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Posted by Darlene on October 22, 2011 at 2:48 pm I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
If you follow my posts, you will know that I was all over the General Mills catalina deal that Shaw’s had last week. I just added up all my receipts and here is my grand total:
I did 10 separate transactions over 1 week
I bought $545.71 worth of groceries
I paid $84.10 out of pocket.
I have one $10 catalina left over
This was the first time I shop during this type of deal, and I know that next time I will do much better. I think spending $84.10 in one week is way too much, even though I got a lot of stuff. You can see the list of everything I got below.
If you want to see each individual transaction, you can use these links:
Transactions 1 and 2
Transaction 3
Transactions 4, 5 & 6
Transactions 7, 8, 9, and 10
Here is what I got during the GM catalina week:
GM items that went toward the catalina deal:
6 boxes Hamburger Helper
13 boxes GM cereal
38 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
8 boxes Betty Crocker muffin mix
8 cans Green Giant vegetables
32 boxes frozen Green Giant vegetables
10 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
10 boxes Betty Crocker brownie mix
11 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
11 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
8 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix
4 boxes Fiber One bars
4 bags Bugles snacks
8 boxes Totino’s pizza rolls
Other items I picked up on these receipts:
60 rolls of Charmin (got five 12-packs)
10 pound bag of potatoes
2 more pounds of potatoes
10 jars Cains mayonnaise (full size jars!)
6 big jars Cains pickles
2 jars fig spread
4 Lunchables snacks
7 tangerines
1 fresh eggplant
1 big tub cottage cheese
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 full stalk fresh celery
1 bag Frootee Ice (plus 4 more bags on other receipts for the rebate)
1 king size loaf wheat bread
1 bag potato chips
Not bad for $84.10, eh? By planning my shopping, I was able to get TEN $10 catalina coupons… that’s $100 of FREE FOOD!!! By matching the sales to coupons and using my catalinas, I was able to save $461.61. And remember, I just started couponing in May! If I can learn how to do this, anyone can!
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Posted by Darlene on October 21, 2011 at 3:43 pm I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
Sorry this post is after the GM sale is over, but I shopped Wednesday night and was away from my computer all Thursday. So, if you were following my scenarios, it’s too late to try these.
Before I list my shopping transactions, I want to mention that I spoke to both Rob and Mike (awesome night team at my Sanford Shaw’s) and explained that I wanted to test the GM deal to see if the catalina was being triggered at shelf price and not just sale price. It’s with their permission that I tested these transactions knowing that I’d return the product if it didn’t work.
Transaction 7 – I bought these items:
8 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes: shelf price $15.92, sale price $10
4 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix: shelf price $11.16, sale price $8
Total shelf price was $27.08 (testing to see if this would trigger the catalina)
Total sale price was $18.00 (coupons are deducted from this amount)
I used these coupons:
(4) $.60/2 potatoes (those doubled)
(4) $.50/1 cookie mix (those doubled)
Total after coupons was $9.20
I knew I’d be paying with a $10 catalina, so I needed to spend an additional 80¢. I bought a jar of Cains pickles on clearance for $1.50 and used my $.35/1 Cains coupon which doubled which brought me to $9.99 (the pickles are 50% off $2.99 so they actually ring up at $1.49).
My new total was $9.99 – I paid using my $10 catalina and got everything above for FREE (they even insisted on giving me a penny change)… and I got my $10 catalina for next time!
I tried the catalina deal again by buying cereal and using shelf price. I hesitantly used the express lane and didn’t stick to my lucky #7 register and this time it did not spit out the catalina, so I returned that order (they gave me cash back for my coupons and catalina but I turned right around and used it on my next transaction). I did my final 3 transactions using sale price, not shelf price, just to be sure I’d get my cat. It was a fun experiment just the same, and I was able to get one entire transaction for FREE and a round of applause, which always feels good :O) Oh, and that lovely penny! LOL
I’m not listing all the coupons because it’s after the fact and it takes too much time. Any of you who have been doing this deal will recognize the items and know which coupons were available for them. All the transactions dipped well below $25 after coupons… and my Sanford Shaw’s totally approves :O)
Transaction 8 – I bought these items:
For the GM deal:
5 boxes Cookie Crisp cereal
8 boxes Betty Crocker muffin mix
Other stuff:
2 jars Cains pickles
I paid $3.19 out of pocket (using the catalina refund from returned transaction) and I got another catalina for next time!
Transaction 9 – I bought these items:
For the GM deal:
6 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
4 tubs Berry Crocker frosting
Other stuff:
2 jars Cains pickles
1 jar fig spread
I paid $5.69 out of pocket and I got another catalina for next time!
