Open Mic is a post every Thursday that is a mini-version of a discussion board. You can leave a comment with whatever coupon, money-saving or debt reduction tips or questions you have and other readers chime in and answer.
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About Carrie Rocha
Has anyone come across a web site that lists the different Catalina Offers in stores?
I seem to come across mentions of them in comments once in a while.
I tried a search yesterday and will continue today.
I would like to maximize my savings opportunities.
I did three trip to Rainbow yesterday (just down the block)
Trip #1
OOP $9.26 Savings $31.58
Trip #2
OOP $.49 Savings $35,79
Trip #3
OOP $1.63 Savings $37.38
Total
OOP $11.38 Savings $104.75
I haven’t found Catalina listings anywhere. I have a good friend at a local grocery store and they don’t even have the listing. They just get memo as to which need to be signed per their contractual agreements. Others are not even signed and a mystery win for us at the checkout. Would be so nice to have that information in our hands.
Robby – That is amazing!! How did you do it with only being able to double 5 coupons?
i wouldn’t have believed it myself if I wasn’t there to see it! heheh I did the Unilever deal first and got my $5 Catalina (thought it should have been $7). I also got a $4 Pillsbury Catalina since I had some $1 off coupons for Pillsbury Cresents. The small ones were $1 each so I bought $6 and used $1 coupons. I also got some OM Bologna and Salami for $1 each and used $1 coupons of each.
My second trip was for the Kellog’s deal. Again i had $1 (special K) coupons off 2 for all the items and more OM Bologna and Salami coupons. More Pillsbury refridge with coupons. and I had a BOGO for Special K. I had to buy a peanut M&M at the register to get over $5 so I could use the $5 Catalina I got earier.
My third trip was for odds and ends I saw during the day and had written down the prices and then put a coupon packet together. Nabisco, pizza, Jose Ole BOGO, more of the 10/$10 where I had $1 coupons. I used my $6 of Pillsbury Catalina’s and that’s how it happened.
I took a friend with me last night had him do the Unilever and Kellogg’s deals. He spent $15 and saved $58. He was dumbfounded on how easy it is and how much he can stock up and save.
This may be dumb, but what’s a Catalina? I did the Unilever deal also and thought I had gotten a good deal until I read yours – Kudos!!
Not a dumb question… Catalina Category Marketing (CCM) rewards purchases of promoted products with “catalinas”, also known as “check-out coupons”. These offer incentives good on your next shopping trip to that retailer. There is usually a 4-week window on any given program/incentive promotion. Rainbow has been printing off the $19.99 Oil Change coupons for a couple weeks using the Catalina. But there are other surprises that come out also. They are just like the Walgreens Register Rewards.
As you may have noticed Kool-Aid points are no longer on kool-aid pkgs. You can redeem the points until June 30, 2010. The Kool-Aid website gives all the info on products, pts. and ordering. If you would like more pts, you may have mine.
I work in the retail grocery industry, specifically with Catalina on promotions. You will not find an official website out there from catalina that lists offers. Offers are either advertised by the CPG company or the retailer or the rest of the offers are meant to be stealth and a suprise at checkout.
Thank you for the response. It seems tht it would be helpful to others if we “shared” those stealth surprises. The Catalina machines at Rainbow EP are so slow you have to ask for the coupons because they don’t print before they have begun checking out the next person in line. I know they won’t chase me down to given them to me. I ask for them only because I know of some I should be getting. Who know about the stealth ones I am not getting but am entitled to.
Sorry Carrie, I forgot to check the box re: previous message.
This could be “money saving” if you are looking for a dog for your family. I have two maltese white dogs that are 4 and house trained that need a home. FREE to a good home. They are my parents’ dogs who are back and forth to CA and never around and they just want these dogs to have a good home. They weigh about 5 pounds each. They have all of their shots. Also they’d need to both go to the same home. Please email if interested!!! My parents live in Apple Valley, MN. frijes @ bethel dot edu (remove spaces)
I sent you an e-mail – please watch for it in case it gets spammed – from melissamuncecpa at msn dot com
Did you find a home yet? I might be interested. I will send you an e-mail from hlynnw1 at yahoo dot com
What about Festival Foods? Its a nice place to shop if you cant quite muster enough umpf to tackle a warehouse store. Their prices on many sale items are comparable to Cub and Rainbow, often times Festival has the same items on sale a week before Cub and Rainbow. Plus their gas savings program is fabulous. I know someone who saved 75 cents a gallon!
How do you print the coupons from coupons.com in black and white? I seem to be using up way too much color toner cartridges.
Valerie, you should be able to go into your printing preferences and change it to “grayscale”; then it will print in color. If you can, go to “preferences” from the print screen and then go to “color”. Printing in grayscale should be an option. Hope this helps!
some of the coupons just have, select print. It doesn’t give me the option to pick grayscale or b/w. Do you find this with coupons.com?
I have my printer set to only print in black & white no matter what I am printing. I only change it if there is something I want printed in color.
I had the same issue a month or so ago. I got the answer fom Laura here on PYD’s Open Mic. Although I don’t know remember the specific “step by step” directions it has something to do with your printers preferences. Maybe Laura will see your post and give you the same advice she gave me.
Is there a way to recognize if an internet printed coupon is valid or fraudulant? I printed the coupon from the milk giveaway for one free half gallon of chocolate milk wyb a gallon of milk. Three cashiers discussed in front of me if it was a fraud. I would have loved to be able to tell them what made that coupon legit… Thanks!
I used my coupon from the milk giveaway at Target with no problems. I wonder if it was the store you went to.
Is there a way to sign up on PYD to receive comments by email without leaving a comment?
You can subscribe to the comments RSS feed. In Firefox (which you’re using, right? RIGHT?) click the orange RSS icon in the address bar and add the “Comments RSS 2.0″ to your favorite feed reader.
