I went to Albertsons this afternoon to take advantage of a fun promotion that ends on Tuesday. The list of items included in the promotion can be found on the back of the weekly ad (which came out on Wednesday, but there are a ton of them in the stores). I also took advantage of the coupon doublers that came in today’s paper (although you can also pick those up in at the customer service center).

Anyway, when you purchase $25 of included items, you’ll receive a $10 Catalina (coupon) to use on your next trip. AND, there are a couple of additional Catalina promotions going on at the same time. The Pillsbury one (which I told you about here), and a Betty Crocker Fruit Snack one. You can find info on both of these, plus links to printable coupons at Frugal Living NW.

I went to the McMinnville Albertsons (for you locals), which is a bajillion times better than the Salem store, and it is actually closer (25 minutes vs. 30 min in good driving). Every single item on my list was still on the shelf in mass quantities. I may never bother with the Salem store again!

I did this in 7 transactions (because I’m totally crazy, and I didn’t have the kids with me). Still, it took me about 50 minutes from start to finish, and preparation throughout the week, with the bulk of it on Thursday while Cole was sleeping!

Transaction 1
10 Yo-Plus yogurts - $2.50 each
Used:
(9) 1/$1 manufacturers coupons (from Sunday paper inserts and 1 IP - internet printable)
double 3 of them - $3
Total OOP (out of pocket) = $13
Earned $10 Catalina

T2
5 Fruit Snacks
5 Pillsbury Simply Cookie Dough
Used:
(5) 1/$1 MC for dough
3 assorted IP coupons for fruit snacks
doubled 3 = $3
Used Cat from T1
Total OOP= $5.60
Earned:
$10 Catalina for promo
$3.50 Cat for Pillsbury promo
$3.00 Cat for fruit snack promo

T3:
5 Fruit Snacks
5 Pillsbury Cookie Dough
Used lots of IPs and a couple of MCs.
Used $16.50 in Cats from T2
Total OOP = $4.55
Earned:
$10 Catalina for promo
$3.50 Cat for Pillsbury promo
$3.00 Cat for fruit snack promo

T4:
6 Fruit Snacks
4 Grands
2 Crescents
Used lots of IPs and MCs.
Used $16.50 in Cats from T3
Total OOP = $2.01
Earned:
$10 Catalina for promo
$3.50 Cat for Pillsbury promo
$3.00 Cat for fruit snack promo

T5:
3 Fruit Snacks
3 Nature Valley Granola Bars
2 Crescents
4 Orange Danish Sweet Rolls
Used lots of IPs and MCs
Used $16.50 in Cats from T4
Total OOP= $2.31
Earned
$10 Catalina for promo
$3.00 Cat for Pillsbury promo
$1.50 Cat for fruit snack promo

T6:
17 cans of Green Giant Green Beans
17 cans of Green Giant Corn
Used $14.50 in Cats from T5
Total OOP = $11.00 (which is about .32 per can)
Earned $10 Catalina for promo

T7:
2 Boxes Bisquick Mix
2 Gold Medal Flour
2 boxes frozen Spinach
6 bags frozen peas
Used lots of IPs and some MCs (doubled)
Used $10 Cat from T6
Total OOP = $9.64
Earned $10 Catalina for promo

So, I bought exactly 100 items and spent a grand total of $48.11, which makes each item about .48¢. PLUS, I have a $10 Catalina for my next trip, AND one of my receipts has a “How are we doing” survey with a $2 thank you.

• I may never need to buy fruit snacks again. We use them for after lunch treats and bribes around here. Yee-haw! (19 boxes!)
• We have enough veggies to last the next couple of months, hopefully, although I’m tempted to go back and spend that Catalina on more. (I used to spend about .50¢ a can when they were on sale, and I happily stocked up. I’m SO happy that I got 34 cans for .32¢ each! And frozen peas and spinach are a necessity!)
• The cookie dough should last us quite a while. (10 of those.)
• I really, really needed flour, and I ended up getting mine for less than store brand prices, and it earned me a Catalina.
• Ditto with the Bisquick. We needed pancake mix, so this is awesome!
• The yogurt will be a great lunch item for Grant, and we are happy that we’ll be saving the pink tops to send in for $4 toward cancer research.
• I’m excited to make some of the Pampered Chef braids and rings that I never get to make since crescent rolls are usually so expensive. YAY!
• Do you see MOPS breakfast there? Yeah, me too!

This was too much fun, and Mitch is so proud of me!! I have to give a lot of credit to the coupon blogs I read: Frugal Living NW, Money Saving Mom, The Krazy Coupon Lady, Fistful of Coupons, Abundant Food Savings, and Discount Queens. Go check them out!

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