Yes, you heard me correctly, 46 cents, and most of that was tax for the items pictured above. Without coupons everything would have cost me $19.07. That is a 98% savings!
I will explain how I did it and the nice thing is that you can pick up many of these deals yourself, even if you are just starting out. I only used coupons, versus gift card deals, rebates and other money-off-your-next-purchase-type promotions and many of the coupons were Target-issued, making them printable for you to use as well.
Your turn: What is the best transaction or deal you have done since you started using coupons?
Here are the details of how I did it:
2 Tubs of Wipes. They were $1.29 each and I used two $1/1 Target-issued printable coupons. The coupon says limit one per transaction and yesterday, for the first time and for some reason, the cashier didn’t have a problem with me using two coupons.
2 lb of Apples. Red Delicious and gala apples were $0.58 per pound. I bought almost exactly two pounds and used the $1 off 2 pounds of apples Target-issued printable coupon. That made them just $0.08 per pound.
2 Marshmallows. These were $1.04 each, but I used this $1/2 Target-issued printable coupon making them just $0.54 each.
4 Arm & Hammer Tooth. Each trial-sized toothpaste was $0.97 (or $3.88 for all four of them). I had two $3 off 2 Arm & Hammer Oral Care coupons from the 8/16 Smart Source insert. I expected the coupons’ value to be adjusted down so that the toothpaste would simply be free. The cashier ran the coupons through at their full face value of $3 each, which meant I had $6 worth of coupons for $3.88 in products. That difference acted like a “credit” toward other groceries I purchased.
1 French Bread. This was $1.49 and I used this $1 off any Archer Farms bakery product valued at more than $1 printable coupon.
2 Rolaids. Each three-pack was $1.79 and I had a coupon for $4 off any two Rolaids packages from the October 4 Red Plum insert. Again, the cashier chose not to adjust the coupon down to simply make the product free, but ran it at the full $4 value. That gave me another $0.42 “credit” toward the other groceries I was buying.
2 Dove Deodorants. Each trial-sized deodorant was $0.97 and I had two $1/1 coupons from the 10/4 Red Plum insert.
1 Johnson Buddies Soap. These soaps are found in the baby aisle and are regularly priced at $0.97. I used a $1 off any Johnson’s baby product coupon from the 9/13 Red Plum #2 insert to get this free.
2 Tubs of Wipes. They were $1.29 each and I used two $1/1 Target-issued printable coupons. The coupon says limit one per transaction and yesterday, for the first time and for some reason, the cashier didn’t have a problem with me using two coupons.
2 lb of Apples. Red Delicious and gala apples were $0.58 per pound. I bought almost exactly two pounds and used the $1 off 2 pounds of apples Target-issued printable coupon. That made them just $0.08 per pound.
2 Marshmallows. These were $1.04 each, but I used this $1/2 Target-issued printable coupon making them just $0.54 each.
4 Arm & Hammer Tooth. Each trial-sized toothpaste was $0.97 (or $3.88 for all four of them). I had two $3 off 2 Arm & Hammer Oral Care coupons from the 8/16 Smart Source insert. I expected the coupons’ value to be adjusted down so that the toothpaste would simply be free. The cashier ran the coupons through at their full face value of $3 each, which meant I had $6 worth of coupons for $3.88 in products. That difference acted like a “credit” toward other groceries I purchased.
1 French Bread. This was $1.49 and I used this $1 off any Archer Farms bakery product valued at more than $1 printable coupon.
2 Rolaids. Each three-pack was $1.79 and I had a coupon for $4 off any two Rolaids packages from the October 4 Red Plum insert. Again, the cashier chose not to adjust the coupon down to simply make the product free, but ran it at the full $4 value. That gave me another $0.42 “credit” toward the other groceries I was buying.
2 Dove Deodorants. Each trial-sized deodorant was $0.97 and I had two $1/1 coupons from the 10/4 Red Plum insert.
1 Johnson Buddies Soap. These soaps are found in the baby aisle and are regularly priced at $0.97. I used a $1 off any Johnson’s baby product coupon from the 9/13 Red Plum #2 insert to get this free.
I’ll show you my receipt to prove my savings:
About Carrie Rocha
That’s great! I see on the reciept Visa charge. Did you really charge that or am I seeing something else?
When I use my Visa Debit card it shows up as Visa charge. Also some of my friends use their credit card for all purchases to get reward points.