It’s a similar method in Internet Explorer (gag), Safari, Opera, and Chrome.
Hoo yeah, Rainbow will be doubling coupons on Saturdays too! Just heard a commercial this morning! So awesome since my husband has band practice on Wednesday nights and I can’t get out of the house to hit up the free stuff at Rainbow.
Do you need some kind of a card to get the Rainbow doubling deal??
Andrea, no, you don’t need a Roundy’s card to get your 1st 5 coupons doubled. :)
Would love any tips on deals or discounts on salon services… I just cannot justify spending full price on cuts and colors but what a quailty cut,with quality services in the MN area *preferably the northern suburbs* any suggestions on good places with inexpensive services or deals?
my friend just opened a booth at a salon in big lake,
I can give you her info , She is running awesome specials right now, color, perms, haircuts
I Can get you coupons for her if you want
LET ME KNOW
ALSO: IF anyone has any of the purina pro plan free dog food q’s let me know, I am giving generously for them they are from the 1/31 smartsource, I am desperate
EMAIL ME bakulyas@msn.com
Did eveyone get this coupon? The only coupon I see in my 1/31 ads are for Iams Premium Protection…
I emailed u a few days ago…
I have 2 sets of those purina coupons that i would be happy to give u
Cindy
I, too, would like some of the Purina coupons. I have coupons to trade if you want also!
Thank you!
I have 2 purina pro plan coupons…..the first person to email me can have them…..jarvsshop@usfamily.net
cindy ,
My spam blocker must of got your email
If you still have them i do want them
Thanks
Amy
they are yours….do you want me to mail them to you? I live in Shoreview. Let me know…
my email is jarvsshop@usfamily.net
Typically any of the cosmotelogy schools will offer good deals so the students can practice. The catch is that they are practicing. Otherwise I see lots of great clips coupons for 7.99 a haircut.
yes… thats the thing. They are practicing.. took my daughter and son there for beginning of school cuts and they totally butchered their hair. it cost me $10 for them to get it cut plus another $35 to get it fixed at another place. I won’t make that mistake twice. Thing is they both had different people.. not sure but my experience is not good at the schools.
Depends upon what you are willing to do/need. I have used the Salon School in New Hope for manicures and pedicure and have been happy with them, they are not expensive. If you are willing to drive you can also go to the Aveda institute. For me, the one luxury I keep is that I get my hair professionally colored and colored. I however, will go to the schools for facials, massages or for nails.
A year ago, I was getting $50 haircuts (that was a discount, her normal cuts were closer to $80!), and I got fed up with it. Now I go to Great Clips and it definitely doesn’t qualify as pampering, but it is fine. I also have gotten a lot of coupons for Great Clips, so I’ve never actually paid full Great Clips price. I can go much more often and go in whenever I want, that’s a big advantage, too.
You should give an inexpensive place a whirl just once- they might surprise you. (A note- the first time I was literally shaking I was so afraid of what they would do to my hair! But it went well!)
I use Trade Secret. They usually charge $25-35 for cut with shampoo and conditioning, they also style before you leave. They also have a rewards program that gives you 10% off styling products.
I go to Salon Lavish in Champlin ~ when they run specials I “stock up” for hair care. Here are the Valentine’s Day Deals:
Dear Friends and Valued Clients,
Back by popular demand, a FREE $25 dollar gift card with every $100 dollar gift card purchase. In addition, we are also including a FREE gift bag with an AVEDA lip product (a $16 dollar value ).
Sincerely, Lisa Sutherland
Lavish Salon
4608 109th Ave N ste 102
Champlin, Minnesota 55316
763.422.1300
I always buy my Sunday papers at the Dollar Tree store closest to my house (the one in Richfield). However, last Sunday they didn’t have any and when I asked was told they don’t carry them any more. I’m hoping the cashier I asked was just misinformed because it will be hard to pay $1.75/paper after being used to getting it for only $1. Anybody else experience this?
A friend of mine was told the the don’t carry them at the Dollar Store in Burnsville last Sunday.
Where I live, CT, the dollar stores don’t carry the sunday paper and the saturday papers don’t include the coupons. Those of you that get it cheap are so lucky.
If you look in the paper, they have been having deals where you can get the paper delivered to your home on Sundays only for 99 cents/ for 26 weeks. At the end of the 26 weeks you will need to call and cancel or you will continue being charged. This way you get a fair price and can enjoy the coupons in your jammies with your a.m. coffee or cocoa! :)
Sidney – have you ever purchased the Early Sunday Edition on Saturday? The Early Sunday Start Tribune is only $0.50, and it has the coupon inserts and some of the sale ads. Sometimes, it will only have one out of two inserts, but at times it has them all. Last weekend, the 1/31 early sunday start trib had both inserts, so I got my eight papers for $4.00, instead of $14.00 had I bought them on Sunday. You can always check the Sunday Coupon Preview to get a heads up on which inserts to expect in each weeks paper, then when you go to get your Early Sunday papers on Saturday, you’ll know if your getting them all, and if the $1.25 savings is a good value for the inserts you are getting. HTH!
I now do the same – I only buy my papers on Saturday. I always pick them up at Cub and do look inside to make sure the coupons are in there before I buy them. I have never found one that did not have the coupon inserts. I have been doing this now since they started the Sat. edition and love that I can get 3 papers for less than the price I would pay for one on Sunday!
The strib saturday edition only has all coupons every 3-4 weeks..I’m in White Bear Lake..very frustrating.
What time do the Sat edition with coupons come out? Do you have to wait until 9 pm or something?
I have gotten mine as early as 1:00PM on Sat. at the Elk River Walgreen’s.
Where do you get your paper for only $.50? Everytime I get the Saturday paper it is 1.75 for the STRIB or 1.00 for the pioneer press.
