Wednesday, December 9, 2009
All You Magazine Printable Coupons
The All You Magazine website has a section for printable coupons. Some of these coupons are exclusive to All You Magazine and some are the same coupons that you can find at Coupons.com. The great thing about these coupons being at the All You website is that if you have printed the maximum two per computer at Coupons.com and need a few more, you can usually print two more per computer at the All You site. I have added the link to the printable coupons at All You to the list of printables on the sidebar or you can access it right here. You do not have to be a subscriber to All You Magazine to use the website or print coupons there.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Getting Started: Catalina Coupons
Catalina coupons are a couponers best friend - seriously. You really save a ton of money when you "work" the catalina deals.
Catalina coupons are called "Catalinas" or "cats" because it's the name of the company that issues them. Catalina coupons come out of the machines located right by the registers when you check out and the company that owns those machines is the Catalina company, the stores do not own the machines. Not all stores have Catalina machines. The Catalinas at Walgreens are referred to as "Register Rewards" and other stores may call them different names, but they are all Catalina coupons.
Most Catalina coupons that print are manufacturer coupons, but sometimes store coupons print on these machines as well. Sometimes the coupons that print are for specific items, like $1.00 off any Crest toothpaste, but a lot of the time the coupon is a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction (OYNO=on your next order). Sometimes the print out may not contain any coupon but it will be an alert of an upcoming sale or Catalina offer. You want to pay close attention to your Catalina coupons that print out and make sure your cashier hands over all the Catalinas that print from your transaction. You will even want to look for Catalinas left behind by other shoppers. You would be amazed at the number of Catalinas that you can find in carts, in the parking lot, left behind at the self check-out registers or in the trash...keep your eyes open for these!
There are a lot of unadvertised Catalina sales running all the time. Some stores will advertise the Catalina sales, like Walgreens or Jewel-Osco in their weekly flyers, but there are many more Catalina deals that aren't advertised. This is why it's important to watch the alerts that print out as well as checking money saving blogs where bloggers post about unadvertised Catalina sales. The sale will usually be something like, buy a certain $ amount of ceratin products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction. Sometimes its as simple as buy one item and get a Catalina back for that same value that you paid for the item - Walgreens usually works their Register Rewards like that. Walgreens is really great about advertising most of their Register Rewards each week so Walgreens is a great place to get started with Catalinas. I will be posting about Walgreens and how the rules are different there soon, so make sure you watch for that before diving into Walgreens shopping.
If you know a Catalina is going to print and it doesn't, make sure you take care of this right away at the store. If they won't give you the Catalina coupons or make it right, you can return everything on the spot for a refund. Sometimes it's because you purchased the wrong size, or wrong product, or not enough of the listed items. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the purchase and the machine is down, turned off or out of paper or ink. If you plan ahead of time, you shouldn't have any problems with Catalinas not printing, unless its a hardware/technical issue. The only time I have had problems is when I get careless and rush my shopping trip. Catalina machines uplink to the satellite between 11PM and 2AM so Catalinas don't print during those times. If you shop a 24 hour store or late at night you are taking a big risk that the Catalinas won't print.
If you realize after you are home that you didn't get all the Catalinas you were expecting, you can contact Catalina directly at 1-888-322-3814 with your receipt information and they will mail you your missing Catalina coupons. I have never had to do this, so I am not sure how long it takes to receive the Catalinas in the mail.
A lot of the money saving blogs will also post UPC code lists of items that are included in the Catalina deals. Most of the time there are more participating products than what are listed in the sale flyer. These are a great tool in helping assure that your Catalinas will print. If I am going to shop a BIG Catalina sale I always print out the list of UPC codes so I can double check my purchase to the list before I check out. This eliminates the guesswork of wondering if the Catalina will print - you KNOW it will print if you have all the right items.
A lot of the time Catalinas will "roll" meaning you can use them to pay for the next round of Catalina deals. This works a little differently at Walgreens though. You can "roll" Catalinas from one deal to the next, but if you use the a same Catalina that is supposed to print out to pay, then you won't get it. You can use a different Catalina (from a different offer) to pay for your transaction as long as it's not the same parent company. Occassionally at Walgreens you will find that they do roll, but that's not the norm. Again, reading the money saving blogs will help determine which at Walgreens are truly rolling and which aren't.
