This is How I Roll......the Catalinas That is!

I began last week with $12 in Catalinas(1 x $5 and 1 x $7) to roll at Weis Markets.
I did 4 transactions last week, rolling these 2 Cats and rolling the subsequent 2 $7 Catalinas I received in the first 2 transactions I completed.

Select dairy items where "Buy $20, Get a $7 OYNO(aka on your next order)Catalina coupon.
The buy amount was based on the regular shelf price, but most of the items that qualified were on sale last week.  Plus I had coupons for some of the items, which brought my OOP cost even lower.

For example--Friendly's ice cream was one of the qualifying items.  Reg. price is $5.99 at Weis.  It was on sale for $2.50.  I also had tearpad coupons I had obtained at Weis a month ago for $1/2 Friendly's ice cream or sherbet.

So I bought 4 ice creams.
Reg. shelf price of $23.96.
Sale price of $10.00
I used 2 x $1/2 coupons...$10-$2=$8.00
I also had a $7 Catalina coupon from that store for items I bought 2 weeks ago I used.
$8-$7=$1 OOP
I paid $1 for 4 ice creams and got another $7 Catalina coupon back.

Another transaction I bought....
2 Friendly's ice cream-reg. price of $11.98/sale price of $5.00
2 Bailey's creamers-reg. price of $4.78/sale price of $3.33
2 Heluva Good dips-reg. price of $4.38/sale price of $3.33
Total reg. prices of $21.14.
Total sale prices of $11.66.
I used a $1/2 ice cream Q, 2 x $1/1 bailey's IPQs, 2 x .50¢ Helavu Good item IPQs which doubled to $1 each, for a grand total of $5.00 in Qs.
Add in the $5 Catalina Q that I rolled from the previous week and my Q total is $10.
I paid $11.66 and got $10 off in Qs.
$11.66-$10 in Qs=$1.66 OOP for all 7 items.
And I received another $7 OYNO Catalina Q.

I also found and purchased some other good deals at Weis last week.
Like 8.5 lbs. of ground beef with 3 Instant $3 off meat coupons on them, making the per lb. price $1.86.
Store clearance on store brand Kielbasa for $1.99.....this use to be my rock bottom buy price but I haven't seen it this low in about a year here.  The new RBP is $2.50 so I snatched these up fast! 

Here is what I got at Weis in 4 transactions last week.  First the Catalina deal items.....
12 ice creams
2 creamers
3 dips
8 greek yogurt
And everything else....
1 package of yeast
2/3 lb. peaches
4 bags of salad
4 lb. strawberries
1 gallon milk
2 bags of glazed chicken strips
1 lb. shrimp
8.5 lb ground beef
5 lb. kielbasa
1 package of tortillas
7 bottles of 100% juice

Reg. price would have been $231.16.
I paid $88.47 for a savings of 61.73%
And I have $14 in Catalinas to roll(I had a $7 & a $5 from 2 weeks ago that I rolled this week.)

While no where near an EXTREME COUPONING savings trip, I thought it rather good given that I bought alot of meat proteins and nothing "processed" except  for the ice cream, dips and creamer...which were the items that qualified me for the catalina Qs.  They did have other "unprocessed" foods that qualified like cheese, butter and almond milk(this isn't really dairy now, is it?lol) but I didn't need those plus there were no additional coupons for them.

Anyway, that $88.47 added to the health food store purchase brings my food spending in June to $111.95.  I have $138.05 left for this month with 22 days to go.

Do you think I can stay under budget this month?

Sluggy

WHERE'S THE BEEF? Today at Weis Markets

I had 2 more Chef Michael Qs to use before they expire today but I didn't feel like hauling to Target...too far, too crowded and our checkered history together factored in to my lack of  "Targeting" this Monday morning.

