Mom Start Saving Guest Post: Elizabeth Cutten, My Ultimate Guide to Finding Coupons

This is a guest post brought to you by Elizabeth Cutten. she helps write, and manage Find Cash Backwards, a blog that showcases the best ways to find coupons, and more.

My Ultimate Guide to Finding Coupons

From an early age, when I grew up with my parents, I always knew that it was wrong to purchase things at full price. Since I saw my Mom, and Dad use coupons on EVERYTHING, I knew it was just silly to go purchase something for full price, because I knew I could get a great deal. Today, I want to show you how you can save more than 10-20% on your purchase every time. Let me walk you step by step on how you should purchase something online.

Get the right price: Before you even start shopping, you should know what you have in mind. Don’t just head to a store for the fun of it, and purchase. Instead, you’ll want to find the best price possible on that product. You’ll want to use something such as PriceGrabber.com that will find the best price across the board. Use this to your advantage.

Have a cash back account: If you’re not earning cash back on your purchases, you’ll want to start doing this immediately. You can sign up with companies such as Ebates.com, FatWallet, or my personal favorite, Bank of America’s AdditUp. AdditUp is my favorite because they put the cash back savings right into your savings account, and they also offer some of the best rates possible in terms of cash back.

What is a cash back account?

Let me touch on this really quick. Let’s say that you wanted to purchase something from Sears. What you’ll do is log into your account, look for sears, and see how much you’re going to get back. With Bank of America, I would get 6% of my purchase back. I’ll click on the link, and do my shopping.

Browse for coupon codes: Coupons are everywhere, and no matter what you’re buying, you’re going to be able to save. Before you ever buy something online, make sure you always look for coupon codes. A simple Google search, such as “(company name) coupon codes” will suffice. When you do this search though, make sure you look at the recent results on Google, to ensure that you get fresh results.

Buy your coupons: If you’re extremely patient like me, you can buy your coupons. This sounds silly, doesn’t it? Let me explain though. You’re going to want to head to eBay, and search for coupons. I’ve searched for everything, and anything, and there’s always a coupon! Bid on it, but make sure you’re not paying too much, and wait for it to arrive.

Get a cash back credit card: Credit cards aren’t evil. You can save money with them, especially if you have a rewards card. For example, my Chase card will give me 1%-3% back on my purchases. As long as you pay your bill off in full, you can take full advantage. Make sure that you make your purchases with a card like this at the checkout. If you want, you can always bill pay the card right away, so that you don’t forget.

How I saved just the other day…

My nephew the other day wanted some clothes from American Eagle. Since I couldn’t really do the PriceGrabber.com thing, I was able to still get a great deal. First off, I bought him 2 pairs of jeans. They were both marked at $39.50, for a total of $79. I headed off to eBay, bought a $50 gift card for $47.50, with free shipping. I then was able to find a 15% off my purchase, with free shipping. After the 15% was applied, it brought my total down to $67.15. I already saved $2.50 with the gift card.

Here’s how it breaks down…

· $79 x 15% off = $67.15

· $50 gift card for $47.50 off eBay = $2.50 savings

· $67.15 – 4% with Bank of America ($2.69) = $64.46

· $64.46 – $2.50 (gift card savings) = $61.96

Now, if I wouldn’t have done this, I would have paid $79, plus shipping, which would have brought my purchase to $80+. As you can see, with some patience, and research, I was able to save $20+ off 2 pairs of jeans. I’m hoping this guide works for you, and I’m hoping that you can save big bucks as well. Good luck!