The most effective way to get the maximum benefit of the Catalina sales (not including Register Rewards) is to only buy what the deal requires in order to receive the Catalina and "roll" it into the same deal again (in another transaction). For instance, the Catalina sale may be "spend $30 (on certain products) and get a $15 Catalina OYNO. So in order to work this so that you get the best deal for your money in your first transaction, purchase only $30 in participating products. You will get your Catalina coupon for $15. Your next transaction would be another $30 in participating products, but you would use the prior $15 Catalina to pay for this transaction, greatly reducing your out of pocket.
One of the BEST aspects about using Catalinas is that you can combine them with other manufacturer coupons. You can use the individual item coupons on everything that you are purchasing and then use your Catalina coupons to pay down the balance due on your transaction. It's about the only time that you can "stack" manufacturer coupons.
Register Rewards will print out with the statement "Redeemable at Walgreens" but they don't say ONLY at Walgreens, so other stores who take competitor coupons will take Register Rewards (and other stores Catalinas). I regularly use my Register Rewards from Walgreens to pay for my groceries and other Catalina deals at Jewe-Osco stores. Many other stores take them as well...I know that Meijer and Dominick's stores take Catalinas printed at other stores also. Check your store's coupon policy.
Catalina coupons always have an expiration date and you will want to pay close attention to that. The expiry date is usually 2 weeks from the print date, but since Catalinas are such a great value you don't want to let them expire! If you find that they have expired, you can always try to redeem them at a store that takes expired coupons. Dominick's stores will take coupons expired within 6 months of the expiry date.
Catalina deals work a little differently at Jewel-Osco stores and I will also post a seperate entry about Jewel-Osco as well as Walgreens.
Catalina coupons are called "Catalinas" or "cats" because it's the name of the company that issues them. Catalina coupons come out of the machines located right by the registers when you check out and the company that owns those machines is the Catalina company, the stores do not own the machines. Not all stores have Catalina machines. The Catalinas at Walgreens are referred to as "Register Rewards" and other stores may call them different names, but they are all Catalina coupons.
Most Catalina coupons that print are manufacturer coupons, but sometimes store coupons print on these machines as well. Sometimes the coupons that print are for specific items, like $1.00 off any Crest toothpaste, but a lot of the time the coupon is a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction (OYNO=on your next order). Sometimes the print out may not contain any coupon but it will be an alert of an upcoming sale or Catalina offer. You want to pay close attention to your Catalina coupons that print out and make sure your cashier hands over all the Catalinas that print from your transaction. You will even want to look for Catalinas left behind by other shoppers. You would be amazed at the number of Catalinas that you can find in carts, in the parking lot, left behind at the self check-out registers or in the trash...keep your eyes open for these!
There are a lot of unadvertised Catalina sales running all the time. Some stores will advertise the Catalina sales, like Walgreens or Jewel-Osco in their weekly flyers, but there are many more Catalina deals that aren't advertised. This is why it's important to watch the alerts that print out as well as checking money saving blogs where bloggers post about unadvertised Catalina sales. The sale will usually be something like, buy a certain $ amount of ceratin products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction. Sometimes its as simple as buy one item and get a Catalina back for that same value that you paid for the item - Walgreens usually works their Register Rewards like that. Walgreens is really great about advertising most of their Register Rewards each week so Walgreens is a great place to get started with Catalinas. I will be posting about Walgreens and how the rules are different there soon, so make sure you watch for that before diving into Walgreens shopping.
If you know a Catalina is going to print and it doesn't, make sure you take care of this right away at the store. If they won't give you the Catalina coupons or make it right, you can return everything on the spot for a refund. Sometimes it's because you purchased the wrong size, or wrong product, or not enough of the listed items. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the purchase and the machine is down, turned off or out of paper or ink. If you plan ahead of time, you shouldn't have any problems with Catalinas not printing, unless its a hardware/technical issue. The only time I have had problems is when I get careless and rush my shopping trip. Catalina machines uplink to the satellite between 11PM and 2AM so Catalinas don't print during those times. If you shop a 24 hour store or late at night you are taking a big risk that the Catalinas won't print.
If you realize after you are home that you didn't get all the Catalinas you were expecting, you can contact Catalina directly at 1-888-322-3814 with your receipt information and they will mail you your missing Catalina coupons. I have never had to do this, so I am not sure how long it takes to receive the Catalinas in the mail.