When you go on Saturday do not buy the SATURDAY paper, you need to look for the “Early Sunday” paper. Believe both Strib and PP put these out now. The Strib is 50cents an the PP is $1. I usually get mine at Holiday Gas Stations (along with my free item of the month!) but I have also bought one at Festival Foods – or any local grocer. I’ve learned to flip through the paper first to make sure there are coupons inside before I pay.
Same thing north metro – they said they were “taken away” from the dollar tree.
I asked at Eden Prairie and was told they used to, but no longer do.
I pay $26.00/year to have the Sunday Strib delivered. (I’m confident it is a 1 yr subscription because I just renewed last week for 1 year…) I think I get that price because I pay for it once a year up front. If you’re interested, I’d call the Strib and ask about current promotions. If they tell you .99/week for 26 weeks (6mo), I’d ask them how much for the year. If they tell you more than $26.00 — tell them you know of people getting it for $26/year. Can’t hurt to ask. I wonder how much they’d charge if you asked for multiple sunday papers delivered to the same address??!
I get mine delivered to my house. I get my subscriptions for 65 cents each paper. I get multiple papers delivered each week. So it is really a good deal. I only get the sunday paper though.. I don’t do the rest of the week. so for 65 cents… and a stack of coupons in each paper, yes, I can handle that, which is why I get A LOT of subscriptions! :)
My question involves saving money with food allergies in the family. My son and husband are severely allergic to dairy, so I am very limited to certain brands. I routinely look for coupons for the things I use often, but I don’t have time to wander around the store looking at every label for possible coupon that are out there. So many offers involve being willing to switch around between brands, which I can do on things like household items, but food is a different story. Example: I have found only one brand of wheat bread at our local store that does not have any milk or milk products in it. I have called that company, and consumers are welcome to call once a year to receive coupons from them. Does anyone have any good tips for me? I am determined to slash our grocery budget. (It is “One-Fourth February” in our house– reduce our typical expenses by one-fourth this month!) Ever so grateful for any input!
Would it make sense for you to purchase a bread machine cheap on Craigslist and make your own? It’s as easy as dumping your ingredients in and pushing a button. You could make up a bunch of your own mixes in plastic bags and keep them in your pantry so they’re handy. There are a ton of vegan bread recipes out there if you Google “vegan bread machine recipe.” Plus as a bonus your house will smell awesome. :)
You could ask family members and friends to call and request the coupons, then give them to you. If they space out their requests through the year, you may get enough coupons to cover most of your bread.
Hi, Heidi. I can relate to your post. My daughter has multiple food allergies (milk, egg, wheat, peanut, strawberry, and a slight soy allergy). I feel your pain! I like what the other posters said. I would be happy to call the companies and get coupons for you too. I am very brand loyal. We eat pretty simple, so I don’t buy much of the packaged stuff. The biggest thing that I’ve learned here is to track the sales and know the rock-bottom prices. : )
FWIW, I do have a bread machine. It’s awesome! If you can find the right recipe, it’s great. I make gluten-free, dairy-free, everything-above-free-bread several times a week. I make three mixes/week so that I don’t have to spend so much time measuring it out every time. I buy bread for the rest of us, though.
I also have an ice cream maker to make her ice creams and sorbets. What do you do for that? I’d love to give you the recipes..
I second the bread machine idea! My BF and I bought one at the good will for 10.00 and it works great. We were skeptical, but they have a money back guarantee on the appliances so it’s a win win situation.
you might not get one with the bells and whistles, but at least one to help you decide if you like making bread then you can invest in something better later.
Julie
Can someone tell me what price I should be aiming for on the tablets that clean the high efficiency washers like Affresh? I recently got the washer and have used up the sample Affresh that came with it. I’m not stuck on that brand if there is another that people have had good luck with. Thanks in advance!
There was a coupon going around for Affresh a few months back but I couldn’t find it. Where to you buy it? I really need this too!
Could have swore I saw it at Wal-Mart, but I can’t guarantee it because it wasn’t on the radar as long as I had the samples.
I have never used these tablets, but was told by 3 different technicians that using 1 cup of bleach each month & run it in an empty washer works just as well as the tablets or powder. I’ve never had mold or mildew issues.
I love this tip — I hate buying specific cleaning products (ie Dishwasher Cleaner, Coffee Pot Cleaner, Wash Machine Cleaner) when a good old-fashioned, on-hand (cheap) household product does the trick — like vinegar or bleach. Thanks for sharing your tip!
I second Brady’s comment. I too have only ever used bleach to “freshen” my HE washer. Once a month is what I have been doing and actually just as a preventative. I haven’t noticed any smells at all. I wipe out any water around the rubber gasket (after each load) and I also leave the washer door open overnight.
Does anyone use an iphone or itouch APP for their grocery lists? There are so many to choose from and I would like input on which works best.
First 10,000 people to this link get a free Glade air freshener pack.
http://www.rightathome.com/offers/201002-rah/
Thank you, Karen :-)
Thanks Karen
The Purina ProPlan coupon was in the Star Tribune. It was not in the St. Cloud Times, which we also receive. I already went to get cat food for my in-laws cat since we don’t have a pet. They don’t have a Petsmart near them so I will get their coupon this weekend and go back to St. Cloud to get another bag. I did not see any of the small 6 oz. bags there that you also supposedly can get for free.
I am new to this “coupon adventure” and find it both exciting and frustrating. I have been stocking up on some food with some great savings, but I also know I can be saving more. My problem is my 4th child is on Celiac Disease diet and also cannot have any dairy. Much like you, Heidi, it’s very difficult to find those specific foods with any significant savings. Robbie, I’d be interested in learning how you saved so much on your 2nd and 3rd trips. I made 3 transactions yesterday but my savings wasn’t as much.
