How do you make money on a purchase? What is a money maker? Why buy something if you don't need it? Why clip coupons on items you don't use? Lemme break it down for ya!
Money Maker:
A money maker item is an item that you
literally make money on. Some companies, like Rite Aid, will allow you to purchase an item and use a coupon for OVER the value of an item, and actually make money on it. One example was the Wet & Wild cosmetics a few weeks ago. At Rite Aid, Wet & Wild nail polish was $0.99 and was 40% off (so $0.59 on sale). I had a $1 off coupon for any Wet & Wild product, so I made $0.41 for every nail polish I bought to go towards something else I was buying. Some store policies don't allow for that however. Some will discount the value of the coupon to the price of the product, still making it FREE but not making money on the overages. The lists are to the best of my knowledge and research as of today.
Stores that allow you to use higher value coupons and make money on them (without doubling):
Wal-Mart (and they will give you cash back if you have no other items you are purchasing)
Rite Aid
CVS Pharmacy
Kmart (though I have read that it varies by store and management, no official policy available)
Fred Meyer
Kroger
Stores that DO NOT allow you to use higher value coupons and make money:
Safeway
Target
Walgreens
Bartells
Other ways to make money on items you purchase:
1. Rewards from retailers: Many retailers want to entice you to shop with them, and be competitive in the marketplace, so rewards and club cards are found at almost every store. Many offer member only discounts, but several also have rewards in place to provide points/rewards back for specific purchases.
Rite Aid: They have Up Rewards(UR).When you purchase qualifying item(s), you get an Up Reward when you use your Rite Aid wellness card. You can make money on items if you use coupons in conjunction with sale prices, and receive the Up rewards, good towards future purchases. So, although you pay for the item, you get money back, which could potentially make it free or a money maker. Note that they have limits on how many Up Rewards you can redeem. They are tracked on the bottom of your receipt. Some more advanced couponers have more than one card so that they can repeat certain deals multiple times.
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| Example: Dove Mens+Care is regular $6.49, but on sale this week for $3.50 wyb2. I have two MQ for $2/1, and one Rite Aid ad perk Q for $2/1. The total sale price is $7, I use my coupons, which brings it down to only $1. BUT I get $2 back in Up Rewards, which makes this a $1 money maker. |
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Walgreens: Walgreens has Register Rewards (RR) and Balance Rewards (BR). Both can potentially make an item a money maker. You must have a Walgreens Balance Rewards card to get sale prices, RR, and BR. You can sometimes even combine a promotion that gives RR with a coupon in the Walgreens ad or savings booklet that gives you BR. Balance Rewards are points that are added to your card, and tracked on your receipt. Once you reach a specific number of points, those points can be redeemed for a Walgreens gift card. The more points you accumulate, the better the gift card payout. In the Walgreens ads, Balance rewards promotions look like this:
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| The Blood Glucose monitor is regular $14.99, but on sale this week for $9.99. I have a MQ for $6 off any Coutour EZ monitor. I pay $3.99 for the monitor, and will get 5000 points (appx $5) back, making it a $1.01 money maker. |
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Register Rewards are my personal fave at Walgreens and I look for items that have register rewards when I am scanning the ads. When you purchase a qualifying item(s), you will get a RR that prints out at the end of the transaction that is good towards your next purchase.
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| Shout is on sale for $3.00 each this week, and I have two MQ for $2/1 and a Walgreens Q for $1.50/2. I pay $0.50 for both, and get a $1 RR, making it a $0.50 money maker (MM). |
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Target: I love Target. Its my favorite place to go crazy couponing. There are SO MANY ways to save, but gift card promotions are what turn seemingly normal prices into
money makers. So many items (advertised and unadvertised) have gift card promotions associated with them. And you get the gift cards right away, you don't have to wait to use them (well, you can't use them to pay for
that transaction, but if you do multiple transactions, its awesome).
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| This is an example of a current ad where you can get a $20 TGC when you purchase 2 diaper packs. | | | |
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2. SNAP, Ibotta, Checkout 51, and other similar rebate apps that give you cash back on things that you buy. There are several apps out there that have promotions that give you cash back on things that you buy at the grocery store, even things like produce and health foods. I have Ibotta and Checkout 51 on my phone. I haven't much experience with either. I have honestly felt like I have saved such a decent amount on items using alternative methods, that I haven't really jumped on this bandwagon. But if you are really wanting to pinch every penny, I have seen some good deals on getting money back for stuff, like milk and bread, with SNAP and Ibotta. You can download these apps directly onto your phone.
Why would you buy something if you don't need it?
Does the item make you money if you purchase it? Can you use that overage to pay for something that you do need? Then you
do want to buy that item. Donate the item, give it to family, friends, your church, whomever, but if its a money making item and you are purchasing other non-free items, then why not?
Why clip coupons on items that you don't buy?
There are a few reasons I can think of. I clip coupons for everything now, even if it isn't something that I would typically buy (like baby formula or cat treats), because sometimes you can find a sale or clearance that would make that item free or a money maker, and you can use your coupons to pay for them. There is nothing worse than seeing a great deal, and not being able to take advantage of it because you didn't clip those coupons. I saw GE lightbulbs on clearance the other day at Walmart. Normally, they are $9.99, and they were clearanced to $1.88. I had seen a $3 off coupon in the insert about 3 weeks ago that would have made each lightbulb a $1.12 money maker, and Walmart would have given me the
cash back, but I didn't clip those coupons because I didn't need light bulbs. Yea, I may not have needed light bulbs, but I could always use some cash.