Transaction 10 – I bought these items:
For the GM deal:
4 boxes Fiber One bars
1 box Cookie Crisp cereal
4 bags Bugles
8 boxes Totino’s pizza rolls
Other stuff:
1/2 gallon milk
I paid $3.29 out of pocket and I got another catalina for next time!
My total for the night was $174.19.
I paid only $12.17 OOP for everything! (I mean $12.16, ’cause they gave me that penny).
And I have a $10 catalina remaining for anything else I want to buy!
At some point, I will list all the items I bought during the GM sale because I’m very curious as to exactly what I got and how much I paid. Everything is still in bags all over my house! When I figure it all out, I’ll post it.
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Posted by Darlene on October 19, 2011 at 10:26 am I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I was busy at Shaw’s yesterday! I took advantage of the General Mills sale once again and did three more transactions. How it works is if you buy $25 worth of participating GM items, you will get a $10 catalina coupon to use on your next purchase. The minimum purchase is supposed to be $25 after scanning all other coupons, but the catalina is triggered if your total hits $25 before coupons. I dipped below $25 after coupons 6 times now and I got the cat every time.
In case you are trying to copy scenarios, here is what I bought this time around to get the $10 catalinas:
Transaction 4 – I bought these items:
4 boxes Premium Brownie mix: $8
6 boxes Hamburger Helper: $6
8 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes: $10
I used these coupons:
(2) $1/2 brownies
(2) $1/3 Hamburger Helper
(4) $.50/2 potatoes (those doubled)
Total before coupons was $24.00 (I just realized that I made a boo boo on my scratch pad and this did not even reach $25 before coupons but I still got the catalina, so it must be triggered by shelf price, not sale price!)
Total after coupons was $16.00
I used my $10 cat from previous trip and paid only $6.00 and I got another $10 catalina for next time!
Transaction 5 – I bought these items:
3 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix: $4.50
3 tubs Betty Crocker frosting: $6
3 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix: $6
6 boxes regular Betty Crocker brownie mix: $9
I used these coupons:
(3) $1/2 cake mix and frosting
(3) $.40/1 cookie mix (those doubled)
(3) $1/2 brownies
Total before coupons was $25.50
Total after coupons was $17.10
I used my $10 cat from previous trip and paid only $7.10 and I got another $10 catalina for next time!
Transaction 6 – I bought these items:
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix: $6
4 tubs Betty Crocker frosting: $8
1 pouch Betty Crocker cookie mix: $2
2 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks: $4
3 boxes Cheerios: $6
I used these coupons:
(4) $1/2 cake mix and frosting
(1) $.40/1 cookie mix (that doubled)
(1) $.60/2 fruit snacks
(3) $.50/1 Cheerios (those doubled)
Total before coupons was $26.00
Total after coupons was $17.00
I used my $10 cat from previous trip and paid only $7.00 and I got another $10 catalina for next time!
During these transactions, I also picked up
48 rolls of Charmin toilet paper (Hallelujah! The girl’s got TP!)
1 big jar Cains pickles
4 jars of Cains mayonnaise
7 tangerines
2 pounds potatoes
1 fresh eggplant
1 jar fig spread
My total for everything mentioned above before discounts and coupons was $163.11
I paid only $32.17 OOP for EVERYTHING above (including tax) and I still have a $10 catalina for next time!
Oh, I almost forgot, I grabbed 2 more bags of Frootee Ice so I can do the rebate again. That’s makes 5 bags for me so far. I plan on doing 10 total.
See my GM transactions 1 & 2 here
See my GM transaction 3 here
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Posted by Darlene on October 16, 2011 at 6:24 pm I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I just got back from a quickie shopping trip at Shaw’s where I did my 3rd General Mills catalina deal. The deal is if you buy $25 of participating GM products, you get $10 back. The minimum purchase is supposed to be $25 after scanning all other coupons, but this is the third time I dip under $25 after coupons and I got the cat each time!
Today I bought these items:
6 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
2 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
16 boxes Green Giant frozen veggies
I used these coupons (they all doubled):
(3) $.50/2 Betty Crocker potatoes
(1) $.60/2 Betty Crocker fruit snacks
(4) $.80/4 Green Giant frozen veggies
Total before coupons was $27.50
Total after coupons was $16.90
I used my $10 cat from previous trip and paid only $6.90!