Something I saw … Fresh & Natural in Hudson, WI has a punch card, I think its spend $50, get $5 off. The entertainment book has coupons, spend $50, get $5 off. You could probably get both of those discounts (or work on them) each time you went in.
Special Childrens Center, through the YMCA in Hudson, WI does a gluten and casein free camp experience.
Hey ALL..Happy Thursday! Here’s a question for all of you Moms that have traveled with babies…We’re taking our 16 month old with us this time to WDW, and I am looking for a great lightweight but sturdy stroller…I also don’t want to break the bank. My son is a little over 30 pounds..BIG BOY, so it has to be a bit more substantial than an umbrella stroller or he’ll tip it over..any ideas?? Also, any other tips you have would be greatly appreciated!!
Nicole, the Graco Mosaic is a great stroller. Small but sturdy, easy to navigate, and not too expensive…especially if you find one on Craigslist.
Kristin, I just read up on the Mosaic and watched a video..this stroller looks like EXACTLY what I want!! Thanks for your input!!
Nicole,
I have a mcclaren that i LOVE. I have gone through trying so many different strollers with 5 kids and this is the best small/lightweight I have come across. My youngest is 3 now and we don’t use it much. If you would like to borrow it for your trip you are welcome to.
ltraci44 @ yahoo com
Traci,
That is an incredibly generous offer! As tempting as that is, I really do need the stroller full time, so I’ll be purchasing one. I have looked at the Maclarens, and the only downfall is that the basket is a bit smaller, and with three young ones, storage is key (as you know)..BUT this stroller is still a canidate. Thanks again for your offer; VERY SWEET!! I appreciate your input too :)
We did WDW two years back and two days b4 leaving our six year old broke his leg! Great – a cast and a child that can’t walk, the ideal situation for a trip to WDW!!! We ended up bringing along our jogging stroller and it was a God sent! You can rent very nice strollers at the parks entrance (1 or 2 riders) also. They have ample storage, a sun canopy and are super easy to push! However, it is nice to have your own along for airports and the time you spend out of the park itself.
Thanks AJ! We took the older two (then 4 and 5) last year and rented a stroller there (WDW) a couple of times. (For anyone else looking to do this..if you rent on the first day of your trip, you can prepay at a discount for ALL of your days at the park.) Because our youngest is so little, we’d really like one for the rest of the trip too (airport, beaches etc..)
We recently got back from WDW and needed a stroller. We have 7 year old twins and a 3 year old. The double stroller was great, the 3 kids were able to rotate and get a break from walking and it was still easy to push. They are spendy, but if you rent one for the length of your stay on your first day, they are cheaper, they give you a ticket to turn in each day and you don’t have to stand in the long line again! Also, if you take your own stroller for the airport and getting to and from the park, or the hotel etc, you can check your little stroller when you get the rental and then switch them back at the end of the day. The rental strollers are really easy to push and can handle a lot of weight, even with two 7 year olds, and a monster back pack it was a breeze!
We just went to Disney in November and I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old. We took our regular tandem stroller and found it very helpful to have the ‘storage’ underneath for all the stuff you take with-or end up leaving with! Disney is a fairly stroller friendly place.
When we flew we gate-checked the stroller so it was not considered a piece of our luggage, we did not have to pay to check it, and the kids could stay in it until we got on the plane and it was right there in the jetway when we got off the plane!
I have a question on utilties/budgeting. Do you pay by the month/usage or take avantage of a payment plan where you pay the same amount each month? Any tips on reducing costs?
We take advantage of the budget pay plans. It makes life easier for us.
We love the budget plan & have always gotten a rebate (have lowered our yearly use of energy) back each December for the 3 years we have done this.
Okay I know its a LONG shot but does asnyone have any $1/2 ragu coupons they ARE NOT going to use? I would love these…i have lots of coupons I could trade incl a few BOGO oust. I live in lakeville i would like to either meet somewhere and trade or get these mailed TODAY so ic an use sat! Email me PLEASE!
kierstienafetzek at gmail dot com
also if you have these to trade i have a Purina pro plan coupon i would be willing to trade!
Kiersten ,
I have a bunch of 1 off of 2
I would trade you for the purina coupon
Let me know
Thanks
AMy
I have 4-5 of the Ragu coupons, and would love your Purina PetSmart coupons (for the free bag of dog food).
cillapa @ yahoo.com (remove spaces)
Also Xcel has an energy saver switch for the A/C – they cycle it on and off in the summer. I hardly notice it and save 15-25 dollars a month in the summer.
I just received an email from AuntAnnie’s pretzels. On Saturday, Feb. 20th from 10-3 you can get a free original or cinnamon sugar pretzel–one per person and you don’t need a q :)
JoAnna,
Thanks for the heads up on this one, my family loves these. Sounds like an MOA run is in our future on the 20th!
they closed the one @ southdale. : (
They have one at the Eden Prairie Center! I am so excited my son and I love their pretzels.
I’m thrilled about Rainbow having double coupon days twice a week. Now we can double our savings.And, if we can drag our husbands with, the savings go higher if we check out separately.
I am also so excited for this. I doubt my hubby will come with he doesnt like the crazyness but enjoys me saving the money!
Its been over 48 hrs, still have not received the credit from All You Magazine. Should I be concerned about this matter?
Thank You
I’m patient as of right now. Generally credits back on my credit card can take 3-5 business days.
I ordered my magazine yesterday.. was charged the 40.00 and was credit the 13.00 all yesterday
I love to donate to the food shelf & humane society and have really been able to step up my efforts since I have started couponing with Carrie’s help on PYD. Recently I was reading a co-worker’s AARP magazine and found 3 websites that I now visit daily to donate even more, just in a different way! They are:
http://www.freerice.com – build your vocabulary as you help feed the hungry. I love this one!
http://www.freekibble.com – answer a daily trivia question and they donate dog food to shelters.
http://www.freekibblekat.com – cat version
Since I see a lot of comments about PYD readers making donations I thought these websites might appeal to some of you!