So, I dropped in at Weis instead.  They have the Chef Michael's 4.5lb. bags on sale for $3.50 until Wednesday.  That would make each bag .50¢ after Q.  Plus I needed a few other things like milk, fruit, lunchmeat for daughter, produce.
I wasn't in a rush so I took my time shopping and tried to find some good deals on the spot, as I had brought a few "might-do-me-some-good-at-Weis" Qs with me.
And boy, did I find some gems!
Here's what I got....

1 bag 4 fresh Egg Bagels  $2.35
1 1/2gal. skim milk   $1.44
1 bag lemons  $3.99
1 head lettuce  $1.69(this is the 1st lettuce I've bought in months thanks to our garden!)
2 bags salad greens @$3.49=$6.98
1.88lb. broccoli @$1.99lb=$3.74
5 ears local corn  $2.00
2 apples  $1.09
1 pkg. deli cheese $4.07
1 pkg. deli turkey  $4.44
1 Perdue Italian Bites chicken $4.99
3 Sun Crystals @$3.39=$10.17
4 1lb. Smithfield Smoke Sausage @$3.99=$15.96
1 Krispy Kraut sauerkraut pkg. $1.29(part of catalina deal)
4 Johnsonville Cheddar Brats @$4.99=$19.96(part of catalina deal)
1 Helavua Cheese block $2.49
Subtotal   $86.65

Coupons Used
2 bags salad greens BOGO Sale=$3.49
1.88lb. broccoli WEIS SALE=$2.09
1 pkg. deli turkey WEIS SALE=$.46
1 $2/1 Perdue Bites chicken=$2.00
3 x $1.40/1 Sun Crystals WEIS SALE=$4.20
3 x $2/1 Sun Crystals=$6.00
1 x Sauerkraut WEIS SALE=$.30
4 x Johnsonville Brats WEIS SALE on clearance $3 off=$12.00
4 x Smithfield Sausage WEIS SALE on clearance $2 off=$8.00
4 x .55/1 Smithfield Smoke Sausage doubled=$4.00
1 x Heluva Cheese WEIS SALE=$.49
1 x .55/1 Helavua Cheese  $.55

Coupon/Clearance/Sales Ad Total  $43.58

$86.65-$43.58=$43.07OOP
Just over a 50% Savings.
And that includes all that meat so this 50% off is pretty good in my book!

I had been wanting to pick up some Kielbasa/Smoked Sausage cheap for a few weeks now, so I had those Smithfield Qs with me.  My Weis just happened to have their Smithfield Smoked Sausage rings marked down to $1.99 a lb. package, so with my .55/1 Qs that doubled, I got each package for .99¢!
Weis only doubles up to 4 of the same Q so I'll have to go back tonight before they close with my other 3 .55/1 Qs and cross my fingers that they didn't sell all the $1.99 marked down Sausage.

The SUN CRYSTALS are on sale for $1.99 this week at WEIS.  There is a $2/1 Q in this past Sunday's coupon inserts so they are FREE after coupon.  The cashier scanned the Qs and they didn't adjust down .01 so you will get 1¢ overage on each box.

The BEST deal I got today was this.....

Weis has a Catalina Promo Deal going where if you buy $20 worth of certain items(tailgating items)you get a $7 OYNO Q.  Of course, the $20 refers to the REGULAR SHELF PRICE of the items, not the sale prices(if they happen to be on sale).  The Silver Floss fresh kraut I got and the Johnsonville Brats are on sale AND they qualify for this Cat Deal.  The Floss is reg. price of $1.29(on sale for .99) and the Brats are reg. price of $4.99(on sale for $2.99), so buy 4 Brats & a Kraut and you've hit the $20 threshold. I noticed that ALL the Cheddar Brats were marked down to $1.99 though in the meat case, as they are nearing the Sell By Date.
Now I KNEW from past experience at WEIS, that if I bought the marked down Brats, the register's computer would NOT recognize the Brats as qualifying for the Cat Deal because they slap on a NEW UPC on the marked down packages that the computer just reads as "meat", not as Johnsonville meat.
Thus, the register wouldn't generate an OYNO $7 Cat Q.