A lot of the money saving blogs will also post UPC code lists of items that are included in the Catalina deals. Most of the time there are more participating products than what are listed in the sale flyer. These are a great tool in helping assure that your Catalinas will print. If I am going to shop a BIG Catalina sale I always print out the list of UPC codes so I can double check my purchase to the list before I check out. This eliminates the guesswork of wondering if the Catalina will print - you KNOW it will print if you have all the right items.
A lot of the time Catalinas will "roll" meaning you can use them to pay for the next round of Catalina deals. This works a little differently at Walgreens though. You can "roll" Catalinas from one deal to the next, but if you use the a same Catalina that is supposed to print out to pay, then you won't get it. You can use a different Catalina (from a different offer) to pay for your transaction as long as it's not the same parent company. Occassionally at Walgreens you will find that they do roll, but that's not the norm. Again, reading the money saving blogs will help determine which at Walgreens are truly rolling and which aren't.
The most effective way to get the maximum benefit of the Catalina sales (not including Register Rewards) is to only buy what the deal requires in order to receive the Catalina and "roll" it into the same deal again (in another transaction). For instance, the Catalina sale may be "spend $30 (on certain products) and get a $15 Catalina OYNO. So in order to work this so that you get the best deal for your money in your first transaction, purchase only $30 in participating products. You will get your Catalina coupon for $15. Your next transaction would be another $30 in participating products, but you would use the prior $15 Catalina to pay for this transaction, greatly reducing your out of pocket.
One of the BEST aspects about using Catalinas is that you can combine them with other manufacturer coupons. You can use the individual item coupons on everything that you are purchasing and then use your Catalina coupons to pay down the balance due on your transaction. It's about the only time that you can "stack" manufacturer coupons.
Register Rewards will print out with the statement "Redeemable at Walgreens" but they don't say ONLY at Walgreens, so other stores who take competitor coupons will take Register Rewards (and other stores Catalinas). I regularly use my Register Rewards from Walgreens to pay for my groceries and other Catalina deals at Jewe-Osco stores. Many other stores take them as well...I know that Meijer and Dominick's stores take Catalinas printed at other stores also. Check your store's coupon policy.
Catalina coupons always have an expiration date and you will want to pay close attention to that. The expiry date is usually 2 weeks from the print date, but since Catalinas are such a great value you don't want to let them expire! If you find that they have expired, you can always try to redeem them at a store that takes expired coupons. Dominick's stores will take coupons expired within 6 months of the expiry date.
Catalina deals work a little differently at Jewel-Osco stores and I will also post a seperate entry about Jewel-Osco as well as Walgreens.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
50 FREE photo cards
Do you have your Christmas cards yet? Here's a great offer from SeeHere. Go to the website and create an account or login. Choose a card and add your photos and text. Add 50 cards to your cart and use the promo code newbaby. With this promo code your cards will be FREE and all you will pay is about $3 in shipping and handling fees - not a bad deal! These cards come with the envelopes and are shipped very quickly by FedEx (I received mine within about 4 days). You don't have to get holiday cards, you can order any cards from their stock. If you already have your Christmas cards, why not some thank you cards?
FREE 8X10 Canvas photo
You can score a free 8x10 of your favorite photo on a canvas at Canvas People. All you have to do is pay the $14.95 shipping and handling. You can also upgrade to larger sizes for a small fee, they give you $55 off the larger sizes, which is what the 8x10 costs. I ordered a couple of these for myself, but I think these would make great gifts for grandparents. Pick out your favorite photo and go check out their website! I do not know when this offer ends so you'll want to order ASAP.
$5.00 off any purchase @ Hallmark coupon
Here's a GREAT coupon for Hallmark Gold Crown stores. The coupon value is $5.00 off your total purchase of $5.00 or more at any Hallmark Gold Crown Store. You could use this on something that is priced at $5.00 and have a really nice, almost FREE (tax still applies) stocking stuffer! Go here for the coupon. Don't forget to print this one twice, these don't come around that often! The one I printed expires on 12/24/2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Getting Started: Stockpiling
One of the main ideas behind couponing seriously and seeing a reduction in your family household budget for groceries and other consumble items is stockpiling. The sales "lows" on items usually run at approximately 12 week cycles. When you see an item that your family uses at it's lowest price (with a sale AND coupons), you want to stock up on enough at that price to last your family 12 weeks. This is why I stress to accumulate as many coupons as possible by getting more than one insert per week - you will need multiple coupons when these items go low. This way, you can shop out of your pantry/linen closet when you need more, rather than purchasing items at higher prices when the need arrises.