Thanks Jennifer, I am a huge animal lover. I will foward these sites onto some other animal lovers. Can you go onto this site everyday and answer daily questions or is this a one time only deal?
FYI – On Fridays at McDonalds they have there Frappes free (sample size) which is about half the size of the reg. one. I like the caramel, sooo good!!
Am I wrong or right?? On Wednesday I purcased 6 pillsbury products at Rainbow (all the rolls etc). Was I to get a $4 cash back (coupon for future shopping trips?). Where was it advertised? What would you suggest I do since I did not get the $4 coupon. I did get the $5 coupon from ??? Unilever.
Thanks
Shelly, I had a question like that once, and the credit was on my receipt, to be used as a reward the next time I swiped my Roundy’s card. I had thought I would see a catalina.
You are right I went yesterday and got these. I also got a print out that had the deal on it here is what it says
Recieve a coupon up to $4 when you buy pilsbury refrigerated crescents,cookies,sweet rolls,Grands! Biscuits,Grands!, cinnamon rolls, pie crusts, dinner rolls, loaves,bread stix, or pizza crust
offer is good between 1/25 and 2/21
buy 4 get $2
buy 5 get $3
buy 6 get $4
on your next order
not sure why you didnt get it. unless they forgot to give you the cat? i would call or go in
Shelly – Catalina offers don’t seem to print constantly. If you are going to take advantage of one and had previously received an advertisement for it (another catalina usually), you can show that to Rainbow and they will issue the $$ due. I had this experience with Kraft cheese just after New Years. I didn’t have any proof of the promotion other than all the blog talk. So I submitted a concern on Catalina’s website asking if I did in fact qualify and how would I get my $5. It took about a week but I received an email back requesting some more information and so I emailed them a copy of my receipt. It took about another 3-4 emails but finally they confirmed I did qualify and my $5 was in the mail. Sure enough 2 days later I received a Catalina for $5 good at Rainbow. If you don’t have proof to show Rainbow then go to Catalina for your money. If you qualify, they should pay (it might take a few weeks though)
Sometimes I feel like I am forgoing nutrition in order to get a good deal on something I think our family will eat. Things like cereal, cookies, etc that have good coupons, but don’t always make the best nutrional sense (buying a sugar cereal like Froot Loops because of a coupon rather than buying one that isn’t as sugary). How do you guys handle that? I need to have some of this stuff on hand since my family eats it for breakfasts or snacks, but I also cannot bring myself to spend $3 on the healthier stuff if I can buy a box for $1!
Becca, reimnd yourself you are stocking up, not buying groceries for the week. It makes a little more sense then.
Yes, Becca, I have thought of this, too. Healthier foods often seem to cost more! Many times I forego the good deals in favor of good nutrition. Sometimes, when I do buy them, I will mix sugary cereals with something healthy (like Lucky Charms with Cheerios) and my kids are still happy to eat it!
Becca,
I have several moments like you described, where I have the not-so-healthy item in my hand with a double coupon, but put it away b/c I just couldn’t buy it (like Wed. when I had a coupon for Welch’s jelly, but the ingredient list had not only regular corn syrup but also high fructose corn syrup, which really, is that necessary???). Sometimes I think it is more important to spend a little more in order to keep my family healthy, that is my reasoning. I do feel almsot guilty not getting the good deal, but I’d rather be feeding my family healthy stuff. Trader Joe’s has pretty good prices on organics and healthier cereal and such, so I guy there if I can’t get a good deal on healthy food somewhere else.
I have often felt that way too, Becca. Like Kaia, I’ve passed up a lot of deals because I don’t want to be feeding my family the boxed stuff or high fructose corn syrup or most anything that I can’t pronounce, lol. I passed up the Unilever deal this week.
Kaia, it’s nice to meet someone else that doesn’t eat that stuff either! : ) I feel alone with my thoughts on that a lot of the time.
I feel like you can try to take advantage of the “healthier” deals. Like for cereal, buy the healthiest ones that you have coupons for. I never buy the Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, etc, even though I have coupons for them. Instead, I bought all the Special K boxes this time around (and was fortunate to have many of the $1 off 2 coupons). I buy tons of fruit and veggies and serve them at every meal – but I buy them at Aldi. I try to only do the healthier deals and pass on the ones that aren’t something I would normally buy – coupon or no coupon.
I have been trying to move my family (slowly) to really healthy options that are CHEAP, like oatmeal. Even if I buy local, organic oatmeal it is still much less expensive than boxed cereals and lasts longer. I find that my kids will happily eat this a couple of times each week with brown sugar and sometimes raisins.
Since I’ve started couponing, though, I have been tempted by the really great deals on candy and treats that I normally wouldn’t serve. I have bought a couple–partly to reward my kids for their patience with how much longer the shopping is taking–but my bottom line is that my job is to feed them the healthiest foods possible.
Any one out there want to start trading Huggies coupons for Pampers ones? We could do it through the mail. Let me know. Sedy75 @ yahoo com
I’m a newbie and have a couple of questions
First, what’s a Catalina?
I have been developing a price list and using coupons for just a month and it’s extremely time consuming. I know that I’m just getting started. For those of you who are up and running, how much time to you spend each week clipping/planning/shopping?
Where do warehouse stores (I’m a Costco member) fit into this for all of you?
thanks! I’m learning a lot!
Hi Kirsten,
I just started in November and am just now feeling like I can manage without considering it a second job. So hand in there, the rewards are worth it!
