Frequently Asked Questions
General Couponing Questions:
You start couponing the same way you start anything new: Slowly. Practice it a little bit at a time. Choose one store (I suggest Dollar General/Family Dollar) and start using coupons on one item at a time. Once you feel comfortable, keep adding more items to a transaction. Over time you will be able to do big hauls like the pros. Once you feel comfortable with the store you originally selected, move on to another store.
You WILL make mistakes. I have been couponing for years and still make mistakes. The important thing is to figure out WHY the mistake was made so you don’t do it again. If you can’t figure it out, ask questions.
There are multiple places to get coupons. Some of the most popular include:
- The Sunday newspaper. This is the most popular for paper coupons.
- www.coupons.com This is the most popular place to print out coupons online. They are 100% legal. BUT do not photocopy and duplicate coupons that you get from this site. Copying coupons is illegal.
- Digital coupons are found on the store’s website/apps. For example, digital coupons for Target will be found on the Target app. Digital coupons for Dollar General will be found on the Dollar General app, etc. If you are unable to download many apps on your phone, you can access them on their websites as well.
- Contacting retailers. This is a more rare option, but still an option. You can email different retailers that you like and ask for coupons or compliment their products (or complain if you need to). This will not guarantee coupons, but sometimes if you give them your address, you may get lucky and they will mail you some.
Yes. I get many people who say things like:
“You can’t coupon like this in California.”
“This doesn’t happen in Texas.”
WRONG. Literally so wrong. The only exceptions to this are Hawaii/Alaska/PR. Due to the location of these areas, it can be more difficult to get the same type of prices that you see me post online. You can still save money in these states, but it will be harder to get free stuff.
As far as I know, no they do not. My deals are US based.
Clearance/Brickseek Questions:
The answer to this is complex but to sum it up: Brickseek. I use the Brickseek website to find clearance around me (even if the employees at the store haven’t put a sticker on it yet)!
To see the full explanation so you can learn how to do it to, please watch this video (yes, it’s long, but it’s TOTALLY worth it!): Click here to see the video.
This is usually because of 1 of 2 things:
- You may think you found the right product, but you might have found a new version of the product (sometimes they look identical). The only way to confirm you have the right product is by match the UPC from the box to the one on BrickSeek. The UPC is the number shown on the barcode of the product.
- Your store may not have dropped in price yet. Each store marks their clearance prices down on different days. So if your store hasn’t change the price yet – keep an eye on it! It might change price later on!
Nothing is used for clearance deals. You just find the deal, scan it and the discounted price will automatically apply at checkout (if you found the correct deal).
There could be many reasons, including:
- The item is located in a random place in the store and you just haven’t found it yet (or on the top shelf, be sure to look up).
- Another person has hid it in the store.
- The item is located in the back. You can ask an employee to check for you.
- The item may have been stolen, misplaced, damaged, etc. The inventory checker does not account for these types of problems.
- Sometimes the inventory is legit jacked up for some products. There’s nothing we can do about it.
NO! There is no store that price matches clearance. It is against their policy.
Brickseek is a website that can be used to check prices of items in store. It can also show you clearance mark downs of items near you.
No, Brickseek is a website. The website domain is: www.brickseek.com
Although, if you upgrade to an extreme membership, you can contact John at Brickseek to get information on getting a special download to the app. In my opinion, the app is exactly like the website. So to save memory on your phone, it’s not really necessary. Hopefully they will make an official app for everyone in the future.
Yes and no. There is a free version, a $10 version (Premium) and a $30 version (Extreme). I always recommend people to get the Premium version at minimum. Only get the Extreme version if you are a hard-core clearance shopper (like myself).
The free version allows you to:
- Look up items with a UPC or SKU number.
- See a limited amount of clearance deals online or in store near you.
The Premium version allows you to:
- Look up items with a UPC or SKU number.
- See more clearance deals online or in store near you (more than the free version, less than the extreme version).
- See markdowns by store. Instead of seeing just random mark downs from around the US, you will see specific mark downs that are located in your exact store.
- You will be able to see “Today’s Markdowns.” The free versions are random and sometimes outdated markdowns. The Premium option lets you know the markdowns are fresh and new!
- You will able to see “Popular Searches.” If there is something popular that everyone is finding, you’ll be able to see these items and check to see if they are near you too!