So I took a package and the ad with the Cat Deal in it to the CS counter, playing 'dumb' and inquired about whether I'd get my Cat Q if I bought these marked down Brats and other things equaling $20.
As I knew, they said no I wouldn't get a Cat Q so I pleaded my case that I ONLY want/eat the Cheddar Brats and ALL the Cheddar Brats are marked down so it's not FAIR that because I ONLY eat these type of Johnsonville Brats  that I can't get a Cat Q when I buy $20.  The manager was called over and I went throught this explanation again.  And you know what he did??

He ran(literally)back to the meat case, grabbed a non marked down J'ville Brats package, reprogrammed it in the computer to $1.99 and told the cashier to ring up this package 4 times(which would ring at $1.99 AND register as a J'ville purchase)but give me the 4 Cheddar Brat packages.
Cashier did and my $7 OYNO CAT Q spit out....YAY!!!
So I paid $8.95 for 4 J'ville Brat pkgs. and a pkg. of sauerkraut AND I got a $7 OYNO Cat.
$21.25 worth of food and a Q for $7 more food for $8.95.
Hooo-ah!

Of course, I still had a problem with this transaction because of the Smithfield marked downs.  Since they had the 'generic meat' clearance UPC sticker on them, my Smithfield Qs wouldn't scan automatically and double to $1 off.  So the cashier had to manually put in each .55¢/1 Q for those.  She was new and didn't know how to double a manually put in Q, so I had to pay, then take 1 of the Qs and my receipt over to the CS desk and get a $1.80 refund for the doubled part of those 4 Qs.

And to top it all off......I Forgot the DOG FOOD!LOLOLOL
The one thing I came in for!
It figures....lol

The Perdue Bites was suppose to be $2.99, not $4.99, so I have to go back tonight anyway for a price adjustment, so I'll have to do that, use the rest of my Sun Crystals Qs, get 3 more Smithfield Sausage for $.99 if still there and get the BLASTED Dog Food!lol
Or maybe I'll just not bother with the Perdue Bites because I can send for a rebate on that anyway.

What did you get a good deal on today?

Sluggy

How to Roll a CAT 101 & get a Great Deal!

I've had a couple of people ask me how to go about working a Catalina Promotion Deal, including the Cashier at the Price Chopper today, as I made my 5th trip through her check-out line.lol

The key to working a Deal or rolling a CAT is to be organized and Plan, Plan, PLAN before you even set foot in the store!

Yes, you can just throw your coupons and sales flyer into your purse and rush into the store, but then what?

What happens when they are out of items you want to build an order with?

What happens when you misfigure your total in your head and you haven't spent enough to qualify for the Cat?

You leave the store without your Cat and your great buys and either angry at yourself or so disappointed you just give up and go back to paying....GASP...retail for everything.

First you need to study the sales promotion.

1. What do you have to buy? Make sure you only buy what the sales ad clearly states qualifies for the promotion. If the ad is not clear, then ask store's management.

2. How much do you need to spend? Is there a dollar threshold you must spend & what is it? Is that dollar amount based on Regular Shelf Price, or if the item is on sale, the current sales price? One store here bases Cat promos on sales price(I hardly EVER do those promos!).

3. Is there a certain number of items you need to buy or a certain combination of items?

4. Are there any special conditions you need to meet for the CAT outside of #1 , #2 & #3?

With those questions answered, you are ready for some store reconnaissance. You need to venture into enemy territory(the store)and survey the battlefield. Take a trip into the store you'll be doing your deal in and get any information of price/size/quantity of the products you'll need to buy. My current Unilever Cat deal covered a wide range of Unilever branded items....from peanut butter to deodorant. As the total threshold was based on regular shelf price, I needed to literally take pen & paper into the store and write down the reg. price on each item in the deal. PC is notorious for NOT putting the price on BOGO sales ads! An item will be advertised as a BOGO/B1G1 but no mention of what the 1 you have to pay for will cost you.