I spend about 2 hours a week planning. I see you mentioned “clipping” coupons. I couldn’t find Carrie’s link about how she organizes coupons (if anyone else can find it let me know!), but she doesn’t clip them she saves them whole, staples them so they’re not falling apart, and dates them. So when you look on this list and she says “1/31 RP” you can just go right to the insert and cut out what you want. I initially cut everything up, but found that was way too messy for me and way too tedious/ime consuming. I had coupons EVERWHERE! Now I buy about 4-5 papers/inserts a week, cut up one insert each for my coupon organizer and file the rest.
It definitely gets easier with time, so hang in there.
One more great resource. http://www.couponmom.com has a coupon database (you have to register)- so you can search products and find out what insert they’re in, if any. Plus they link you to online coupons. Sometimes I’ll see something I want that is not on Carries list, so I will search that database to find the coupon.
HTH! Hang in there!
Julie W
Thank you! I tend to shop at Coborns so am not able to use the coupon lists on this site, so I’m thinking that I need to clip in order to be able to find the coupons when I need them. But–I am registered on couponmom so maybe I could get in the hang of using the database instead.
Thanks for your response!
Yes it’s super helpful- I’ve started to use couponmom.com and do the Rainbow ad myself (I have more time before Carrie can get it out), and it works great. Then I just update it for extras when Carrie posts hers. I guess the only coupons you’d miss doint it yourself are ones in non traditional places like Vocal pount, All you, and product web sites.
Check with your Cobourns. For a while they were doubling 10 coupons on Mondays that were 50cents or less. If it was a 75cent coupon they would round up to $1 but not double. Not sure if they are still doing this though.
Hi Kirsten! I used to clip all my coupons, but I was spending hours and hours doing it, and burnt out. Now I just cut the really hot coupons out when I get my papers, date the inserts and file them in labeled folders. Then I cut them as I am making my shopping lists. Whew, SO much easier.
We shop Costco several times a month. We buy meat and produce mostly, all great quality (lots of organic produce) at supermarket prices. Also milk, butter, whipping cream when I am baking, cat litter, dog food if I haven’t found a good deal, toilet paper, and sometimes laundry detergent (one of their big boxes can last me nearly a year!) Also, when DD was still in regular diapers I bought diapers and wipes there religiously. Now that she is in Pull Ups I can get a better price couponing.
Just wanted to add a note about my great Target experience a few minutes ago. I got 6 very nice sized avocados for 48 cents apiece due to their generous price-matching policy. I just had my full Cub ad with me at the check-out and the cashier happily matched that amazing price. Easy as can be. (Knollwood supertarget)
Does anyone know if the Catalina deal is still going on for the Kraft Cheese? Thanks!
No, I believe the last day for that was 2/24.
dang because it is on sale here at Logli’s and would have loved to get that again. They don’t double $1 coupons, but still would have been a good deal with the catalina.. could use more cheese!
It’s on sale for $1.88/bag at Walmart this week and coupons.com recently reset the $1./2 q. I am heading there tonight to pick up a bunch for the freezer!
Make that 1/24 – sorry.
Used the free 1/2 gallon choc milk when you buy a gallon of white milk today at Wal-Mart — no problems! Also used the pictureka and monopoly coupons mentioned a couple days ago, and got a couple of card games very cheap, and no hassles.
My cashier was friendly, but would not listen to me when I told him a coupon for a free item was max to $2.99, and gave me $4.24 off. He said ‘yeah, I know”. I tried.
Thanks for your tip about being able to use the Hasbro coupons on the card games! I tried it at Target for Christmas and they wouldn’t let me do it … so I was afraid to try it again. We are going on a long train ride next week though and was struggling to find things to occupy our time. I went to WalMart last night and was also able to use the coupons … yeah! I got three card games ($5.24 each) for $2.72 total. Thanks again!
Just thougt I would let you know my experience today trying to use the “manufacturer’s” coupons from Cub. The ones they have been printing lately on the back of their ads. Well what I found out is “other stores” will take them but you would have to pay the difference in price. Most of the the ones I tried to use. Have something printed on the bottom $1.50 off 1 for example of the kraft dressing @1.19 each. So if after the price printed on top of it and then the $1.50 off one is still more than the particular store price you are using them at. You pay the difference!. Other wise they said they would have no way of getting the rest of the money back to the store for the difference. So if you want to use it somewhere else I would check total price at the non-Cub store to see if it is worth it.It was not for me. But at least Cub takes expired ! Hope this made sense-just wanted to save someone else the time I wasted!
If you need a deal on photo gifts http://www.seehere.com has the same promo I used before Christmas. Some of theiir photo gifts are 30% off and you get free shipping. I love Shutterfly but see here has an awesome 15oz cafe mug. They give you options to add lots of photos, re-size, crop, add text, add backgrounds….way more involved then using only one pic. Love it–especially for half off since you don’t have to add the almost $6 shipping fee.
can anyone point me to a website, blog or yahoo group where I can trade coupons from the Twin Cities happenings/entertainment book? THANKS
Just an FYI CUB (Coon Rapids) has experienced alot of fraudulent coupons recently so they will no longer accept “free” coupons off of the internet. I tried using the free half gallon of chocolate milk since their gallons of mil were cheap. Made me sad :(
Does anyone know how to get toys for a good price? I am l looking for a sand and water table and other outside toys but the prices are CRAZY? Any ideas on these?
Check out sites like craigslist or garage sales, quite often you can find them for cheap or even free. I got a sandbox for my kids for free, all I had to pay for was the sand.
I second the Craigslist idea!! We have gotten soooo many nice things for our children just slightly used. Some things we are able to turn around and sell again after our kids outgrew them.
I am looking for any advice on something- I went to my usual awesome cashier at Rainbow Wednesday, and my 3 coupons from Pillsbury (online) all had the same number on the bar code. So she said they were the same coupon and I couldn’t use them all, only one. Now I definitely printed the legally, so I dont’ know what happened. Anyone else every had that happen? I had heard they look for fraid by looking for more than one coupon with the same number on it (which I understand), but these had all the same numbers and were done legally.
