To read all of the Couponing 101 Series click here.

You have your coupons and you are organized! Congratulations! Now you are getting ready for a vital part of couponing – planning your coupon trip.

Just because you have a coupon does not mean you have to use it. Which leads us to the Golden Rule of couponing: Use a coupon in conjuntion with a sale. Now, there are some occasions when I use a coupon for a non-sale item but we will get to those exclusions later. By using coupons while the item is on sale it will really help you maximize your savings. Now keeping track of what items are on sale each week and what coupons will match up with those sales is some work (trust me!). Luckily for you – we do all the work for you!! Each week (on Saturdays) we post ad match ups. This is a list of the items on sale and what coupons you should use for each item. Ad match ups also tell you where to find the coupon.

Ad match ups can be intimidating if you are new to couponing. But they shouldn’t be!! Here is how to read an ad match up!

 

Above is part of an ad match up. It’s a lot of information! Ad match ups can be intimidating if you are new to couponing. Let’s go through the different parts.

 

First, on some items you will see this Stock Up Price sign. That means the price isn’t going to get any lower so go ahead and stock up!

 

You may also see this Good Deal sign. This means while the price isn’t as low as a stock up price it still is a really good deal. It’s a good enough deal to pick one or two up to get you through until a stock up price comes around!

 

The first line tells you the item description. It tells the item name, the size and the price.

 

The second line will tell you if the item has a special requirement, sales or promotions. It will tell you if you earn any ExtraBucks, Register, Rewards, Balance Reward Points, or Catalinas. It also will tell you if there is a limit on the number you can buy.

 

Then you will find the coupons that are available for this item. Sometimes there are multiple coupons available. I try to list the best coupon first. It will also tell you where the coupon came from. This particular coupon came from the Parade Magazine from the Sunday paper on 12/16. The coupon expires 1/31. The dates are to make it easy for you to find that particular coupon. If it is a newspaper coupon you may see these abbreviations.

PG means it came from the Procter and Gamble insert
SS means it came from the Smart Source insert
RP means it came from the Red Plum insert

If the coupon is available online it will have a link to direct you right to the coupon! Remember you can print coupons twice per computer.

 

This will tell you how much you pay. If it is an item that you receive either a rebate, Catalina, ExtraBucks, etc. it will be listed here.

 

If your item has a rebate, Catalina, ExtraBucks, Register Rewards, Bonus Reward Points, etc you will have one more line on the match up. The last line has your final price after all coupons and “extras” have been taken into account. In the example above, you start with a razor that costs $6.99. Subtract $3.00 for the coupon and $5.00 for the ExtraBucks that you get back and you have a final price of a $1.01 money maker!