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Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts

Friday, May 7, 2010

5/7/10 trip to Marsh in Brownsburg for water softener salt

Last month I printed my max on Morton System Saver II water softener salt coupons from coupons.com (2/computer, we have 3 computers). They were offering $1/2 for the 40 pound bags.

Wal-mart regularly carries these for 4.78/bag, which is FAR better than Marsh's 5.99/bag and Lowe's 5.35 for a different brand. (If Lowe's carries Morton, please let me know. I'm not planning a return trip until something else around the house breaks.)

Last month I also purchased 4 bags of the salt because we are out, but our new softener only hold 2 bags, so I had a stockpile of 2 bags.

Marsh has Morton's salt on sale this week (Th-W) for 3.99/bag, which is a stock up price if you ask me.

Transaction 1:
8 40# Morton Pellet salt, 3.99 ea (31.92)

Coupons:
4 $1/2 Morton System Saver II salt from coupons.com (no longer available)

Tax: $2.23
Total: $30.15
Total Saved: $20.00

The receipt clocks my savings at 42% which I think is very generous as it's based on the regular price and tax, 51.27.

If I adjust my own numbers to compare to Wal-Mart's regular price, $40.92 incl tax, I get a savings of 26%.

Still respectable for a product that we must have and is rarely on sale. Since we've taken steps to curb our water usage, 2 bags last should last 3-4 months for us. We have a full tank, and now 10 bags stockpiled. I won't have to buy salt for a year, maybe 2.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

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.