Any input from anyone?
Julie W
I don’t have an answer but am interested to see what others have to say, because the same thing happened to me at Rainbow a couple of weeks ago. I try to avoid using internet printed coupons at Rainbow because it always seems to cause trouble, but sometimes it’s not possible to avoid it.
Julie –
From my understanding, the barcodes should be standard on each coupon. The barcode of the coupon is the same concept as a UPC code on a product. The code gets entered into the main system to tell the register what product/coupon/etc is being scanned. What seems to be different on each coupon, proving that they are unique, is either a PIN Number or a funky barcode with 16 digits (broken up into four groups) underneath of it.
When glancing through my coupons, SmartSource coupons seem to use PIN numbers and Coupons.com uses the funky barcode image. Those are the numbers that need to be different for each coupon … not the barcode they use to scan the coupon with. The barcode should stay the same for each type of coupon. The PIN Number/funky barcode number should be different for every coupon printed.
I hope I didn’t confuse you more!
I’m looking at some of my printed coupons (that I printed today) and yes, they have the same number with the barcode, but the difference is noted at the top where there is another series of numbers (that is different on each coupon), or there is a difference witha PIN number if the q has one.
Example, Old ElPaso coupon bar code is 546000171550 on both, but the number above is completly different
My Smart Source Frigo Cheese coupon has the same bar code on both, but a different PIN number on them
I had the same issue at the Ruanbow in Maplewood. I had 2 of the $1 off Cottonelle coupons and the cashier said they could only take 1 because the numbers were the same. I had the cashier take one of the toilet papers off my order then I put it on the next order and used the second coupon. She did not seem to have an issue with me using the coupon on the second transaction.
I just picked up a bunch of McDonald’s Winter Celebration coupon sheets for $1.00 (I bought mine at the Bass Lake Road McDonald’s, they had a sample taped on the door). This sheet includes 12 coupons:
3 coupons for FREE Apple Dippers or French Fries
3 coupons for FREE Milk Jug or Apple Juice
3 coupons for FREE Ice Cream Cone
2 coupons for FREE Hamburgers
1 coupon for McCafe Coffee for Mom or Dad
These coupons don’t expire until 3/31/10. We like to use these when we rent a movie at Redbox. The kids just love to run in and get something for free.
Thanks so much Michelle for this info! I needed to come up with some Valentine’s Day “treats” for my daughters class (they are requesting no food or candy – due to allergies) so this will be perfect!
I just typed in a long thing and it didn’t work… To sum it up. Did my first shopping trip with all the coupons today. Did a small one because my son was with and I was nervous and wanted to see how it worked out. I spent 23 dollars and got 60 dollars worth of items! I was very proud!
My questions…
1) Do cashiers or managers ever give you a hard time for getting so much stuff for such little money?
2) How do you deal with the crabby, in a hurry, eye rolling lady/man behind you in line? I had one today and I wanted to turn to her and say “I am saving money here!”
3) Are there ever any good deals on liquid coffee creamer and if there are how can you stock up on that since it expires?
4) Do people often use multi coupons of the same thing (I see a lot of you buy 4-8 copies of the paper and use the same coupons on the same trip) does this cause problems?
thanks!
Angie,
This is just one person’s response to your questions, mine. I’ve only been doing this for a few months so I feel like a newbie. Oh, and you should be very proud!
I have had a couple bad experiences with couponing…but like all things I feel they are the exception, not the rule. One customer service person was downright rude to me for a transaction that was completely “legal.” I talked to the manager about her attitude and received an apology. That satisfied me. I’ve had a few say “good for you” when the total comes up..and I’ve had managers say in this economy, you SHOULD be using the sales/promos, etc. I have found a cashier or two in each store I shop that I tend to wait in line for because I know they don’t begrudge me for saving money. The store IS reimbursed for properly used coupons…so its not like the store is losing out.
I never use the express lanes. I figure if the crabby, hurry person behind me can’t wait another 45 seconds for coupons its their problem not mine. If they are in such a hurry they can go to the express line.
Lately there have been sales at Walgreens for CoffeeMate liquid creamer where I can score them for between $.25 and $.50 a bottle. Maybe Carrie can tell us how often that happens but its been a couple times in the last 6 months. I stock up because the expiration dates on the labels are 2-3 months out! I just look at the expiration dates before I buy. The later ones are sometimes in the back.
Personally, I buy 2 newspapers. If I get coupons given to me or I happen to see inserts that are being thrown away I will get those as well but I usually don’t pay for more than 2 newspapers. Just me. The reason I get 2 is because many deals are 2/$x.xx and I need both to get the best deal. If there is a coupon that is especially valuable I may seek out a 3rd paper but that is rare. I also print quite a few off my computer. My husband has his own computer at home so that makes 2 computers we can use if there is a really good printable coupon.
I hope my 2 cents (pun intended) helps.
Angie,
#1. I agree with Karen – find a cashier at your Rainbow that you like and stick to him/her. At my Rainbow, I know which 2 cashiers to go to and who to avoid!!
#2. I try to avoid any log jams or hold ups on my 2 transactions (the most I would ever do back to back) by stopping elsewhere in the store before I get to the checkout lanes and make sure I have my Roundy’s card out, my 5 coupons that I plan to double plus any other coupons in a paperclip for each transaction and what my total for each transaction should be. I never want to be fumbling around at the checkout line trying to get my coupons in order. As a result, I feel like my transactions go very quickly and have never had anyone behind me comment on things. If something does go wrong, I call attention to it, but then offer to take care of the issue at the customer service desk. I’ve had to do this just once or twice.
From reading this blog, it really seems that some stores have many more issues than other store, but I’ll put a great word out for the SLP West End store (LOVE IT) and EP store. I have had a few issues at EP, but nothing major.
