So you are one click away from completing your purchase.

You’ve done your research by comparing competing products, read all the customer reviews, found a great deal, chosen the right credit card to optimize your rewards, and used the affiliate link to receive cashback.

Before you purchase, do one more thing. Look for a coupon! There are many, many resources available for find that coupon.

It always bothers me when I’m about to purchase something and I see a blank field for “Apply Coupon”. That button must be there for a reason! There’s a coupon I’m not using!

What should you do now?

• Do the trusty google search with keywords of coupon, deal coupled with the store name
• Search specific coupon websites: SlickDeals, DealCatcher, CouponCabin, DealTaker, other sites. I am especially fond of RetailMeNot.
• Search ebay for store coupons. You’d be surprised what you can find for the bigger retail stores.
• Certain stores will email you coupons if you agree to marketing offers (notorious ones being Staples, OfficeMax, BedBath & Beyond, etc). Paypal is one example of this.
• Certain stores have yearly Friends & Family discounts for which you have to be neither friend nor family (Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Rockport, etc).

Some of my experience

• Amazon: Don’t bother looking. Never has real coupons. You could try the 5% discount trick
• Bed, Bath & Beyond: These 20% off coupons are everywhere
• Barnes & Noble: Frequent coupons 15-40% off. Combine it with the 15% B&N Membership card
• Buy.com: Minor coupons (i.e. $5 off $100) available only for new members. Those free email accounts come in handy here.
• BestBuy, Lowes & Home Depot: The Post Office has a moving packet which often has 10% off coupons for these stores.
• Staples: Great coupons on Ebay. For example, $30 off $150 coupons can be bought for $2-$4.

Caveat: Some coupons may void cashback. I found this to occur less than 5% of the time. Weigh the size of the coupon vs the cashback amount to decide your risk tolerance.
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Pro: Save money
Con: Takes time to search for coupons. It can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Can sometimes be frustrating and fruitless.