Matt About Money » Coupons

The Money Saving Triple Dip

Matt Bell — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:33:09 +0000

The recession has turned us into a nation of coupon clippers and deal seekers. Today, there are so many deals to be had it’s hard to think of anything that can’t be purchased at a discount. And with relatively little effort, you can even score multiple discounts on what you buy.

My favorite way to double dip on deals is to use Ask Deals in conjunction with Ebates. Ask Deals is a deal aggregator. It searches the Internet for all of the coupon codes available for a specific merchant and pulls them together in one place. Ebates gives rebates valued at a percentage of what you pay for items at over one thousand merchants.

But you can do even better. Very often, you can triple dip.

Since we have just one vehicle in our household, I sometimes rent vehicles from Enterprise. In fact, just last weekend I rented a car to get to a speaking engagement. First I found a coupon code on Ask Deals and copied it. Then I entered the Enterprise site through Ebates. I got a discounted price via my coupon code, and I got a rebate from Ebates. But the savings didn’t stop there. Using the Entertainment Book our four-year-old’s preschool forced encouraged us to buy, I saved another 30 percent.

I also triple dipped recently when buying tires for our vehicle. I researched the type of tires I wanted to buy, discovered that Sears was offering a $70 rebate, found an additional $5 off coupon code, and made the purchase online (while setting up an appointment for installation) after entering the Sears site through Ebates, which generated an additional $20 rebate.

How many discounts do you typically score? What are some of your favorite money-saving secrets?

More Amazing Tales From Super Couponers

Matt Bell — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:28:48 +0000

If couponing were a sport, Jill Cataldo and Nathan Engels would be Olympic champions. As reported by ABCNews.com, Cataldo’s weekly grocery bill runs between $40 and $60, and that’s to feed a family of five. Engels spends almost no money on groceries; he hasn’t had to buy toilet paper since 2007 thanks to the three-year supply he bought for $30.

I can’t say the ABC piece really walked people through the exact procedures used by Cataldo and Engels – only the obvious note that the best deals are found when you can use a manufacturer coupon for an item that is also on sale at a particular retailer.

Cataldo’s web site promotes her Chicago-area workshops and offers limited instruction via an FAQ section. However, she offers a great Coupon Lookup tool. Just type in a product category, brand, or type of product, and it will bring up numerous coupons that can be printed from the site.

Engels’ web site offers some instruction via “virtual classes,” which are mostly lists of couponing tips and tricks, as well as coupon forums in which couponers keep each other informed about the best deals.

I still find CouponMom to be one of the best coupon sites on the Internet. Run by Stephanie Nelson, there’s plenty of instruction. The site also provides an up-to-date listing of items on sale in stores near you along with help finding matching manufacturer coupons. Plus, I like the fact that Nelson regularly encourages people to donate some of their deals to local hunger relief organizations, rather than turning their garages into mini warehouses.

What are some of your favorite grocery coupon sites?

Sites That Save

Matt Bell — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:31:50 +0000

Everyone loves a bargain, and there are plenty to be had if you know where to look. A recent Mainstreet article highlighted some of its favorite money saving web sites, including Groupon (offers a new deal every day in about 50 cities), where I recently got a coupon for a great deal at the restaurant where my wife and I had our wedding reception (note, the Groupon link is an affiliate link, meaning if you sign up through it your fearless financial scribe will get a few bucks); The Krazy Coupon Lady (groceries, medicine, household supplies); Dealighted.com (electronics and tech gadgets); CheapStingyBargains.com (computers and other electronics); and Bargainist.com (leisure time activities such as travel, movies, restaurant meals, and more).

What are some of your favorite money-saving web sites?

Couponing to the Max

Matt Bell — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:12:37 +0000

I was pleased with myself when I recently rented a car and made use of two discounts. First, I found a coupon code using Ask Deals and then I scored a small additional rebate by entering the rental car company’s web site through Ebates. In fact, I was about to write a blog post about discount double dipping until I came across this ABC News video on the Dough Defender web site, which put my money-saving efforts to shame. The woman profiled feeds her family of six for a stunning four dollars a week!

Food is one of the biggest expense items for most households. So, even if we never get to the point of figuring out how to buy over $200 worth of groceries for a penny, many of us could probably become a lot more effective in how we spend at the grocery store. One site that can help is CouponMom.com.

Here’s one more way to get the money thing right in 2010. Join me for a free Financial Freedom webinar on January 19th at noon central time. During the session, I will walk you through the steps for setting up and using a cash flow plan that will guide you toward the accomplishment of your goals. To sign up, click here.

Smart Shopping at the Grocery Store

Matt Bell — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:25:02 +0000

For most families, the grocery store is one of the most frequently visited retail stores. That’s why it’s so important to be proactive in spending wisely when doing what can feel like a routine chore. As pointed out on MSNBC recently, “Marketers have put more thought into grocery stores than any other type of store because they see an opportunity in the monotony of shopping for necessities.” Among the article’s key tips: Don’t be fooled into thinking the products displayed at the end of an aisle are the best deal when in fact they can sell for 30 percent more than similar products found elsewhere in the store; products shelved at eye level tend to cost more than those that you have to bend or stretch to reach; about 25 percent of the time products in smaller containers sell for less per ounce than those in bigger “value” size containers; and convenience comes at a cost – for example, Consumer Reports found that six ounces of pre-shredded carrots cost five times more than a comparable handful of whole carrots.

It takes more time to find coupons for items that are also on sale, but one of the better free sites that helps with that is CouponMom.com. I also trust the findings of a Wharton Business School study about “cherry picking,” which concluded that it is worth our time to shop multiple stores to buy the products that are on deep discount as long as they’re items we truly need and we stock up.