Michelle from Sprinkled Just Right, has this awesome Errand Planner. And being that we are friends in real life and not just the blog world, I've seen this thing in action and it's amazing!! The thing is incredibly helpful and saves her money! I needed to get in on something like that, so I made my own!! Now my shopping is more organized and streamlined and I'm saving money and time while I'm out and about with my Errand Planner!
Here's how I did it, how I use it and how it's helped me save money and time after only using my Errand Planner for a week and a half!
First, I made a trip to to the office supply store and grabbed a few things.
Check them out but know if you buy anything I might get a small portion of money.)**
Supply List Included but not limited to:
I laid everything out and determined the best layout for what I wanted this thing to do.
My tabs are labeled:
- Menu Plans & Grocery Lists
- Errands & Shopping Lists
- Coupons
- Store Cards
- Spending & Receipts
Here is what is in each section:
Menu Plans and Grocery Lists
As I arrange my menu plans on one side I can jot down the things I need to buy on the other! So far I'm loving this system and we've ate at home all week!! Lots of money saved by having all the ingredients I need and having a plan so we don't end up at a fast food joint or local restaurant.
Printables are from Snapfish.com/printables. I'm not sure these exact ones are available anymore but they have some cute stuff! Check them out.
Errands and Shopping Lists
This is where I just have some loose leaf lined paper. Throughout the week as I know I have some errands to run or specific things to get from particular stores, I jot those notes down here. Before I leave the house I can streamline those errands and make sure I'm not driving all over like a crazy lady to get everything done. Living in the middle of no where means that when I do go to town I need to make sure I don't forget anything so I don't have to make the hour long round trip drive again later in the week.
Coupons
In this section, I used card stock and cut it in half to put in the sheet dividers and created different labels for the different types of coupons I have. And I used some washi tape to make it look a little fancier.
I started with Michelle's list of coupon categories but took out some and added others. Here's what I have currently:
- Baking
- Breads
- Canned Goods
- Cleaning
- Condiments
- Dairy
- Drinks
- Dry Goods
- Frozen
- Make-Up
- Meat
- Paper
- Pasta/Rice
- Plastic
- Snacks
- Toiletries
- MISC
- Diapers
- Food Lion - my main grocery store
- Stores - other store specific coupons
I also made a spot for coupons while we are out to eat.
As I have been using this errand planner though I've took note that I should soon include this categories:
- Breakfast
- Cereal
- Candy
- Medicine
When I make my grocery list I add a little star to the items I know I have a coupon for. So while I'm at the store I know what to look for. If I end up using the coupon I pull the coupon out from it's category and put it in the front pocket of the binder so they are all ready to go when I check out! Going to the grocery store is a lot more exciting when you have a big stack of coupons to hand to the cashier at checkout!! Who doesn't love saving money?
Store Cards
This is where I used the business card holder pages to keep all those pesky rewards and punch cards in one place.
No more forgetting them! It's already worked out in my favor several times over the past two weeks while I've been using this Errand Planner. Getting that extra savings from downloading coupons to the card has really helped me out. And I'll get all the punches on my punch cards now too, so I can reap those benefits.
Spending and Receipts
Here I included some more lined paper so I can keep track of what I've been spending for the day, while out shopping. And I found this awesome velcro pocket that I can stash receipts in. Which will be super handy when going over my accounts. If and when I need to make any returns I will also know where the receipts are!!
In the end, I took some more card stock and washi tape and decorated the front cover.
It took me a couple hours one afternoon to get it all put together, organized and make it look pretty. But I'm super happy that I spent the time to get it done and the rewards of saving money and time are already showing up! I'm so glad I put together my own Errand Planner and can't say thank you enough to
Michelle from such a great idea!!!
Labels: Errand Planner, Organization, Shopping
