One of the smartest ways to save money is to find great products super cheap and then use a coupon. One great way to do this is to keep an eye out for clearance sections in your local stores. Often the clearance sections are in the back of stores closer to the warehouse or on the end caps of the aisles. You can generally find products that have either been discontinued and drastically marked down or damaged packaging where items are again significantly marked down, etc. You should be able to purchase the already reduced items and combine them with manufacturer coupons making for an even better deal!

Today, at Target, I scoured the cleaning section for clearance products. I need more laundry detergent and air fresheners. Voila! I found 2 boxes of Seventh Generation laundry detergent marked 50% off. I then had a coupon for $1 off 2 Seventh Generation products. With the items reduced and my coupon, I paid $3.96 for 2 boxes of laundry detergent which would have been $10.00 ( if I paid full price). That is a 60% savings! Also, I found a Febreze Noticables Scented Oil Freshener on clearance for $3.12 because the packaging was ripped apart. That is a great deal considering they are normally $6+ at regular retail. I had a coupon for $1 off the Febreze Noticeables Scented Oil Freshener so I paid $2.18 for a product normally priced at $6.24! So for a total of $6.08, I was able to buy products worth $16.22!

A good rule that I keep in mind when finding great bargains is to only buy what I will use no matter how good the deal is. It is very tempting to buy something that is so inexpensive simply because it is such a good deal. However, what good does it do me if it sits in my closet? It ends up being a money waster and not a good deal after all.