I made a quick trip to Target and my weekly stop into Rainbow. The picture below is everything I got FREE after coupons; I forgot to include the gallon of milk I got FREE too.
I did buy a few other things so in total I spent $43 between the two stores for $142 in groceries. That’s a 69% savings or $99 in my pocket (see why I call this site Pocket Your Dollars?).
How’d I do it? First, at Target I picked up:
- Huggies Wipes: Used a $1/1 any Huggies Bath and Body coupon someone randomly gave me
- Cascade Rinse: Used a “Try Me Free” coupon from a booklet that was mailed to my house. I promise I’ll let you know when those come available again.
- Coppertone Water Babies Suntan Lotion: Used (2) $1/1 printable here
- Banana Boat Suntan Lotion: Used $1/1 from 5/3 Smart Source insert in the newspaper
- Kraft Salad Dressing: Used (2) $1/1 here and also used a Target store coupon for $1/2 printable here. I bought the third dressing at Rainbow using a printable coupon here.
- Milk: I bought 4 Tombstone pizzas on one of my first transactions, then used the Free Milk coupon it generated on a later transaction.
I did four separate transactions at Rainbow so that I could double 20 coupons. I used printable coupons found here for everything except the Sweet Baby Ray’s. I used the in-ad coupon for $.88 per bottle and also used a $1/2 coupon from the 5/10 Smart Source insert.
With all the printable coupons and stellar deals, how did you do this week? Please leave a comment with the scoop on how much money you saved this week
Great job on the deals!
Just curious…did you do the four transactions at Rainbow together or did you come back in the store? Yesterday was the first time I did two separate transactions. The cashier was not happy about this. I usually run back to the car, but I had my kids with and I wanted to save time.
Wendy – My personal limit is two transactions at a time, then out to the car and back inside. I have all my coupons ready and my ducks in a row so it takes very little time to ring through two. Also, if someone is behind me I will often let them go ahead of me so they don’t have to wait. Glad you saved so much! –Carrie
I did it! I did however, break a rule…took two of my four kids…extenuating circumstances and boy, I could tell it was NOT the time for them:)
However, I spent 34.21 and saved 38.95 at Rainbow. They had an awesome deal on Pepsi (my hubbie is a huge fan), so I got them for about $3.00 off per pack. I did two transactions and learned a bunch. It was pretty cool and hubbie was super excited to receive 5 packs of soda (had to get the limit on that one!).
I hadn’t known previously that Rainbow doubled coupons, or how that all worked, so I was REALLY excited to save 50% on my virgin run!
Thanks Carrie!
Jen – With two kids under foot you still did awesome. Way to go! –Carrie
I had a pretty good trip to Rainbow yesterday. I spent $42 and saved $97! I was able to get a few things for free. Those were 4 boxes of Wheat Thins, 3 containers of Crystal Light, and 2 gallons of milk. I also purchased a bottle of Kraft salad dressing for $0.16. :)
Laura – Pretty good? $97 per week is like $5,000 per year. Awesome! Thanks for sharing. –Carrie
I spent $46.14 for $132.40 in groceries at Rainbow. I did three transactions – two the first time, went to my car and regrouped and back inside for the third. I got Edge shave gel, McCormicks Grilling Spices, Rhodes rolls, two Wet Ones canisters and Wheat Thins for FREE. Your list totally works. Thanks!
Amy – Glad to hear that the list saved you time and a ton of money. Way to go! –Carrie
I did four transactions this week at Rainbow this week too. Picking up many of the freebies. I spent $73.32 and saved $102.10–pretty high out of pocket, however that included 3 bags of dog food that were on sale–I spent about $47.00 in dog food (I had coupons for the dog food also) alone! Without the dog food I spent $26.32 on food, and saved $85.30-that’s a 76% savings! It’s amazing what you can do with a little planning ahead. I really appreciate your blog & the personal experiences that you share, it has already helped me save money!
Nicole – Thanks for sharing your success story of saving so much money. It encourages me to keep helping people. Way to go! –Carrie
I stepped into a Rainbow for the 1st time in about 10 years. I spent $18 and saved $18. I did one transaction, I could have done 2, but many things were out and I did not prepare to bring extra coupons to double in case that happened, I did do the rain checks though. My friend blessed me and took both my boys and I only had the baby. It was stressful, especially the prepping for it. It was good to try though, thanks for the encouragement Carrie!
Monica – That’s a 50% savings and $18 you get to spend on something else! Way to go. –Carrie
Thanks so much for your great list, Carrie! Your site has been a blessing to our family. Between my husband and I, we did 5 transactions, and spent $62.97 on food valued at 237.28. My youngest daughter was excited about her free Dora Band-Aids. I don’t think I’ll need to buy another box of crackers for months!
Tami – Hearing about how much money you saved makes me smile and I am sure it encourages others. Thanks for taking time to let us know! –Carrie
Hi Carrie, I saw you last night @ LWCC. I was wondering, when you say that you used
(2) $1/1 coupons for the Coppertone Suntan Lotion @ Target, how does that work? Did you buy 2 & use 2 coupons? I printed the coupon & it says “one coupon per purchase”. I’m going to start picking up the sunday paper @ Dollar Tree & hopefully start using your knowledge next week, (wednesday @ Rainbow). Can you also help me understand why you had to do 4 transactions @ Rainbow & exactly how you did it. Sorry for all the questions, I usually get excited when I check out & I saved $10.00, but I can’t wait to see what it will be like when I save $50.00 or even more! Thanks again,
-Adam
Adam – Welcome and thanks for taking time to ask questions. When I say I used 2 coupons that means I bought two items. You can only ever use one manufacturer’s coupon per item, but you can ALWAYS use a store coupon (Target, Walgreens, Cub or otherwise) and a manufacturer’s coupon together. You can usually tell the difference between the two coupon types because the top of the coupon says which it is. I did four transactions at Rainbow so that I could double more coupons. You can only double 5 per transaction. But, each transaction must equal $25 when you calculate the regular, non-sale, pre-coupon price of everything you buy. I did that four times and was able then to double 20 coupons total. Keep reading, keep asking questions and I think you’ll save a ton of money. –Carrie
Hello I just had a quick question. How do you do four separate transations doesn’t the cashier get upset or are they pretty gracious with you? :) I am very new to this and just wondering how that works. Hope to hear back from you. Your site is great I look forward to using your tools. Thank you:)
-Kayla
Kayla – My personal rule of thumb is no more than two transactions at a time. That means, as crazy as it sounds, that I did two transactions, put the groceries in my car, then went back and did two more. The cashiers have never had a problem. I only do two to be respectful of the shoppers behind me in line. Hope that helps! –Carrie