You can sometimes use price information shared by others on forums like A Full Cup or Hot Coupon World but individual stores' prices CAN VARY. If I take the info. from someone online who shops at my chain store but in Trumbull CT, the price in MY PA store might or might not be the same. You want to know precisely the prices in YOUR store. This is vital information that, if you don't have it correct, can trip up your deal.

In my case, even though I did a Unilever Cat deal in early April in this PC store & still had some of the reg. shelf prices written down, I wrote them all down again on my reconnoitering 1st trip in for this New deal.

After all your facts are checked and you have all your information, now the fun begins! Get out your calculator and some pen & paper and do your homework.

Figure out and commit to paper any potential transactions you want to perform at the store.(This is also most excellent advise for folks who use ECBs at CVS &/or RRs at Walgreens to pay, and want to spend little to none out of pocket.)

I will fill up an 8x10 sheet of paper with potential scenarios before I even get in the car. When plannning out your scenarios, make sure to figure in the coupons you will be using too. If I can get it all written down(the scenarios with plenty of back up plans too)before I hit the store, the actual time it takes me to shop is minimal.

And be sure you have plenty of back up scenarios as Murphy's Law will always kick in and they will always be out of stuff you want to buy in your deals.lol

Having the deals worked out beats trying to think on your feet in the aisles with the too loud muzak blaring and the other customers talking & getting in your way, all the while you are trying to figure math in your head, while fondling boxes of soap or jars of spaghetti sauce.lolol

And if you have to take babies or children or moody teens with you on your shopping trip, well, let me just say, there is a special place in Heaven for YOU!

If you have your beloved 'baggage' along for the ride, it is ESPECIALLY important to have the 'brain work' done ahead of time. That way you can be on auto-pilot so you can focus on keeping the kids out of trouble & happy and still have your deals work out.

Now get your coupons together. Bring any coupon you feel you may need. If it's a certain brands deal, unless you are also going to buying items besides the ones that qualify for that deal, leave the other branded coupons at home or in the car. For this Unilever deal I went through my binder and pulled every Unilever product that's a part of this Cat deal, just in case I needed it. I put them into 2 envelopes-one for the food products & one for the non-food/hba products. For the amount of coupons I had, this was enough organization for me.

And I would add, that if you are NEW to doing Catalina Deals to don't try to do 'other' shopping while shopping for the Cat Deal. Focusing on just this Cat Deal and buying just those products for this deal will help you get it right. If you need to do non-Cat deal shopping, do the Cat deal first, take it to the car and go back in to do your other shopping.

You scenarios are written down, your coupons, selling price of the items & sales flyer in hand. Grab your calculator(just in case you need to do last minute calculations in the store)and go to the store. Don't forget your store loyalty card too!!

Having everything worked out before you leave the house also makes the amount of time in the store alot shorter. Just pick up what's written down & get in line to pay.

Mostly it's the lengthy amount of time waiting in the check-out lines that makes some trips seem to drag on forever. If you can avoid being in the store on weekends(except very early or very late)& weekdays between about 2:30-5:30(the school dismissal hour to dinner hour), do so. Around here, those are the times where you will inevitably end up in a long check-out line. And any day they have a Senior Discount too. Most seniors aren't in a big rush so they slow the lines down, but they are much more pleasant company than the general population usually. ;-)

BTW-I hit Price Chopper this afternoon again & did 9 more transactions rolling my $7 Cat. After 12 Transactions, I'm up to a savings of 85%. (Savings of 80% for the first 3 & Savings of 86.5% for the last 9, averages out to 85% so far.)

I've got 1 more day of this sale ad/promo deal and an envelope still stuffed with coupons. If anyone is looking for me tomorrow evening, I'll be in PC until closing time. ;-))

Sluggy