In the same transaction, I also picked up:
1 big container Hood cottage cheese
Used coupon for FREE cottage cheese
1 bag potato chips
Used coupon for FREE bag potato chips
1 pack 12 rolls toilet paper on sale for $4.99
Used $5/$25 for total order which made the toilet paper FREE
1 full stock of celery from reduced produce for 75¢
My OOP total for everything above including the tax on the TP was just $7.85! And I have another $10 catalina from the GM deal to use next time!
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Posted by Darlene on October 16, 2011 at 1:08 am I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I ran over to Shaw’s today to pick up some of the goodies offered in the General Mills sale. The deal with that sale is that if you buy $25 worth of participating GM products, you get $10 back. It states that the minimum needs to be met after coupons, but it usually works before coupons. It makes me nervous every time, but it worked twice for me today!
For my first GM transaction, I bought:
8 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes
8 cans of Green Giant veggies
4 boxes of Lucky Charms
The total for just the GM items before coupons was $30 (sale price, not shelf price), and after coupons it was $18. I dipped below $25 and it spit out my $10 catalina!
For my second GM transaction, I bought:
8 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes
16 boxes of Green Giant frozen veggies
The total for just the GM items before coupons was $26, and after coupons it was $15.60. I dipped below $25 and it spit out my $10 catalina!
So, at least at the Sanford Shaw’s, the catalina is triggered at the sale price total, not the total after coupons. As long as you reach $25 before coupons, you should be okay.
Here’s what I got in all…
4 big boxes Lucky Charms
16 Boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
16 boxes Green Giant frozen veggies
8 cans Green Giant veggies
4 Lunchables (I paid only 50¢ each in reduced deli with coupons)
1 king size loaf wheat bread ($1.20 in reduced bakery)
10 pound bag of potatoes (only $2 in reduced produce)
6 jars Cains mayonnaise (B1G1 FREE, price $4.89 for 1, use this coupon and get 2 for $3.89 or just $1.95 each!!!)
One bag of those popsicle things that my granddaughter is going to love when she visits!!! (on sale for 99¢ with $2 rebate, so I make a buck!)
Total before Shaw’s card and coupons: $145.36
After all coupons and after using one $10 catalina I paid $31.92 – this is NOT what I consider a great shopping trip since I only saved 78%, but it shows that you still can save a good chuck of money on stuff like vegetables, produce, and bread!
Oh, and I still have a $10 catalina to use next time!!! And I’ve got that $2 rebate coming to me! Not too shabby after all!
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Posted by Darlene on October 5, 2011 at 1:05 am I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
First, I totally apologize for the lazy photo I took. I was just too tired to set up for a pic. And the refrigerated stuff I bought is not even in the picture. Nor is the soda. And now I see that not all the cereal boxes are there either! I do not do couponing justice! Oh, well…
First, let me tell you what I bought, then I’ll tell you what I paid:
27 boxes of cereal
13 bags of chex mix, bugles and gardetto’s
20 boxes of nature valley granola bars
2 packages of toilet paper, 18 rolls per pack
8 bottles of polar soda
2 cans of coffee
4 yogurts
3 half gallons of juice
3 pounds of apples
1 pound of radishes
2 bags of cole slaw mix
4 pounds of carrots
The total before discounts and coupons was $374.90.
I paid… drum roll please… $36.72!
And I have a $3 catalina for next time!
I saved 95% – and that includes produce that I bought without coupons!
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Posted by Darlene on September 29, 2011 at 12:44 am I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I took a little walk around Shaw’s tonight to check out their reduced sections. This has become one of my favorite things to do! I get such good deals by shopping for stuff that needs to find a good home :O)
We have needed milk for about a week now, but I insisted on holding out for a great deal (yes, I torture my mother like that). The reduced dairy section finally had lots of goodies tonight (it has been empty for about a week) so I was able to pick up super cheap milk (drink up, mom!), cheap tea, and nearly free yogurt. The potatoes were from the reduced produce section for a fraction of the cost. But, I was most excited about the milk (so was my mother).
