Got another little fix tonight. I know the receipt is a little caddy-whompus on the total, but it says $13.76. That's what I paid for my haul tonight...except, note: $8 worth of OYNO coupons. So technically--I paid $5.76 for the goods on the table. That would be 5 boxes of Fudge-covered Oreos, 5 gallons of milk, 3 boxes Capri sun (another story...), 4 bottles of Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-Clean, and 4 bottles Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-Clean Refills. Well, you're probably thinking that's an odd combination of goods. And, yes, I agree with you. But I had to go to the store because we were almost out of milk. I usually get 3-4 gallons at a time. I generally pay $2 a gallon. But everything on the table except the milk was bonus (ie...FREE) because I contrived the deals to my advantage to basically get the milk for the aforementioned totals. But the irony of the deal--it would have totaled $98 without coupons. It was a no-brainer...it's better to buy the surplus goods--even if you've never heard of them before (like me and these cleaning products...)
So--I would never buy a bottle of cleaner, no matter how golden it promised to be, for $8.99 a bottle. But it was on sale for $6.99 a bottle. (I know--whoo-hoo...NOT). But there were $5 off coupons for each bottle. And another coupon that said "Free Scrubbing Bubbles Refill with purchase of Extend-a-Cleaner Spray"--AND, for every 2 sprayer products purchased, you got a $3 Catalina coupon OYNO and for every 2 refills, you got a $1 Catalina OYNO. So--with the sprayer product at $6.99 each and the refills on sale for $3.50--it was still a moneymaker at negative $4.02. **Remember--I still needed milk so I used my Oreo/milk combo coupons that saved $1.50 on each gallon of milk. All in all, it was a fabulous night at Safeway.
I made a quick trip to Albertsons' to use my double coupons. I needed NOTHING, but I had Capri Sun coupons for a $1 and they were on sale for $2. The doublers made them free...so it was worth the pit stop. But was even more impressive than my great deal was seeing flocks of serious couponers (with filing/organizing systems in their carts) taking advantage of the double coupon and Catalina deals. WOW.... It made me realize that I'm not the only one that sees a great deal for what it's worth! The stores love us. You've got to remember that coupon-users bring more money into the stores' profits than the average shopper without coupons. I had to stop and talk to a lady tonight because I knew what she was up to and I wanted to see her system. Everybody goes about it in a different way, but the results are the same--YOU control what you spend rather than the stores controlling you. And what a way to stock up--LOVE it!! It changes the way you shop--and I laughed when I told her that 50cents for a box of cereal IS NOT a good deal anymore!! There was a guy in there buying 6 boxes of Kelloggs' for 50cents...as in 50 cents for all 6 boxes. So make a plan. What do you want to accomplish with your weekly shopping trips? Learn a few techniques and put them to work. And the most important thought for shopping with a plan--It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
.jpg)
I have a question about the coupons from the printout machines. I have four $2.00 off Pampers diapers from Fred Meyer, they say "not subject to doubling". So my question is can I use these coupons together, to get $8.00 off?
ReplyDeleteAt the top of the print-out it should say "Manufacturer's Coupon"--if it says this it's just like any other coupon you would get out of the paper or out of a dispenser. It holds to the same rules as a regular coupon--it's only good on ONE package of diapers. "Doubling" means putting multiple coupons on one product--so if you buy 2 packages of diapers and have 2 of those $2 print-outs, You're set. Where you score big is when the product is doing a Catalina promotional and you get to use a man. coupon as well--like the Huggie's deal going on right now at Fred Meyer. That's a tremendous saving if you take advantage of the sale by Saturday. Print those coupons off the internet for $3 a package--the savings will add up fast!!
ReplyDeleteTHanks! I really think you need to take me shopping one of these days so I can really figure this whole thing out! Besides, it has been too long! Oh, and P.S. what does OYNO coupons mean? I am savings illiterate!
ReplyDeleteRyanne
OYNO means "on your next order." It's generally a dollar amount that is credited to the buyer from the manufacturer via the store's printer... Catalina is the owner of the printer that gives out the coupons at time of check-out depending on what is purchased. The cash coupons or "OYNO" coupons can be used on anything--not just the products or things that you purchased. This makes for some very exciting buys because some deals generate these kinds of coupons for every stipulated set...so the trick is to break your transactions down into the specified amounts so that you can maximize your savings. For example: Save $4 on your next order when you buy 4 boxes of Post cereal. OK. They are $1.69 a box. Buy 4--you get the Catalina printing out a $4 coupon towards anything for your next purchase. Your cereal is still able to have coupons used against it. So slap coupons on it for greater savings. Do another transaction of 4--give them your coupons AND the $4 OYNO coupon. The savings just got exponentially BETTER. Do that a few times and you've made a fortune in purchases and only paid very little. Just watch the wording on the sales. Follow the store outlines and you'll be bringing home bank every time you go to the grocery store.
ReplyDelete