While it is fairly easy to get health/beauty items for free (or next to free) at Walgreens and CVS, grocery shopping takes a bit more effort. In the Midwest, grocery stores do not double coupons like they do on the East coast or in the South.
My successful grocery runs rely heavily on my Five Fundamentals of Frugal Shopping:
1. Shop sales and use coupons to get the best deal.
2. Take advantage of all customer loyalty programs and rebates whenever possible.
3. Stockpiling: when something goes on sale, buy as many as you can reasonably afford, use and store.
4. Don't bother with brand or store loyalty. Buy the best deal and shop where the deals are.
5. Prepare for each shopping trip with a plan/list and stick to it!
Bonus #6: Take advantage of all Catalina promotions and rebate offers.
By following these rules, it is quite easy to cut your grocery bill in half or more. Personally, I strive to save at least 60% every time I walk into the grocery store. My personal best is 102%--I'm seriously thinking of framing that reciept. What would Martha do?
I recently participated in Dominick’s Living Well, Feeling Great promotion. For every $30 of participating products bought, Dominick’s would give you a $10 Catalina coupon (just like a Register Reward from Walgreen’s, but ‘roll-able’) for a future transaction.
I rolled that deal 6 times in one day (note to self: that was out of control...never again!), and got $320.07 worth of groceries and household products for $83.35 out-of-pocket. I’m stocked up on pasta, frozen entrees (lunch during the work week), pasta sauce and more for quite some time. And I walked out of the store with a $10 Catalina coupon to use on my next trip.
For examples of great shopping trips in the Chicago area, check out these blogs:
Annie at Chi-Annie at the Table
(note: Annie always knows the great deals at SuperTarget, too)
Carrie at Shoplifting with Permission
Helen at Helen Knits and Saves
Showing posts with label Dominick's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dominick's. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A good week for saving
For those in the Chicago area, this is a great week for couponing. To get the most bang for your buck, know the rules before you walk into the store.
KMart stores are doing Super Doubles.
The last time our area had KMart Super Doubles was November 30, 2008. Not that I keep track. On a calender. In the top drawer of my nightstand. No way--that would just be weird.
Rule #1: They will double most manufacturer's coupons up to and including $2.00.
Rule #2: No expired coupons and no internet coupons.
Rule #3: No more than four like coupons in a transaction.
Rule #4: KMart stores will not give overage with the doubles. Example: if you buy an item at $1.29, use a .75 off coupon, it will take off the $1.29 price of the product and not $1.50.
TMI Tip: Look for coupons with high values, and match them with the cheapest version of the product to get the most savings. You can get many items for free or next to free this way.
Dominick's is having a great "Living Well, Feeling Great" catalina promotion going on through May 5.
If you spend $30, then you'll get a $10 catalina coupon to use on your next transaction. To get started, read the post at Moneywise Moms. This promotion covers over 3,000 items from food to health/beauty to basic household supplies.
Rule #1: Dominick's catalina deals go off the sale prices, not the shelf prices.
Rule #2: Dominick's does take expired coupons and internet coupons. And expired internet coupons. Yay, Dominick's!
Rule #3: You can stack manufacturer's coupons with Dominick's coupons for greater savings.
Rule #4: You can roll the catalina coupons, so after your initial investment, you'll be spending very little out of pocket.
TMI note: Plan for this before you go to the store. Get items you'll use, hit the $30 total, and then use coupons to bring that number down. Rinse and repeat!
In bad coupon news, Jewel-Osco stores will no longer accept expired coupons after May 1st. They've sent letters to their employees stating that they will lower overall prices by 20% to offset this new policy. HA! Jewel marks up their prices so much, that even with 20% off they cannot complete with other area stores like Ultra Foods (which takes expired coupons) and Super Walmart. I will be shopping at Jewel a lot less after May 1st and I've already called corporate to voice my dissatisfaction with this new policy. Boo to Jewel!
KMart stores are doing Super Doubles.
The last time our area had KMart Super Doubles was November 30, 2008. Not that I keep track. On a calender. In the top drawer of my nightstand. No way--that would just be weird.
Rule #1: They will double most manufacturer's coupons up to and including $2.00.
Rule #2: No expired coupons and no internet coupons.
Rule #3: No more than four like coupons in a transaction.