Here is the complete breakdown along with the coupons I used:
Milk marked down to $1.50 per gallon in reduced dairy (best by Oct 1, I will pour into quart jugs and freeze it) – I used (3) $1.00 off any milk coupons (got those in the mail) and got the three gallons for only 50¢ each! 3 Gallons Milk: $1.50
Swiss Tea (Ooops! It’s Turkey Hill Tea!!!) marked down to $1.00 in reduced dairy (on its last day, but it’s tea, I’m not worried if it goes past by a few days) – I used (1) 75¢ off Swiss tea (from an insert, this coupon does not double, starts with 9) so I paid 25¢. UPDATE: I just went to my refrigerator and I see that I bought Turkey Hill Sweet Tea, not Swiss Tea! I think I saw Sweet Tea and was thinking Swiss! However, the coupon still scanned with no beeping. I wonder why??? I feel like an idiot! Half Gallon Tea: 25¢
Yoplait Yogurt marked down to 35¢ each in reduced dairy (best by Oct 1, if I don’t eat them in time I freeze in ziplock bags and use for smoothies) – I used (2) $1/3 Yoplait Yogurt coupons (no longer available, you should have printed them when I said to!) so I paid 5¢ for 3 yogurts (last week they were 30¢ and would have been free… oh well, I’ll live). Oh, I left 6 more there in case YOU want them! 6 Yogurts: 10¢
Potatoes marked down to 29¢ per pound in reduced produce (they are as fresh as ever) – no coupon for those. 7.75 lbs potatoes: $2.44
Powerade on sale for $1 each – I used 75¢/2 Powerade coupons which doubled (the coupons are right there with the powerade!) so I paid 50¢ for two. 4 Powerades: $1.00
Pasta regular price $1.29 – I used (1) $1/1 Essential coupon from the Fresh for Fall coupon book at Shaw’s. 1 box of Pasta: 29¢
So, there you have it folks! If you clip coupons and search for the deals, you can save lots of money on real food! And this is not something I do once in a blue moon… I shop like this all the time! One day I might pick up cheap meat. Another day I might get reduced bread. Then there are the days that I shop for my stockpile and buy more dog bones than any dog needs.
Anyone can save money with coupons… if you learn do it right! Subscribe to my blog and I’ll teach you how!
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Posted by Darlene on September 25, 2011 at 11:36 pm I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
One thing I hate to run out of is dog bones (my dogs hate it too!). So, when I came across this Milk Bone deal (see below), I just had to buy all the boxes I had coupons for!
The other very exciting thing for me was the Willow Tree chicken salad. I printed coupons for Willow Tree for the first three months of my couponing career, but I never found a sale to go along with the coupons so I finally stopped printing them (that chicken salad is $3.99 for half a pound, and the coupons are $2 off, but $1.99 for half a pound is still too much!).
A few nights ago I saw Willow Tree in the reduced deli section with stickies for $2 off, but I didn’t have any coupons to go with it. I printed off two coupons when I got home with the hopes of finding that deal again. And tonight, I did! With my $2 off on top of the $2 off stickies, I got two tubs (one pound total) for FREE! I love FREE!
I’m too beat to give the step by step breakdown for Shaw’s (I did CVS tonight too, you can see that breakdown here), but I will point out highlights.
One shining moment was the Milk Bone dog biscuits. About 2 weeks ago, someone at Walmart was handing out pet food coupons. She saw my shoebox of coupons and said she would be tossing all the coupons that she had left so she offered to give them ALL to me! Of course, I took them. I got a bunch of coupons that gave me $2 off 2 boxes of Milk Bones and a bunch of $1.50 off kitten food. I only bought 5 bags of the cat food to bring my total over $25 and I’ll wait for a sale to hopefully get more for free… too bad I don’t have a cat!
Anyhoo… I was THRILLED to see the Milk Bones on sale B1G1 free! The price was $3.89, so after my $2 off 2, I got the boxes for 95¢ each! And that’s not the end of it… some of the boxes of had coupons for a FREE bag of Soft & Chewy bones when you buy 2 boxes of any Milk Bone product. Those bags of soft bones were $3.29 each, but I got 12 bags for FREE because I bought 24 boxes of Milk Bones! Did I mention I love FREE?
I also got a great deal on meat. Each pack of chicken had $3 off stickies and the pork had $2 off so I saved $8 on the meat. I got all that meat for only $6.95 (and don’t forget about that free chicken salad!).
In all, I got:
24 boxes Milk Bone dog biscuits
12 bags Soft & Chewy dog bones
5 bags Purina kitten food
2 family packs of chicken
1 pack of pork
2 boxes toaster pastries
3 individual packs salad dressing
4 bags potato chips
2 tubs Willow Tree chicken salad
I did this in two transactions. Besides my regular coupons, I also had a $5 off $25 coupon. And, I see that I ended up getting an overage on those free bags of soft bones which went toward the rest of my bill. Those dog bones were on sale, but they deducted the full price so I made 46¢ per bag! That happens sometimes, even at Shaw’s! They say no overages, but if it scans that way, they go with the flow!
Total before sale prices and coupons was $192.19 but I only paid $27.86!
And get this… I really got all this for FREE because I used my FREE Shaw’s gift cards to pay it off!
