forecasting earlier, but beggars can't be choosers. Does that expression even work here? The point is, Lou and I are headed out to enjoy the weather before it rains, but I wanted to share some quick changes I've made to my receipt and coupon "systems," in the hopes that they'll be useful to y'all.

So, I've used these little accordion folders for receipts and coupons for years. They can be found at any dollar store, and perennially at Target's dollar section. I've always used a large one for coupons, because coupons can sometimes be big, bulky things, and a smaller one for receipts.

The smaller one for receipts sorta makes sense - they're kinda little - and it makes for something that easily fits into your purse. But it also makes for this:

I've always alphabetized my receipts, but since the little folder had only six compartments, each alphabetized category contained 4-5 letters, which made things pretty unwieldy, pretty fast. Then, obviously, some receipts are very long and need to be folded up. So there's added bulk. And, of course, you can tell by this picture that it was time to clean the puppy out. I usually do so every few months, keeping receipts for about that long before tossing, and it was past due.

First, the equipment. I "invested" in a better container. This one, from the dollar store, ran me $1.50. And I've seen really cute options, like this, if you're looking for something cuter and less plastic-y (but more pricey). But this, with its 12 separate pockets, shortened the receipt categories perfectly. And it's longer, to boot, than the small one, so there is less cramming of long receipts. In addition to just moving my receipts over (and purging along the way), I also invoked two new rules: I always place recent receipts first - that is, in the front of - the pocket, so they're easiest to find. Somehow I wasn't doing that before, so rifling through all the "Q-T" receipts, in no particular order, could become quite the chore. And, I now write big purchases on the top of certain receipts (which I keep beyond a few months - I'm not totally sure why) so they're easy to find.d

I still file these receipts alphabetically, but now they're easy to pick out of the crowd, should the need arise. These are wee changes, but it's a lot more pleasant to file and dig out receipts now, which makes the whole system more efficient and effective. You know, better.

Then there're the coupons. I should specify - I'm not dealing with weekly grocery circulars here. I don't coupon for groceries anymore. I did, back in the day, and it was a huge time suck and netted me little more than frustration during meal planning, so I ditched it, and now only buy groceries on the list. That keeps my grocery bill pretty low - it's crept up, but it's still about $80 per week - so I don't worry about extra coupons. But anyway, these are the coupons you get in the mail or from fliers or magazines. I also keep gift cards in here. I used to alphabetize, just like with receipts, but there was something wrong with that system for coupons. There just wasn't any way I was going to remember all the things floating around in there, and the category "E-J" wasn't giving me any clues. Then, it hit me: I should keep them stored by what they were for. I know, I know. They don't pay me the big bucks for nothing.

Well, this is like a million times better. Going to get my nails done? I'll check to see if I have any promotions in my "Sam" pocket. Buying a new rug? Ditto for the "Home" pocket. Taking an outing with Lou and know I'll need a pick-me-up? I check my "Coffee" pocket so see if we've any lingering Christmas coffee gift cards. The categories, for those curious, are: Sam, Bret, Lou, Baby, Home, Gifts (for others - these range from jewelry discounts to magazine subscription deals), Entertainment (movie tickets), Travel, Coffee, Amazon (gets its own category) and Treats (mostly ice cream).

Why didn't I think of this sooner? It ups the chances I'll actually use a coupon before it expires by about 100%. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Then I repurposed the smaller black and white folder to hold loyalty cards, including things like coffee-punch cards, that I use less frequently. (The most-frequently used cards stay in my wallet). These are also roughly categorized by type - and by geographic location. For example, I have all the loyalty cards for grocery stores and thrift stores in my parents' old neighborhood, so I keep them in one pocket that I check before a trip. Now that my parents have moved down south, I can't wait to stock up on southern loyalty cards. Mainly Kroger. It's pretty simple, but this too has really made it so that I'm not holding onto these cards for no reason.

So those are my quick (but very wordy) changes to my receipt and coupon folders. If you do something brilliant, do tell. I've heard of listing coupons and expiration dates a list on the inside of the folder so you can see it all at a glance. Maybe I'll do that? Maybe not? It's pretty easy to see everything on offer now that I have things segregated by type. And I don't like to buy things to use a coupon, so it makes more sense for me to check if I have a discount once I'm already buying something. But you know, different folks. Thanks for reading and I'll see you tomorrow!