Buying products with rebate coupons can save a lot of money.  I’ve bought hundreds of dollars of products over the past few years and paid only the sales tax and some postage.  So my savings totaled at least 90% and sometimes far more.

There are a number of ways to find rebates.  The Sunday newspaper advertising section is a great place to find rebate coupons.  Also the internet has sites such as Ebates.com and rebateplace.com.   You can do a Google search for rebates.  This is easier if you have a specific product or store in mind.  Type the product name or store name into the search box along with the word “rebate.”  It’s a treasure hunt that can sometimes pay off well for you.

The key with rebates are the following:

1.      Make sure the rebate is a good deal.  Sometimes it’s cheaper to forgo a rebate on a car and take a different deal like 0% financing.

2.      Follow the instructions to the letter,

3.      Keep a copy of everything to follow up if necessary and,

4.      Most important, send in the rebate within 24 hours deciding to keep the item.  Companies count on up to 40% of you forgetting to send in the rebate or making a mistake.

5.      Keep your eyes open for funny looking checks in the mail.  That junk mail post card or plain envelope that you would normally trash without thinking may just be a check.

6.      Mark the expected date of rebate check arrival on your calendar (30 – 90 days?).  Follow up if you don’t have your check by then.

Manufacturer’s rebates and store promotion rebates can save you money if you choose them carefully and then use them.