Pocket Your Dollars’ reader, Nita, recently emailed us about her fantastic grocery shopping trip at Rainbow Foods, where she got $90.33 worth of groceries for just $2.41. She was able to get free salad dressing, seasonings, milk and rice along side some very inexpensive ice cream treats and cereal.
Here’s a breakdown of what she bought and how she did it. Please note these sale prices are from the first week of April, so you may not find the same prices at your store this week.
(2) McCormick Fajita Spices @ $1.50 each
Used two $1/1 McCormick Spice, Herb, Extract or Food Color from 3/13 Red Plum insert
Total: -$1.00 (overage applied to rest of her order)
(2) Ken’s Dressing @ $1.66 each
Used two $1/1 Ken’s Dressing from 3/20 Smart Source insert
Total: -$0.68 after coupon (overage applied to rest of her order)
(1) Smart Balance Milk @ $2.00
Used $1/1 Smart Balance Milk product printable
Total: Free
(2) Minute Rice @ $1.99 each
Used two $1/1 she had on hand (not sure their source)
Total: Free
(1) McCormick Cinnamon @ $2.50
Used $1/1 McCormick Spice, Herb, Extract or Food Color from 3/13 Red Plum insert
Total: $0.50 after coupon
(1) McCormick Food Coloring @ $2.50
Used $1/1 McCormick Spice, Herb, Extract or Food Color from 3/13 Red Plum insert
Total: $0.50 after coupon
(2) Lee & Perrins Worchester Sauce @ $2.50 each
Used two $1/1 Lea & Perrins’ printable
Total: $1.00 after coupons
(2) Ore-Ida Fries @ $2.50 each
Used two $1/1 she had on hand (not sure their source)
Total: $1.00
(2) Blue Bunny Ice Cream Sandwiches @ $2.50 each
Used two $1/1 Blue Bunny Novelties printable or $1/1 Blue Bunny Ice Cream printable
Total: $2.00 after coupons
(2) Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs @ $1.50 each
Total: $3.00
(2) Mini Wheats Berry Cereal @ $3.89
Used two $1/1 Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Touch of Fruit printable
Total: $3.78
(2) Corn Flakes Cereals @ $3.19 each
Used $1/2 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Cereal printable
Total: $4.38
(4) Trix Yogurt @ $2.00 each
Used two $0.75/2 Yoplait Go Gurt or Trix Multipack Yogurt from 3/27 Smart Source #2 insert
Total: $5.00 after coupons**
**She also received $2 off her current purchase for buying 5 select dairy items in a single transaction
(2) Raisin Bran Cereals @ $3.59 each
Total: $7.18**
**She also received $10 off her current purchase for buying 6 boxes of Kellogg’s cereal
Two transactions later and after coupons, overage, dollars off her current order for purchasing specific food items and a $0.20 discount for bringing reusable shopping bags, Nita’s total came to $14.98.
She then received a Catalina (Carrie’s translation: a coupon from the coupon-spitter-outer machine) for $1.50 off her next shopping trip for purchasing McCormick products, two Catalinas each for free milk up to $3.59, and she submitted for the Mini Wheats Touch of Fruit Try Me Free Mail-in Rebate for $3.89.
Nita’s grand total after factoring in the mail-in rebate and the three Catalinas: $2.41 for over $90 worth of groceries – a savings of 97%!
If you have any great shopping trip results that you’d like to share with us, please send us a message through the contact form. Thank you!
Your turn: What is the most you’ve saved on a grocery shopping trip?
About Carrie Rocha
did she do 2 transactions?
Fata,
Yes, she did this trip in two different transactions (I think it says it at the end of the post)
because i see more than 10 coupons doblet.
Two transactions later and after coupons, overage, dollars off her current order for purchasing specific food items and a $0.20 discount for bringing reusable shopping bags, Nita’s total came to $14.98.
I did not know they gave credit for bags (I shop @Cub) thanks for the info! Congrats Nita :)
something about the total isn’t adding up to me. Did her store double her $1 off coupons or something? The first items says that she bought 2 McCormick seasonings for $1.50 each and used 2 $1 off coupons… wouldn’t that mean that she paid $1 for both?
I wish that I had a store around me that doubled coupons past $.50 and had more in-store coupons and catalina deals. I only have Meijer around me and I can do pretty well couponing but you can’t do what isn’t available if that makes sense.
Great job, Nita!
Does Rainbow Food always double coupons that are $1 or more? I have not found this at the grocery stores that I frequent and was wondering if there are only certain days they do this? This seems to be quite a rarity.
Sadie,
Rainbow Foods only doubles coupons up to $1 on Wednesdays and also on Saturdays for a limited time. There’s a limit of 5 doubled coupons per transaction (I think you can do up to 6 transactions per day), but lately, they have had Double Double Daze on Saturdays, meaning they double up to 10 coupons in a single transaction. I think the Double Double Daze ends at the end of this month, but I am not sure as I don’t grocery shop on Saturdays.
That’s wonderful. If only I could figure out how to do that. :)
I never could understand how people could get a bunch of free groceries. Know I realize it requires having a grocery store that doubles coupons. What stores double coupons and are there any in the Mankato area?
Heath,
You don’t need to have a store that doubles all the time. Walmart now gives overage which means you can get the overage to the rest of your shopping items or they give you money. Yesterday I bought body wash for $3 dollars and had a $3 off coupon. I am also an empolyee so I used my discount. I didn’t pay anything and they handed me, .14 cents. If you find coupons that are higher price than the items you can get overage and put that towards the rest of your items.
Ok, so I’ve been using this wonderful site and getting some great deals . . . feeling pretty good about all that I’m saving. Then, Extreme Couponers comes along and BAM! I don’t feel like I’m getting as good of deals as I could get. Do the stores they frequent double ALL coupons, do you know?
So far from what I’ve watched, they have all had stores that double coupons and it seemed like it was an unlimited amount of coupons rather than a limit of 5 per transaction like Rainbow normally has. It’s a fun show to watch, but I’ve been a little turned off by some of the people featured. Some of the people seem very reasonable – just trying to get good deals to feed their family, but some of the other people who are single or just a couple that are getting 78 bottles of mustard or enough toilet paper for 40 years seems like it’s a bit overkill. Why not donate some of it? But, like I said, some people featured on the show haven’t been so extreme. And besides, it’s a TV show and they love the excess and extreme factor because that is exciting and then people watch it.
Just remember there will always be more deals out there, and you can’t get them all. Feel good about the ones you do get and enjoy your family with the savings!
Thank you for posting this Carrie – I was so proud of myself! Since finding this website I have come to a whole new understanding of using coupons and have gotten to the point where I know what the rock bottom price is for items my family will eat or use. I love finding great deals and this site has been a lifesaver for my family!
Great job! I love the double, double coupon days at my local Copps. (Fingers crossed that they continue because 10 is so much easier to figure out than 5). Unfortunately, overages are not allowed. So, I did the transactions last week with the McCormick $1.50 spices and the registers only allowed $1.50.