1 – yes, to some cashiers (normally it isn’t the overall savings as it is nit picking on each coupon….) Again, get to know which cashier to deal with.
2 – I try to ignore the crabby/eye-rolling. When I’m a customer, if I’m in a line that is taking forever, I have a choice to move to another line. So does the eye-rolling customer behind me. Besides, I don’t often have a heaping cart … so no difference to me between a heaping cart and a smaller cart with coupons. Having the cashier swipe my ready-to-present coupons shouldn’t take any longer than if I had more items in my cart.
3 – I recently bought liquid creamer that was free after doubling. I don’t normally use it, but for free, my kids have been enjoying it when they try to make their own ‘cappucino’ :-) I believe I read that the liquid creamer can be frozen. Use the search on this web site to find older posts on that topic.
4 – I’m a stock-up shopper. Always have been and always will be. What that means is that when I find a good sale on something, I may buy 2 or 20 of the same item. If I buy 20 it’s usually because I have a lot of coupons for that item and the product ends up being a very good price (or free). I TRY not to buy more than I will use before the product expires. For example, I probably have 50 boxes of cereal in my pantry, but most expire in Sept, Oct or Nov. Knowing my family’s eating habits (cereal almost every morning * 3 hungry boys/men = using on avg 3-4 boxes of cereal a week) = I’ll run out of those 50 boxes before they expire. What it also means is that 1) cereal will probably be on sale before I run out 2) I’ll have more coupons by then 3) I won’t have to make a last minute trip to the store to buy cereal because we’re out and it isn’t on sale. (I have one side of my grocery list that is my ‘watch’ list. So, when I’m getting low on something, I put it on one side my list — that tells me to start watching for a good sale so I can stock up again. My goal is to rarely be at zero in my cupboards for certain items and to never have to pay full price.)
If you’re pretty new to this: What you can’t do is use more than one Mfg coupon on each item purchased. So if I buy 1 box of cereal, I cannot use 2 Mfg coupons. However, I could use 1 mfg coupon and 1 store coupon. This is called “stacking” and can be a great way to get items free or next to free.
Thank you for the advice Alison and Karen! I guess I might just have to deal with some rude people at times and I am sure it will get easier. Also, I agree with others on the item with the coupon is usually not the healithiest item and I have also turned down deals to get the more healthy item. Why do companies have to put high fructose corn syrup and stuff we can’t even pronounce (which you know is bad for you) in their food/drinks? Thanks for the support!
I need some help with some creative ideas on what to do with jeans & pants that have holes in the knees. I have 2 boys (ages 6 & 9) who have put holes in about 4 pair of pants this week. In past years I have cut them off & used them for shorts, but the boys will have outgrown the waist by summer….I feel bad just throwing them away however. Help me be creative, please.
Brandy,
The ladies at our church love it when they get donated jeans. They use them for quilting projects, or making cute purses out of the pockets. Another suggestion I have regarding boys and their jeans (mine are tough on theirs too) is purchasing them at Sears. They have a program called Kidvantage (it’s free). As long as you have your reciept with you, they will let you bring in the pair with the holes in them and allow you to exchange them for another pair of the same brand and size as the orginal pair. This is good on all their kids clothes as far as I understand. We recently exchanged 3 pairs this past month, and I am so grateful that I only had to pay for the original pair! :)
Brandy,
This is not a problem I deal with; however, I have a suggestion: Joann Fabrics carries patches that can be ironed on the inside of the jeans. They do, eventually, show the outline of the patch on the outside of the jeans due to wear and washing, but it keeps the knees from wearing out so quickly.
I am looking for some clarification and I’m not trying to be negative, but I feel like I’m missing something. I am a single college student obviously looking to save money, but it seems like to do this you need a stockpile of coupons and to know when things are really a good price. I feel like I have no idea and I don’t know if thats because I’m new at this or because I don’t have a big family to shop for so I don’t do a lot of grocery shopping, honestly. I’m just starting to use coupons, so I get excited with saving ANYTHING even if it is 50 cents off of a $5 item. Do I need to buy a coupon container? I guess what I’m asking is what would are the main points you would give to someone just starting out, who is just starting to use coupons and is really only shopping for 1? I just really need to save money! Thanks in advance!!
Mary
Here are my main points-
1. read Carrie’s info on store coupons policies
2. buy newspaper or print coupon online
3. check out Carrie’s list for the store that you shop at. she’ll only list the best deal so if it’s on the list, it’s a good deal
4. only stockpile as much as you need
5. combine store coupon with manufacturing coupon to get the best deal
6. pay attention to when items go on sale and the price of the item to get an idea of the items rock bottom price
Jae – You have summarized 1,000 posts from Pocket Your Dollars in six simple steps. Well done :)
Any ideas about finding massage for a good price? I’ve been to lots of the schools in the Cities and find them underwhelming. YET – I cannot afford full price, and my insurance doesn’t cover them. I need them for my health…
Angie, I use Massage Envy. Their introductory massage is $39. After that you can go onto a monthly membership program which is $49/ month. That includes one massage, after that you would pay $39/ massage. You also get a 10% discount on products.
Sister Rosalind’s school of massage is a great place to get a hour massage for 34.00, last time I checked. They are done by students and they will ask you what you want. ie. full body, reflexology, work on a specific area etc. I believe they only give them on Fri, and Sat. You may have to wait a couple of weeks but it is worth the wait. Can’t recommend them enough. I know they have several locations, but I don’t know if they give massages at each location. I have always gone to the WSP location.
Anyone know a good inexpensive vet on the east side of the cities? I am looking for a back up vet if one of my cats gets sick. I go up north for their annual exams.
Does anyone have a copy of the Walgreens Childrens Activity book that they don’t need? I’m desperate to get a copy, I’ve never seen one in stock at a Walgreen’s near me.