- Set alerts for items. This way if an item goes down in price, you will be notified. For premium members, this function updates every 24 hours.
The Extreme version allows you to everything the Premium version does, plus:
- You will be able to set more alerts for items and it will update every 12 hours instead of 24 hours.
- You will be able to see ALL the deals. There will be no deals hidden from you, unlike the other versions.
- You will be able to see all the marked down items from all the stores around you on one page.
Amazon Questions:
If a coupon is available for a certain product, you will typically see it underneath the price on either the product page or in your cart.
Here is what it will look like on the product page:
And here is what it look likes in your cart:
By clicking the box for the coupon, it will clip it and automatically apply it at checkout.
Coupons can disappear at any time.
Promo codes are applied at checkout, so you will need to go beyond your cart.
At checkout you will see a box that says “add a gift card or promotion code or voucher.” This is the box you will put your promo code in.
Once you type in the promo code, hit “apply” and you should see the new price at checkout.
If the code does not work, that means you either typed it in wrong, you have the wrong seller selected or the deal is over.
A lightning deal is a special deal that is only available to a select number of people. These lightning deals only happen for a few hours and once the deal is taken by the select number of people, it will go back to its regular price.
Once you add a lightning deal price to your cart, you will have 15 minutes to buy it before it is removed from your cart and sent to the next person.
IF I SEND YOU A LIGHTNING DEAL, BE FAST.
If a lightning deal is 100% full, you can select to be waitlisted in hopes to get the deal price at a later time.
Waitlisted means you are in “line” to get the lightning deal price. The lightning deal prices are only for a select amount of people. Those people can add the lightning deal to their cart and they will have 15 minutes to purchase the deal at the discounted price. If they do not buy it within the 15 minutes, the deal will then be sent to the next person in line. That is why being waitlisted is important, because you may still have a chance to get the deal!
Because the deal is over.
Ibotta Questions:
Ibotta is a cash back app that pays you when you buy certain things they have listed on their app. Couponers typically combine cash back deals with coupons to get cheap items or even sometimes – freebies!
Yes, it is completely free to download and use.
To see a step by step guide on how to use Ibotta, please watch this video that I made: Click here to see the video.
You can set it to either pay you through Paypal directly or through free gift cards of your choice.
Questions About Me:
In 2013, I was dating someone at the time and we binged watched the entire seasons of “Extreme Couponing.” I told him I wanted to try it and he said “Don’t try it, it’s probably not real and you’ll end up in jail.” I took it as a challenge and went to Walmart the next day. I bought a loofah and used a coupon I printed off online. It was free plus Walmart paid be around $0.05-$0.15 to buy it. Since then, I was hooked.
Walgreens is my absolute favorite. I’d say the liquor store, but sadly they never have any coupons.
I am from Illinois but currently live in Texas.
This is my job! Helping people save money through my website and social media is my full time job.
Most of the links that I share on my website are “affiliate links.” They are special links that help companies know that I referred you to the deal. If you buy something through my link, I can make a little bit of money. But don’t worry, it’s completely free and harmless to you. You save money and I pay my rent. It’s a win-win deal!
I have two dogs, Atlas and Journey.
Atlas is a Miniature Australian Shepherd. I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. He’s an awesome traveler! He’s been to Utah, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee with me.
I adopted Journey in 2020. The people I adopted her from weren’t able to tell me her exact breed, so I’m unsure. I have an assumption she has some Australian Shepherd in her too, but she’s definitely a mix. She a cuddler and loves chasing bugs!
Yes, I do. Thanks for asking.
Feel free to try my favorite drink (as long as you’re 21+, of course):
- 3 shots of sweet and sour
- 1 shot of triple sec
- 1 shot of gin
- 1 shot of rum
- 1 shot of tequila
- 1 shot of vodka
- A splash of grenadine
- A splash of Coca-Cola
Mix all of that together and make sure you have a desinated driver!
Traveling, concerts, hanging with friends and drinking.
I’ve been to China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (all solo).
Some concerts I’ve been to include J. Cole (front row), Josh Turner (front row), Mac Miller, Post Malone, Lil’Wayne, Kendrick Llamar, The Band Perry (I got to meet them), Taylor Swift, Schoolboy Q, I could literally go on… I had a year where I went to a concert almost every other weekend lol