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Couponizer: A Review

By Avigayil Morris, 13 years ago

I recently got sent a Couponizer. My husband and I are quite the coupon clippers utilizing such sites as Save.ca (which I access through onecoupon.ca as it compiles all of Save.ca's coupons), as well as WebSaver.ca and a few others. At any time we can have between a 1 - 2 inch thick stack of coupons in a little box.

It has proven in the past to be a disfunctional system, sticking coupons in a box, because sometimes we can't find the coupon we know we have and other times we find it after a good 5 minutes of looking. Often coupons expire (a shame) before getting used.

Thus I welcomed the chance at gaining a Couponizer and here is my review:

The pros:

The 3 pockets at the beginning for 'coupons for this trip', 'checkout' and 'expire this month' are truly an asset. I tried doing that every shopping trip by hand, and this makes it easy.
The pockets for each coupon and what goes where makes sense. Meat, Dairy, Baking... simple.
Pockets are organized alphabetically.
It has a vegetarian pocket.
Pockets are good decent quality. coupons slide right in. Ease of use is remarkable.
Decent quality scissors.

List of things that I was neutral on:

Several pockets I wont ever use, like the rewards pocket. Also If I kept my receipts in the couponizer pocket for them it would be full in no time.
The coupon sorting mat I don't use and don't see myself ever using. Sorting the coupons directly into the book is really very easy, no need for the mat.
No pocket mentions coupons related to books (like for Chapters or Bookcloseouts). So I put the coupon under entertainment.
Spiral bound can make closing the book a little difficult, you need to make sure you close it right, No biggy.

List of cons:

Putting the couponizer back into its bag is a headache. The bag is an awkward fit, you need to put it in at a strange angle. I like to keep it in the bag so that the scissors are together with the book and the coupon sorting mat, but I am about to abandon the bag as it is a real pain to put the book into.
No handle on the bag. The bag is really a piece of junk. Could be a cool bag, but it isn't.
I don't like that it has laundry as a separate category from like dishwashing detergent and dish soap. I think that laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and such should all be under one category.

As you can see, it is mostly all positives. I really like my couponizer and would dread going back to a box! It organizes coupons so well and I can see what I have coupons for, and what I am missing. There is just something so easy about using it, it is wonderful.

We just used it for our shopping trip last night and saved nearly $10 (bill came to $86) with our coupons. :-) We even remembered to use two that were expiring this month because of their special pocket!

Comments

Steve Z.
The main value is the book, the other items, scissors, sorting mat my wife and I threw out. I liked the book - small footprint to carry. Coupons are king!
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Selmada
I use the scissors. I keep them in the bag and if there is a coupon in the paper, its much easier than tearing it out. I havent used the sorting mat, but I often sort while sitting on the sofa at night in front of the TV so no room for it. I got the customizer option so got extra stickers to change the sections. I think it would be just as easy to use a plain white sticker (although it wouldnt 'match'). I use the rebate section for storing my UPC codes now. I agree the bag is a pain to get in and out of, but I still like having it. Sometimes I get coupons and dont have time to organize while grabbing two toddlers and running out the door, so I just stuff them in the bag. They dont get lost and I can use them if needed or organize them later that night. This system has saved me tons in coupons that would have expired, been lost or forgotten. I'm glad for it.
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Kay
We use a coupon file sorter we got at Michaels for 75 cents. I labelled each pocket with removable labels so it works for us. We have 2: one for receipts and one for coupons. Downside is there's only 8 coupons, upside is the cost and that you can make it fit what you actually need.
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Kay
By coupons I meant file areas...
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SavingMentor
This looks like an interesting little product. I think if I was going to get more seriously into coupons I would do it the way my aunt does. She uses a full sized binder and then sticks coupons to those clear paper binder inserts (on the outside). The inside of the insert is coloured paper so it is easy to distinguish between pages. She has the pages organized by month of expiry and she sticks coupons to the page using a small piece of sticky tack. It is so easy to find and remove expired coupons it is ridiculous. Because it is a binder, it is super easy to move pages around so things never get disorganized. It's an amazing system. She's an accountant though, so I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less ;) She must have at least 1000 coupons in there total. She also tracks her savings and she says she saves about $750 to $800 in a month.
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pat
Where do u get the couponizer...?
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- Anna
  Click the couponizer link in the first sentence above... :) http://www.thecouponizer.com/
  Reply
  - SavingMentor
    I found their site to be a little poorly designed. It is a nice layout and looks flashy, but I had a hard time figuring out where to click at first to actually buy the book. Something they should probably improve on if they want to make sales :)
    Reply