What is a "money-making" deal?

Every now and then, I like to make a post to help out any couponing beginners in our midst.

When you see a deal on a blog that says it’s “money maker” or it results in a “profit” it sounds too good to be true, right???

Well, it is true. Coupons CAN make you money!

Here’s an example I used to explain a “money maker” deal in my couponing class:

I once made $10 from buying a product at Wal-Green’s that I would not have normally bought. It was a $10 product. Wal-Green’s was offering $10 in RR if you bought that product. That automatically made it FREE. I had a $5 coupon and there was a $5 MIR that was available that I sent in for.

Look at it like this:

$10 product – $5 coupon = $5 OOP

$10 RR back to use on a future purchase ($5 more than I paid for the product so a $5 profit).

Sent off for rebate – received $5 check. Total of $10 profit.

Ways coupons make you money:

Full rebates – When there is a rebate offer on an item and a coupon on that same item, this will result in a profit. If the item is $5 and you have a $1 coupon, you will only pay $4 for the item. But when you submit a rebate, you get the FULL cost back – you would get $5 back. Resulting in a $1 profit. Sometimes these profits can be higher. I got an $8 rebate back on a razor that I got for FREE!

ECBs/RR/SCR – These are CVS’, Walgreens’ and Rite Aid’s rewards programs. We’ll use CVS Extra Care Bucks as our example. If there is an item that is $7 and CVS is offering $7 in ECBs back when you buy the item then that essentially makes the item free. (ECBs are as good as cash on your next purchase). If there is a $2 coupon on the item then you would only pay $5 for it. But you would receive $7 back to use on another purchase – making it a $2 profit!

Gift Cards – Some stores (most of the time, Target) has a gift card deal where they will offer you a $5 or $10 gift card for buying a certain amount of a certain item or brand. You can use coupons to get the amount you spend on these items down – sometimes to even less than the gift card offer! If you have to buy 3 items to get a $5 gift care and you use coupons and only pay $4 for the items, you still get the $5 gift card – you just made $1!!