In the beginning, this step can be overwhelming, because you don’t really know what you’re looking for AND you’re not sure what’s a good buying price. That’s okay. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, the act of looking at weekly store ads will help to give you the exposure and experience you need to become fluent in “couponing”.
An easy way to get started doing this is to simply flip through your inserts each week, and look through your store ads. See if there are any good sales that you may have coupons for. Oftentimes, some awesome sales don’t even require a coupon!
For example, say you are flipping through the store ads for Safeway, and you see a sale on International Delight coffee creamer for two for $4, or $2 each when you buy 2. You remember seeing on Free Stuff Finder that there is a printable $1 off one coupon for this brand of creamer. A light bulb goes off in your head: “Ah-ha! I can use the $1/1 printable coupon on the $2 sales price, making them just $1 a bottle. Great deal, since they normally cost $2.99 per bottle.” You just did what we call a “Matchup” – matching a sale with existing coupons.
To make this process easier, Free Stuff Finder does a LOT of the “Matchup” legwork for you. We post details on good deals from TONS of stores everyday (many, many times a day). So check back regularly for new deals. In our deal breakdowns, we will cover everything you need to know to make a deal happen, including where to find the coupon (which insert is it in? where is the link to print coupon?), when the deal ends, and any related tips. It will cut your couponing work down SO much versus doing it yourself. We love helping you, so why not let us?
Homework:
- Pickup a weekly ad flyer (either from the mail, in your papers or from store) and start flipping through it.
- Browse through Free Stuff Finder homepage for the latest couponing deals.
- Got a question? Click here to ask me. 🙂
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►NEXT: Step Four: Do it! + Newbie Tips
Hi Tina,
First off, thank you for giving us such useful information, I love coupling now because of your website! I was wondering how do I find out the store sales that are upcoming so that i can better prepare for them before the sale starts?
Hi Raina. We post the stores ads as soon as we can find them. It’s usually days or sometimes even weeks before the sales start. If you go to our homepage and click on “ads preview” you’ll be able to see all of the upcoming ads. Hope that helps. 🙂
What is moneymaker? Is it an app?
Hey. A moneymaker is a deal where you end up getting paid (through gift cards, store rewards, cash back apps etc) to get the deal. Hope that helps. 🙂
OK, I get that. Is there a specific app to have this extra money go to? I’ve never been to a store that “gives” you the extra money back in cash or a gift card. Sorry to be so dim about this.
Hey. I don’t know of any stores that give you cash back, but Target gives gift cards back for many deals. The drug stores like CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens all have a rewards program where you can get points/rewards back that you can use to make other purchases. There are also cash back apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 that will pay you to make certain purchases. Hope that answers all your questions. 🙂
When you buy coupons from other regions, will they still work in your region? is there a certain area on the coupon that has the regions on them?
Hey Alex, unless the coupon specifically states otherwise, you can use a manufacturer’s coupon from one region in another region.