5/18/10 trip to Meijer, Avon, IN

1 Transaction, Taking some of my own advice... Check the link for coupon sources.

I was also buying some things for a fondue party I'm going to tonight, so my percentage is a little low...

Party Items:
1 Vegetable oil, 2.49
2 Sweet Baby Ray's Dipping Sauce, 2.99 ea (5.98)
2 Peanut oil, 3.99 ea (7.98)
2 pk Steak (14.49)
Sub: 30.94

Deals:
1 bag Meijer charcoal 18#, 5.29
4 cans Manwich, 0.89 ea (3.56)
2 boxes Wheat Thins, 2.00 ea (4.00)
2 bags Doritos 3.99 ea (in-store BOGO, 3.99 total)
6 bags Freshlike frozen vegetables, 1.00 ea (6.00)
9 jars Musselman's 48 oz applesauce, 3/$5.00 (15.00)
2 Sunkist soda 2L, 1.00 (2.00)
2 Duncan Hines Brownies, 1.67 (3.34)
Sub: 43.18

Coupons:
Meijer Meal Box:
3 $1/3 Musselman's applesauce
3 $1/2 Freshlike vegetables
2 $1/2 Manwich

Manufacturer:
2 $0.55/2 Duncan Hines
2 $1/1 Wheat Thins
2 $1/3 Freshlike
4 $1/2 Musselman's

Tax: $0.51
Total: $57.47
Savings: $37.56 (39.5%)

Notes:
I paid $1 for 6 pounds of frozen vegetables!

I paid $8 for 9 jars of applesauce!

Without the party items my OOP would have been $26.98. My savings would have been the same and my percentage would have been 58.2%

I'm not sure why the register took both Duncan Hines coupons. I mistakenly gave both. I think it has something to do with Meijer registers checking for for 1 coupon/item and then checking for item eligibility. Some people can also take advantage of this loophole by buying two items and using 2 BOGO coupons to get both free. I've not tried this, as it skirts the coupon fraud gray area a little too closely for my taste.

I have a huge food dehydrator. I think most of the applesauce is going in it to make fruit leather (Fruit Roll-ups). Doing so will add about a year to the shelf life of the applesauce, 3 if I freeze them. They can always be turned back into applesauce by simply adding water. Not sure what to do with the jars just yet though.

5/6/10 trip to Meijer in Avon

Meijer is having their 10 for $10, get the 11th free deal. I loaded up on coupons and went shopping.

Transaction 1:
2 Green Giant Green Beans 1.00 ea (2.00)
4 Old Orchard frozen juices 1.00 ea (4.00)
4 Betty Crocker Gushers 1.00 ea (4.00)
4 Totino Pizza Rolls 2.50 ea (10.00)
1 McCormick Recipe Inspirations pre-measured spice 1.00 ea (1.00)
1 pk Aunt Millie Hamburger Buns 1.00 ea (1.00)

Coupons:
2 $.50/1 any Green Giant, coupons.com
2 $.50/2 Betty Crocker fruit snacks, coupons.com
1 $1/4 Old Orchard frozen juice, coupons.com
2 $.40/2 Totino's Pizza Rolls, 4/18 SS
1 $.55/1 Aunt Millies, 4/18 RP
1 $1.00/3 Betty Crocker fruit snacks, Meijer Meal Box
1 $1 off your next order of $10 or more, from a previous trip to Meijer
1 free $1 item for the 10 for $10 sale

Tax: $0.09
Total: $11.26
Total Saved: 22.26
Custom Coupon printed: $5 off your next order, for the pizza rolls


Transaction 2:
2 Green Giant Green Beans 1.00 ea (2.00)
4 Old Orchard frozen juices 1.00 ea (4.00)
4 Betty Crocker Gushers 1.00 ea (4.00)
4 Totino Pizza Rolls 2.50 ea (10.00)
1 McCormick Recipe Inspirations pre-measured spice 1.00 ea (1.00)
1 pk Aunt Millie Hamburger Buns 1.00 ea (1.00)

Coupons:
2 $.50/1 any Green Giant, coupons.com
2 $.50/2 Betty Crocker fruit snacks, coupons.com
1 $1/4 Old Orchard frozen juice, coupons.com
1 $.40/2 Totino's Pizza Rolls, 4/18 SS
1 $.55/1 Aunt Millies, 4/18 RP
1 $1.00/3 Betty Crocker fruit snacks, Meijer Meal Box
1 free $1 item for the 10 for $10 sale

Tax: $0.16
Total: $13.13
Total Saved: 22.10
Custom Coupon printed: $5 off your next order, for the pizza rolls

Notice the difference in price paid? The transactions were identical except for the $1 printed Meijer coupon and one $.40 pizza roll coupon, which is worth $.80 because of doubling. I was also charged an extra $.07 for tax on the second order. So I paid an extra $1.87 on the second order.

Transaction 3:
2 pk Charmin 30 ct big rolls 13.99 ea (27.98)

Coupons:
2 $5 ONYO from the pizza rolls in transactions 1 and 2

Tax: $1.96
Total: $19.94
Total Saved: 17.20
Custom Coupon printed: $5 ONYO from Proctor and Gamble when you buy $25 worth of product.

Trip:
Retail: 105.89
Paid: 44.33
Saved: 61.56
Percent Savings: 58.1%


Notes:
The coupons.com coupons specifically say to not double, but if the UPC on the Q starts with a 5 and it's $.50 or less, Meijer doubles it. Every time.

The Green Giant Qs doubled, so the veggies were free this time around.

The Gushers deal was a good example of store coupons vs. Manufacturer coupons. Most stores that offer store coupons will honor 1 store and 1 manu per item. I used 2 $.50/2 manufacturer coupons (both doubled) and one $1/3 store coupon, so I paid $2 for 8 boxes of fruit snacks.

Stores that double usually only double the first 2 identical coupons. That's why the transactions are broken out the way they are.

I was expecting two $4 Custom Coupons from the Betty Crocker fruit snacks. I've sent an email to Meijer for clarification about this deal.

Catalinas (the coupons that print after you pay) usually will only print once for each transaction. As it stands I paid $17.60 total for pizza rolls and received $10 in catalinas. Had I purchased them all at once, my 3rd coupon would not have doubled so I'd pay $18 and receive one $5 cat. $7.60 vs. $13? I'd rather pay $7.60, thank you.

Toilet paper is a huge expense for most families. Normally priced, I've seen it from $.23 to $.50 per roll (counting double rolls as 2). Between the sale (30 ct big rolls are normally 17.59 ea) and the catalinas, I paid $.17/roll. This is why I stocked up a bit.