You will want to keep your stockpile very organized so that you can see what you have easily to take an inventory for the next sale, and so that you use them in order of expiration date. Some people get very creative in finding ways to store their stockpiles, and it makes sense to do so when you are saving so much money.
You will quickly learn what the best prices are on items that you use regularly so that you know what the lowest price is when it comes around. When you just start out, you will be elated to get certain things cheap, but then you may realize later, that even that "cheap" price is too high and if you have a good stockpile to draw from, you will be able to wait to get it at even greater savings or FREE!
It will take you a good 6-9 months to build up a stockpile of items that you use regularly because you are using your stockpile as you are building it. Don't get discouraged if you use items faster than you anticipated, there's always the next time around to stock up with more.
I have always been a "stock-up" shopper and I loved shopping at Sam's Club. When I first got started couponing like this I had my doubts that Sam's Club would be more expensive than shopping with coupons. I thought for sure there would be no better way to shop than at Sam's Club - boy was I wrong!! I went through the store and compiled a list of the most common things I was buying at Sam's Club and broke it down by price per ounce, pound, package, etc. I put it all on a list and started to compare it when I was out couponing. Couponing is much cheaper than Sam's Club shopping. If you would like to see my list of items and the price break down, send me an e-mail and I would be happy to share it with you!
If you find that your estimates are too high and you purchased more than your family can use before it's expiration, please consider helping out family and friends, or donating to a needy family. There are so many ways to donate, and there are so many people in need right now.
You will want to keep your stockpile very organized so that you can see what you have easily to take an inventory for the next sale, and so that you use them in order of expiration date. Some people get very creative in finding ways to store their stockpiles, and it makes sense to do so when you are saving so much money.
You will quickly learn what the best prices are on items that you use regularly so that you know what the lowest price is when it comes around. When you just start out, you will be elated to get certain things cheap, but then you may realize later, that even that "cheap" price is too high and if you have a good stockpile to draw from, you will be able to wait to get it at even greater savings or FREE!
It will take you a good 6-9 months to build up a stockpile of items that you use regularly because you are using your stockpile as you are building it. Don't get discouraged if you use items faster than you anticipated, there's always the next time around to stock up with more.
I have always been a "stock-up" shopper and I loved shopping at Sam's Club. When I first got started couponing like this I had my doubts that Sam's Club would be more expensive than shopping with coupons. I thought for sure there would be no better way to shop than at Sam's Club - boy was I wrong!! I went through the store and compiled a list of the most common things I was buying at Sam's Club and broke it down by price per ounce, pound, package, etc. I put it all on a list and started to compare it when I was out couponing. Couponing is much cheaper than Sam's Club shopping. If you would like to see my list of items and the price break down, send me an e-mail and I would be happy to share it with you!
If you find that your estimates are too high and you purchased more than your family can use before it's expiration, please consider helping out family and friends, or donating to a needy family. There are so many ways to donate, and there are so many people in need right now.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Schedule a Call from Santa
If you have little ones and want to see a smile on their face, go here to schedule a FREE call from Santa. You can preview the message and even personalize it with a name from his list. It doesn't appear that there are any limits on calls that you can schedule, except that you can only schedule 10 calls to the same number. Have fun with this!
Thanks to Kroger stores for sponsoring this fun activity!
Thanks to Kroger stores for sponsoring this fun activity!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Right @ Home
Right at Home is another great place to sign up and get coupons. S C Johnson is the parent company to products like Ziploc, Glade, Windex and so on. They usually offer printable coupons on their website and mail out special offers regularly. Right now there's a speical offer for those new to Right at Home. Thanks to Coupon Cravings for this great deal!
The first 2,000 people who sign up each week through 12/21 on the Right@Home web site will get a FREE Holiday at Home Gift Basket, which includes:
- 1 Ziploc Snap 'n Seal Container
- 1 Box of Ziploc Storage Bags (25-Ct)
- 1 Box of Ziploc Freezer Bags (15-Ct)
- 1 Pack of Ziploc Big Bags
- 1 Package of Pledge Natural Beauty Wipes
- 1 Glade Scented Oil Candles Tin
- 1 Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel
Quick note that if you’ve gotten a free Right@Home gift pack in the last 180 days you won’t be eligible for this offer. Gift packs will be mailed by March 15, 2009. Good luck! If you miss out this week, come back on 12/8 when the next 2,000 are given away.