Wow Carrie what a deal.
You rock!
That’s awesome! I might be missing something, but if the two marshmellows cost $.54 each after the coupon, how were you only able to spend $.46? Thanks!
If you read closely she only paid $.46 because the cashier gave her the face value of coupons which was more than she paid for the product, resulting in “cash back” per say.
I LOVE when you “spell it out” like this. I am just getting started and it’s all so confusing to me! I would LOVE it if there were any way for you to go to Rainbow earlier in the day on Wednesdays so you could post your purchases here like you did this Thursday. I was excited that I saved about 46%, but would have loved to have come home with all you did, for as little as you spent! I am not able to go until Wednesday evening…so this would be a huge help! Thanks for at least considering the suggestion!
you really lucked out getting an overage at Target
That is so cool!!! A friend just refered me to this website, and this was the first post I have read. I am hooked already. I love getting good deals but never have I gotten as good a deal as above! Amazing!
What a great shopping trip!
Carrie, I really, really appreciate all the work that you do. I know I speak for many people when I say that your efforts save us a lot of money on a regular basis! So, I hope that you will take my comment as constructive criticism being given by someone with the utmost respect for what you do. You commented that the use of a “$1 off purchase of $1 or more” coupon on a 99 cent item is a “blatant misuse of the coupon since the language is clear on what the required purchase is.” While I agree with you, I don’t think this is any different than using more than one coupon that specifically state that you can only use one per transaction (as all the Target-issued printables state). Both of these situations are technically misuses of the coupons, and if you’re okay with using multiple coupons at the discretion of the cashier, then the cashier’s discretion should apply equally to the situation with the bread. Thanks, Carrie.
Cheryl – I know exactly what you mean. The only difference is that I asked the cashier about the language on the coupon and fully disclosed it. I did not try to pull a fast one on Target, if you know what I mean. I didn’t say that in the original post, but should have. I do know what you mean and am not offended by your comment. The folks I heard talking about the $0.99 were of the “hey, this will slip through if you try it” mindset – which is the attitude I was talking about. Does that make sense?
What store did you shop at? The store I went to today didn’t have apples that cheap or the wipes that cheap.
The bakery coupons say “$1 off Archery Farms bakery purchase of $1 or more”, therefore I don’t think it’s a misuse of the coupon to use them on cookies, which are 2/$1. Using them for a $0.99 item would be wrong, but if the purchase is $1, then I think it is fine per the wording of the coupon. This way I am able to get 2 free cookies per coupon.
When I went today I picked up some Up and Up flushable wipe refill packs that were $1.28 each, however they rang up as on sale for $0.97 each. I had $1 coupons (printable online), and they automatically adjusted down to the $0.97 making them free.
This is interesting. I got many of these same items today, but the prices were different. Not significantly, but still… My marshmallows were $1.12/package instead of your $1.04. The Johnson’s Buddies soaps were $1.07 instead of your .97. Like I said, it wasn’t significant but just goes to show that they all have their own pricing. It’s certainly not worth it for me to drive to find a Target w/ slightly lower prices.
Carrie,
I’d love your input on a situation that happened at Target tonight. I checked my coupons, the dates, the items etc. to make sure everything was okay. I was using coupons on trial items. I fully expected the cashier to adjust the price down. None of my coupons excluded trial sizes or specified size requirements. The cashier became very disgruntled with me and told me I was being fraudlent. She insisted she could not lower the value of the coupon. The “head” cashier came over and was yelling at me saying they can’t pay me .3cents. I explained I wasn’t asking for that and she too said they can not lower the prices. Unfortunately, I did not have the Target rules with me. And if they would of simply said they couldn’t or wouldn’t do it I would of just not bought those items and asked for my coupons back. However, the cashier continued to try and put them through while telling me to never come back, how I have no integrity, and stating she “knows what I’m trying to do.” I feel I wasn’t trying to do anything deceptive. I feel more “wronged” for how I was spoken to and treated. Should I say something to the manager or just let it go.
Annette – I’d contact both the store manager and email Target corporate. Target’s official coupon policy says they will adjust the coupon value down if the coupon is worth more than the product. Let us know what happens.
Annette-did you ever complain about the way you were treated? What happened?
Carrie – I LOVE the pictures of your deals this week! “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thanks for all your hard work, I appreciate it.