Couponing Adventures

Barbara's been asking me, almost since we started this, to tell you some of the awesome adventures and successes that Joe has at the grocery store with his coupons!  Today was one of those days.  He didn't buy anything without a coupon.  He spent $30.65 - and we're a good deal towards being set for the summer in terms of snacks and desserts.
Here's a lowdown on what he bought:

• 13 4-packs Hunts Snack Pack Pudding (yes, 52 individual cups)
• 4 Kid Cuisine "kid tv dinners"
• 1 bag of All Natural Lime/Sea Salt Corn Tortilla Chips
• 1 6-pack Luigi Icee Cups
• 1 2-liter bottle Orange Crush
• 1 package light hamburger buns
• 2 frozen pizzas (a good brand)
• 3 14 oz cans Hunts diced tomatoes
• 1 can fat free Redi Whip
• 6 3-packs of Orville Reddenbacher microwave popcorn (all either butter light or natural)
•  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• 1/2 lb. deli ham
• 2 48 oz bottles Canola Oil
• 1 48 oz bottle Vegetable Oil
• tobasco sauce
• 2 cans Pam cooking spray
• 1 bottle (12.6 oz) Pantene conditioner (that's for me)

So, Joe spent $30.65, and he has a $10 coupon to use at the store the next time he goes.  This is called planned shopping with "Catalinas" and coupons.  The Catalinas were generated for buying $25.00 worth of ConAgra products ... most of what we bought were ConAgra products... AND, Joe did this shopping in 3 separate trips thru the line.  He spent $20.89 his first trip (got a $10 catalina), then $.66 his second trip (no, not a typo - he planned it, he used coupons & a $10 catalina - but he earned a $10 catalina too), and $9.09 his third trip thru (used a $10 catalina, earned a $10 catalina).  Additionally, I am spending $.44 on a stamp to send away for a coupon book said to have $25 in coupons. 

Jewel totals the coupons used for us - that total is $45.25.  As well, Jewel always has a "Preferred Savings" - this week our Preferred Savings is $50.54 (ours for swiping the store sponsored card).  Totalling the coupons, the preferred savings, and what we actually paid, we acquired $126.44 worth of product for $30.65 (plus $10 off our next purchase).

We regularly read a website called http://www.jillcataldo.com/ to learn all about the best deals of the week.  Sometimes we shop at Jewel, sometimes Walgreens, but we are regularly getting things for free by using the coupons that come in your weekly newspaper. 

Here's the way I'm looking at this week's adventure by Joe...

• Hair conditioner from the grocery is EXPENSIVE, normally, but this week it's on sale from its $3.99 price to $3.29, PLUS, last week or the week before Joe got a "catalina" - a coupon printed by the Catalina machine at the checkout - for $1.50 off Pantene ...so my favorite conditioner was $1.79 instead of $3.99.  Not bad.
• Another good coupon is the one for Tobassco sauce - normally $1.79 for the 2 oz size, Jewel has it on sale for $.99 this week.  THEN, we had a $.75 coupon in the newspaper, so Joe paid $.24 for a fresh bottle of Tobassco!  mmm for him.
• And, really, why so much Oil/Pam?  Well, the Wesson is Jewel priced at $5.00 - it is Preferred Savings discounted by $2.50 to $2.50 per bottle and the Pam is Jewel priced at $2.95 less Preferred Savings of $.45 to $2.50 as well.  COUPONS folks, we had $2 off Pam and $2.00 of Wesson... we spent $8.50 on nearly $21 in cooking oils...
• We even had a "catalina" coupon for the lunchmeat - we got a half pound of hickory smoked deli ham for $3.93 less Preferred savings of $.70 and the catalina for $2.00, so we paid $1.23 for .53 pounds of meat.
• If we'd paid ful price for the tobassco ($1.79), the Conditioner ($3.99) the Cooking Oil/Spray ($20.98), and the lunch meat (3.93) we'd have spent $30.69 - Joe spent $30.65 so in other words... EVERY ITEM ON THE LIST ABOVE ... OTHER THAN THE LAST SIX ITEMS WERE ... FREE! (and don't forget, we have $10 in free groceries next time we shop at Jewel).  (who cares if I have to donate the cooking oils to the local food pantry - the people using the food pantry need oil too...)

Now I do totally understand that we are not buying the ingredients that I need to cook dinner - other than the frozen pizzas and lunch meat, I've really got nothing to eat in this pile of stuff.  BUT, the point is, if I buy all these things which I could be paying full price for now, and save them for when we need them, I won't be spending the money on them later.  THEREFORE, I have the add'l cash that I might have spent another time to free me up to buy what I need for groceries for the meals I intend to make this week.