sappy wrote:

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ooh! today i got $108 worth of stuff (shelf price) for $33.75

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wow, sara, that is AWESOME!!!!  YAY!

ok, i have had 4 transactions today, but i'm going to try to combine them.

this am:
4 x chex mix
2 x BC cake mix
4 x ragu
1 x progresso broth
2 x BC brownie mix
2 x cheerios
1 x BC potatoes
1 x gold medal flour
1 x cinnamon toast crunch
3 x BC frosting
1 x wishbone italian dressing
1 x BC potatoes
4 x breyers ice cream

i paid $8.70 oop, but earned $15 catalinas for later today, so i made $6.30! total savings on these 2 transactions = $87!

then, i hit shop rite:
4 x hunts tomatoes
2 x idahoan potatoes
4 x rayovac AA batteries
6 x ronzoni smart taste pasta

Spent $3.98

finally, back to acme (working this catalina deal hard core):
1 x progresso broth
3 x knorr rice
9 x kleenex
4 x wishbone
1 x cheerios
1 x cheerios
1 x BC potatoes
2 x ragu
i paid $1.86 oop, but earned a $15 cat for tomorrow, so i made $13.14.

kris wrote:

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okay - you all have inspired me and I have been silently watching and studying

I'm studying coupons.com and couponmom.com

What the heck does the word Catalina mean????

I am so happy to see the latest MS "trend" involve saving money instead of spending it

I probably should take this elsewhere b/c I'm totally threadjacking BUUUUUUUUUT

April - when you say 4 transactions are you separating them out and paying 4 times at once or are you going back at different times?  Is it confusing keeping the stuff organized in your cart as to what needs to go with what?



-- Edited by kris on Sunday 8th of November 2009 01:55:42 PM

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kris, catalina is that coupon that prints out with your receipt at the store.  dyk what i mean?

personally, since i'm new, i'm putting as little out of pocket up front and then i am separating into 2 separate transactions when i go.  on this particular deal, i could double up, but then the cats become $10 instead of $5.  i would rather have smaller ones so that i don't "waste" any of it (ie, if i have a purchase that totals $6, i'd lose $4 or have to find $4 more dollars worth of stuff to add - does that make sense?).

also, my purchases are usually around 15 items each.  i just make 2 piles in my cart.  i wish my store had those small double decker carts, but they don't.  it hasn't been bad so far.  i 'm doing a spreadsheet for each purchase, printing it, folding it and putting the coupons inside.  i check off as i buy and then just hand everything over at the register.

for this particular deal, i've had to track down and print coupons, which takes time and is a pita b/c there are limits, so i have gone back a few times.

i don't normally do this, but it's totally worth it for how much stuff i'm getting free.

 

eta: also, kris, have you been on afullcup.com?  you can read the thread particular to your grocery store which is really helpful - they'll tell you about calendars or other promos in your exact store with coupons, plus tell you how to stack them,etc.  slickdeals.net also has the same thing, but it's not quite as well organized.  i've been stalking both.  that's how i found most of these deals.

-- Edited by apies on Sunday 8th of November 2009 02:01:53 PM

Corey wrote:

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Friday-- $105 --paid 55 cents and got $45 back on my next order.

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omg, i f'n bow down to you.

please, how are you spending so little up front before you start getting back the cats?

 

apies wrote:

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kris, catalina is that coupon that prints out with your receipt at the store.  dyk what i mean?

personally, since i'm new, i'm putting as little out of pocket up front and then i am separating into 2 separate transactions when i go.  on this particular deal, i could double up, but then the cats become $10 instead of $5.  i would rather have smaller ones so that i don't "waste" any of it (ie, if i have a purchase that totals $6, i'd lose $4 or have to find $4 more dollars worth of stuff to add - does that make sense?).

also, my purchases are usually around 15 items each.  i just make 2 piles in my cart.  i wish my store had those small double decker carts, but they don't.  it hasn't been bad so far.  i 'm doing a spreadsheet for each purchase, printing it, folding it and putting the coupons inside.  i check off as i buy and then just hand everything over at the register.

for this particular deal, i've had to track down and print coupons, which takes time and is a pita b/c there are limits, so i have gone back a few times.

i don't normally do this, but it's totally worth it for how much stuff i'm getting free.

 

eta: also, kris, have you been on afullcup.com?  you can read the thread particular to your grocery store which is really helpful - they'll tell you about calendars or other promos in your exact store with coupons, plus tell you how to stack them,etc.  slickdeals.net also has the same thing, but it's not quite as well organized.  i've been stalking both.  that's how i found most of these deals.

-- Edited by apies on Sunday 8th of November 2009 02:01:53 PM

 

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yes - that is the other one I'm studying.

I will get the hang of this.  Someday!

apies wrote:

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Corey wrote:

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Friday-- $105 --paid 55 cents and got $45 back on my next order.

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omg, i f'n bow down to you.

please, how are you spending so little up front before you start getting back the cats?

 

 

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i had cats from earlier deals to roll into this...i think around $20.

and my coupon binder is literally bursting at the seems i have so many.

and i spent hours getting ready for the two runs i have done so far:)

 

i think my camera is in the car right now, but i have one of those zip up cloth binders you find in the school section at target. it is filled with baseball card dividers and each spot has a coupon. be forewarned...this takes hours to set up, but is a lifesaver (although you might feel like a tool bringing it into the stores;)

i have my sections separated as:

produce
salad dressings
ethnic foods (like tacos shells, salsa, etc)
marinades & sauces
rice & soup
snacks
baking
drinks
breakfast foods
tissues, tp, and paper towels
air fresheners & candles
cleaning supplies
HBA-soap, shampoo, lotion, etc
HBA- razors, shaving cream, etc
oral care (toothbrushes you pervs;)
paper goods/trash bags
laundry
healthcare
icrecream/popsicles
meat
frozen foods
bread & deli
dairy
baby care
miscellaneous


this is pretty much how my store separates the aisles which is why i did it this way.

i know some people just put everything abc order, but i can't imagine how you rearrange that each time you get new inserts...

corey - tysm for typing out that list! i am aisle-oriented too - when i used to do my grocery list on paper, i totally sorted it by aisle. :)

i'm going to look into the baseball card dividers - i'm hoping i can find those anywhere????  dyk who sells them?

speaking of looking like a tool, on 2 trips to acme this weekend, i saw fellow couponers. the first lady i saw had a big red metal toolbox in the top of her cart! i'm not talking about some small thing - i'm talking about a 3' long rusty metal toolbox. inside (she had it propped open at the time), she had a bunch of flyers, and miscellaneous coupons and then she had magnetic clips with coupons in them on the underside of the lid. i was like "whoa" and couldn't wait to see her total - but i wasn't that impressed. lmao!

-- Edited by apies on Monday 9th of November 2009 04:48:10 AM

okay, so i'm really interested in doing this, but can't seem to get what's going on straight

the forums for kroger on slickdeals are hella confusing. i can't figure out what's heads or tails.

i'm looking at afullcup now and see people listing their deals, but i'm not sure how they're matching everything up. the store sales + coupons.

how are you finding coupons to stack? how do you know which deals to stack?