Rule #4: KMart stores will not give overage with the doubles. Example: if you buy an item at $1.29, use a .75 off coupon, it will take off the $1.29 price of the product and not $1.50.
TMI Tip: Look for coupons with high values, and match them with the cheapest version of the product to get the most savings. You can get many items for free or next to free this way.
Dominick's is having a great "Living Well, Feeling Great" catalina promotion going on through May 5.
If you spend $30, then you'll get a $10 catalina coupon to use on your next transaction. To get started, read the post at Moneywise Moms. This promotion covers over 3,000 items from food to health/beauty to basic household supplies.
Rule #1: Dominick's catalina deals go off the sale prices, not the shelf prices.
Rule #2: Dominick's does take expired coupons and internet coupons. And expired internet coupons. Yay, Dominick's!
Rule #3: You can stack manufacturer's coupons with Dominick's coupons for greater savings.
Rule #4: You can roll the catalina coupons, so after your initial investment, you'll be spending very little out of pocket.
TMI note: Plan for this before you go to the store. Get items you'll use, hit the $30 total, and then use coupons to bring that number down. Rinse and repeat!
In bad coupon news, Jewel-Osco stores will no longer accept expired coupons after May 1st. They've sent letters to their employees stating that they will lower overall prices by 20% to offset this new policy. HA! Jewel marks up their prices so much, that even with 20% off they cannot complete with other area stores like Ultra Foods (which takes expired coupons) and Super Walmart. I will be shopping at Jewel a lot less after May 1st and I've already called corporate to voice my dissatisfaction with this new policy. Boo to Jewel!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Grocery shopping
In the Chicago area, there are no grocery stores that double coupons. However, by using coupons on sale items, you can cut your grocery bill in half. With a little effort and thought put into your weekly grocery run, it is easy to save 50% or more at major chain grocery stores.
Behold: last week's trip to Jewel.
The total was $32.95 for all this, with a savings of $39.69. I saved more than I spent--nice! Highlights include 12 Healthy Choice entrees for $10.00, and clearanced Swiss Miss. The flavor is chocolate with added caffeine--as much as a cup of coffee! Because that's totally what I need right now: more caffeine! The most expensive things I bought were the boxes of cookies: they averaged out to $1.19 each.
Ignore the mini-pyramid of Hamburger Helper. We don't eat that in my House of Martha. Clearly, it must be for someone else. I put it in my pantry for safekeeping.
Today's trip to Dominick's was similar. I spent $42.10 with a savings of $59.25.
Behold: last week's trip to Jewel.
The total was $32.95 for all this, with a savings of $39.69. I saved more than I spent--nice! Highlights include 12 Healthy Choice entrees for $10.00, and clearanced Swiss Miss. The flavor is chocolate with added caffeine--as much as a cup of coffee! Because that's totally what I need right now: more caffeine! The most expensive things I bought were the boxes of cookies: they averaged out to $1.19 each.
Ignore the mini-pyramid of Hamburger Helper. We don't eat that in my House of Martha. Clearly, it must be for someone else. I put it in my pantry for safekeeping.
Today's trip to Dominick's was similar. I spent $42.10 with a savings of $59.25.
Nearly every item was on sale, and I had a coupon for almost everything. Highlights for this trip were the Mini Wheats and eggs. The cereal was on super sale (with Dominick's coupon) at 4 for $6.00. I had 4 $1.00 off coupons, making them $0.50 each. Then, at the Kellogg's cereal endcap, they had coupons for a free dozen eggs with every 2 boxes of Kellogg's cereal purchased. The eggs were free--so watch for those coupons on the endcap! And don't be alarmed: the item on top of the Oreos is an avocado. Yum!
Sadly, I did miss out on $3.00 of savings. I don't know if I grabbed the wrong Hormel pork loin, or if the super coupon had a limit of one, but I didn't notice until I got home. Sigh. I suppose that's what happens when your shopping cart has a semi-cranky one-year-old in the front basket.
Grocery shoppers in the Chicago suburbs, take note: Jewel and Dominick's both take internet printable coupons and expired coupons. I've never had a problem at either store with this. Today, the only coupon problem I had was for the Kellogg's cereal: coupon 3 and 4 beeped, saying I hadn't bought 3 and 4 boxes of cereal. Clearly I had, so the cashier overrode the coupons. Which were both printed from coupons.com and expired. Woohoo!
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