And now, I’m officially tired. Oh, that Willow Tree chicken salad is awesome! Too bad I’ll never be willing to pay for it :O)
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Posted by Darlene on September 25, 2011 at 10:50 pm I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I ran over to CVS tonight to pick up a few things. It should have been a 10 minute shopping trip. Instead, it turned into an hour long ordeal and I had to miss the beginning of the Amazing Race!
I had some Extra Bucks to spend. I had one $10 Extra Buck and four 99¢ Extra Bucks… so, $13.96 total over several CVS cards.
When I walked in, I spotted some Colgate toothpaste with an incredible sale price of only $2 each. This was not advertised (because it was a boo boo, read on), but I knew I had coupons in my inserts at home. I went home, cut the coupons and went back (which made me late for my show!!! also, there was another couponer in front of me with tons of stuff… I waited with a smile and watched the clock tick).
Transaction on one CVS card:
I picked up 5 tubes of toothpaste at $2 each for a total of $10 (get $5 Extra Bucks when you spend $10 on that particular toothpaste). I used (5) $1.00 off coupons so my cost was $5.00.
I also picked up St. Joseph aspirin using a rain check. The rain check price was $2 and I used (1) $1 off coupon (get $1 EB) so my cost was $1.00.
Then I grabbed 2 boxes of Excedrin on sale for 99¢ each (get 99¢ back, limit 2). No coupons so my cost was $1.98.
I also picked up 2 Ajax dish soaps on sale for 88¢ each and used (1) $1/2 coupon so my cost was 76¢.
Last but not least, I got 1 jug of laundry soap on sale for $1.49. No coupons so my cost was $1.49.
That brought me to $10.23 before tax. I paid using my $10 Extra Bucks so my out of pocket total including tax was $1.10 and I got $7.98 Extra Bucks for next time!
NOTE: You can’t copy transaction above because the toothpaste was NOT on sale for $2 each. They rang up at $4.99 each. But since they made a boo boo and had a sale tag under the toothpaste display, and since I made a trip home to get coupons for that toothpaste, they offered to let me have them for $2 each! I didn’t even have to ask, beg, or cry! What a lucky deal I got on that toothpaste, and I sooooo needed sensitive toothpaste in my stockpile :O)
Transactions on 2 other CVS cards:
As for the other 4 boxes of Excedrin, I bought 2 boxes each on two other CVS cards. Those were 99¢ each and I paid using four 99¢ Extra Bucks. I got four 99¢ Extra Bucks in return. I just love it when I can roll Extra Bucks over and get something FREE and get the Extra Bucks back for the next time! Total out of pocket was just 15¢ tax (for some reason, they charged me 10¢ for two boxes but then only 5¢ tax on the other two… tax with coupons can be funny that way).
My total out of pocket for everything in the photo including tax was $1.25 and I have $11.94 in Extra Bucks for the next time!!!
If you think this is complicated… IT IS!!! Learning the drugstore ropes takes time, but it’s so worth it in the end. Each week I get anywhere from $20 to $40 worth of stuff at CVS and I usually only pay a couple bucks out of pocket. I pay using Extra Bucks and only try to buy stuff that will give me Extra Bucks in return. It’s fun!!!
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Posted by Darlene on September 18, 2011 at 11:12 am I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.
I just love, love, LOVE getting FREE stuff! And thanks to a gift card promotion that Shaw’s had last week, I will be able to get FREE food… lots of it!
Shaw’s just had a deal where if you bought $100 in gift cards, you got a $10 Shaw’s gift card for FREE! A $10 Shaw’s gift card goes a loooooong way with me. I can buy SO MUCH STUFF for $10 by matching coupons to sales. I wanted some of those FREE Shaw’s gift cards. I did. I really, really did.
I decided that since I easily save $600 a month on groceries and household items, I’d spend $600 of my savings on Gulf gas cards. I’m going to buy gas anyway, right? By doing that, I got $60 worth of Shaw’s gift cards that I can use toward my groceries! That FREE money will go a long way for me because I will still shop for bargains and use coupons. Just because I got free money does not mean I will pay full price for anything!
Now I have enough gas for probably a year, that’s if I do only my usual traveling. And I know I can stretch that $60 worth of FREE food (along with the $20 Shaw’s gave me just for being me) to last me two months, maybe even three months. That means no more out of pocket spending for me for awhile, not at Shaw’s and certainly not on gas!
Once you start extreme couponing, you will quickly realize just how far $10 can go. It’s amazing!!! Some people might think it’s crazy to dish out $600 on gas just to get $60 in return. But remember, that $60 is FREE MONEY! And when you shop like I do, you can build a nice stockpile for sixty bucks! And when you save like I do, you will have $600 to spend on gas cards! It’s a win, win!
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