The first 2,000 people who sign up each week through 12/21 on the Right@Home web site will get a FREE Holiday at Home Gift Basket, which includes:
- 1 Ziploc Snap 'n Seal Container
- 1 Box of Ziploc Storage Bags (25-Ct)
- 1 Box of Ziploc Freezer Bags (15-Ct)
- 1 Pack of Ziploc Big Bags
- 1 Package of Pledge Natural Beauty Wipes
- 1 Glade Scented Oil Candles Tin
- 1 Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel
Quick note that if you’ve gotten a free Right@Home gift pack in the last 180 days you won’t be eligible for this offer. Gift packs will be mailed by March 15, 2009. Good luck! If you miss out this week, come back on 12/8 when the next 2,000 are given away.
Getting Started: Coupon Wording
You will need to be familiar with some of the common wording seen on coupons. Most of the fine print on coupons is easy to understand, but a few issues can be misinterpreted.
Sometimes coupons are issued at a store (for example, Walgreen's Register Rewards), or on a store's website and those coupons will have that particular store's logo or name on them. Sometimes they will say things like "Redeemable at Walgreen's". The one thing you want to remember about these coupons is that if they don't have the phrase "Redeemable ONLY at Walgreen's" they can be used at any store with a coupon policy in place that allows other store's coupons. A lot of stores will take manufacturer coupons with other store's logos or names on them, as long as they don't say "ONLY redeemable at XXX" and they have an address to submit them to for reimbursement. Check with the store's coupon policy or ask a Customer Service Specialist (or manager) at your store about taking these coupons. Another approach you can try is to ask the cashier to scan it at the register. If the register lets it go through without beeping, they can take it.
The other important wording on coupons that can get confusing is the "one per transaction" and "one per purchase" wording. One per transaction purely means just that, you can only use one coupon for each transaction. You can do 5 transactions and use one of that particular coupon in each transaction. Most coupons have the wording "one per purchase" and each item you are buying is considered a "purchase". There can be 5 of the same item in a transaction and you could use 5 coupons with that wording because each one is considered a purchase.
Sometimes coupons are issued at a store (for example, Walgreen's Register Rewards), or on a store's website and those coupons will have that particular store's logo or name on them. Sometimes they will say things like "Redeemable at Walgreen's". The one thing you want to remember about these coupons is that if they don't have the phrase "Redeemable ONLY at Walgreen's" they can be used at any store with a coupon policy in place that allows other store's coupons. A lot of stores will take manufacturer coupons with other store's logos or names on them, as long as they don't say "ONLY redeemable at XXX" and they have an address to submit them to for reimbursement. Check with the store's coupon policy or ask a Customer Service Specialist (or manager) at your store about taking these coupons. Another approach you can try is to ask the cashier to scan it at the register. If the register lets it go through without beeping, they can take it.
The other important wording on coupons that can get confusing is the "one per transaction" and "one per purchase" wording. One per transaction purely means just that, you can only use one coupon for each transaction. You can do 5 transactions and use one of that particular coupon in each transaction. Most coupons have the wording "one per purchase" and each item you are buying is considered a "purchase". There can be 5 of the same item in a transaction and you could use 5 coupons with that wording because each one is considered a purchase.
Freecycle
Freecycle.org is a wonderful way to help save the environment by recycling perfectly good items you no longer need or use anymore and keeping them out of the landfill. It's a way to get things that you are looking for FREE also - who doesn't like FREE?
Here's how it works...go here to find groups in your area and sign up. Once you are activated, you will start to receive e-mails from other "freecyclers" who are either looking for specific items or posting specific items that they want to find a new home for. If you are interested in what they are posting, or if you have what they are looking for and want to move it along to a new home, you respond directly to them with information so that you can arrange an exchange. You can also post e-mails that will go out to the whole Freecycle group with items that you no longer need or use and with items that you are looking for. It really works great - we were able to get rid of a whole stack of drywall once, just by answering someone's post.
Here's how it works...go here to find groups in your area and sign up. Once you are activated, you will start to receive e-mails from other "freecyclers" who are either looking for specific items or posting specific items that they want to find a new home for. If you are interested in what they are posting, or if you have what they are looking for and want to move it along to a new home, you respond directly to them with information so that you can arrange an exchange. You can also post e-mails that will go out to the whole Freecycle group with items that you no longer need or use and with items that you are looking for. It really works great - we were able to get rid of a whole stack of drywall once, just by answering someone's post.
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