The Coupon Project

Guess how much Steals & Deals paid (and win)!

Remember my tip that a local Albertsons had some cleaners on clearance? Well fellow local blogger Steals and Deals was able to "clean up!" Check out what she got:

 

Wondering what she paid? I wish I knew, but I don't! Here's why: she's having a contest! The person who guesses the closest to the actual amount she paid after coupons will win a Bob the Builder DVD! Be sure to drop by her post and enter your guess.  

See what friend Kellie got for...$0.45!!

My friend Kellie had her Safeway trip posted to her Facebook status update today and I begged her permission to share it with you!!

 

The cereal and dressing was all free after coupons (see how she did that here and here). The mushrooms and fruit snacks were also apparently part of the mix & match. The fruit snacks were $1 after promo, and she had a $1.50 Vocalpoint coupon. The overage from the coupons drove down the cost of the mushrooms - the only item she did not have a coupon for.

Your results may vary on using coupons with overage at your store. In Kellie's case, it worked great! Her total savings rate today? 99%! She probably only had to dig out a couple quarters out of her sofa for all this food - and then she still got change. Awesome score, Kellie!

Friend & reader Sarah's Albertsons' trip!

Sarah did excellent at Albertsons this week! She writes that she made two trips, with five transactions total. Also, she mentioned that she didn't start out with any Catalina coupons (those off-your-next-order coupons that are making for some pretty HOT promotions at Albertsons)!

 

Sarah adds that the Starkist was purchased with a raincheck from last week (it was all free after coupons!), plus she already gave away 6 of her Old Orchard Juice and there's a gallon of milk in her fridge that didn't make it into this picture.

All told, she only spent $5.84 out-of-pocket for $91.69 worth of stuff! But it gets better...Sarah still has $13.50 in Catalina coupons. She made a PROFIT of nearly $8 on all this food! 

Sarah, you whooped me at Albertsons this week! Remember folks, these deals are going on through next Tuesday, and those doubler coupons are good through Saturday. 

See my posts here, here, and here for matchups and ideas. And don't forget - I'd love to feature YOUR trip, too! Be sure to send me an email with a picture and breakdown to thecouponproject at hotmail dot com.  

You won't believe how much this reader paid for pasta!

Brenda emailed me her ROCKING pasta deals from last week! She ended up with 24 boxes of assorted pasta (and healthy pasta, at that!) and 4 jars of sauce. Here's a picture of her find:

 

Missing from this picture: 2 jars of sauce and 4 boxes of pasta she donated to her church's food pantry!

Ready for her crazy total? Well, first know that she should have paid $60.97....but she paid...85 cents!! Is that insane or what? For the amount that you could likely dig out of your couch cushions, I think she got enough pasta to last her family several months! Brenda acquired this at both Safeway and Albertsons over the course of a couple trips.

Incidentally, I think this is a completely reasonable way to stockpile for less. Great job, Brenda - you just saved 99%!    

Reader (and fellow blogger!) Nickie saves big on her trips!

 

Nickie did two shopping trips last Wednesday. She hadn't done a big shop since December (WOW!), and needed to stock-up her pantry again. The items above were purchased from Schnucks (Nickie is a Missouri girl). And the items below were purchased from Country Mart.

 

Let's see how she did. All told, these groceries would've cost her $173. Is that what she paid? Umm...have you been reading this blog AT ALL? Of course it's not what she paid! Nickie paid $96, plus, she earned a $5 off-your-next-order coupon in the process. Her total savings rate is 44.5% on these two trips! Great job, Nickie!

Keep sharing your great tips and how you've been able to apply what you've learned into real-life savings.    

Newbie couponer Haley rocks Walgreens!

You might remember I shared Haley's Fred Meyer trip recently. Haley has been working to make sense of the drugstore shopping and last week presented a perfect opportunity with the Friends & Family sale at Walgreens. Look at how this newbie did:

Haley spent $67 out of pocket, and ended up with $232 worth of product - a savings of 71%! Way to go, Haley! It looks like you just did an awesome job of stocking up on the basics! I love seeing how people newer to couponing are saving right off the bat.

Want to see what other Coupon Project readers are doing? Be sure to read through the Testimonials category of my blog. 

Reader Marci scores at Albertsons!

I love how Marci did her trip at Albertsons this week. Marci smartly divided her trip into two transactions. She knew that the Kelloggs would yield her an "off-your-next-order" Catalina coupon, so she purchased those items FIRST. Then she was able to turn around and apply the coupon to the rest of her order. Let's see how she did:

 

Not pictured: three more Dannon yogurts (already eaten!). Marci writes that all these items would've cost her $47, but she paid only $5 out of pocket!!  That is a savings rate of 89%! Fabulous job, Marci! And if you think you could never do this, let me now encourage you: Marci is new to couponing! It is completely possible to yield great savings right off the bat. 

I love what she wrote in her email to me: "What I particularly liked about this shopping trip is that it contained whole wheat pasta, organic soy milk, and lowfat/low calorie yogurt. You can buy healthy food for cheap!"

I absolutely agree with you Marci! You just got to wait for those deals and when you find them, stock up - exactly like you did on that pasta. By the way, all that pasta was free...an example of how stockpiling needn't cut into your budget much...or at all!

Want to get in on some of these deals? Read my Albertsons post (and this one for more deals!).

Keep the great trip details coming...I love seeing what everyone does! As always, just make sure they follow my ethics guidelines so I'm able to post them. 

Reader scores at Giant!

Do you have a Giant in your area? (Um, not like Gulliver...like the store.) I don't in mine, but I was excited to see what reader Julie scored shopping at this store this week.

Julie smartly divided her orders into two transactions. She knew that her first transaction would generate some off-your-next-order Catalina coupons, so she was able to take those and then complete her shopping. The result is a lower out-of-pocket expense. Let's see how she did:

 

The shelf cost for everything here was $85.06, but through sales and coupons (including her Catalinas), Julie's out-of-pocket cost was only $27.80! I think that's pretty darn amazing judging from the amount of meat, cheese, and detergent she ended up with! Wow...sort of wishing I had a Giant in my area! Julie, planning on cooking up any Mexican food anytime soon?

By the way, if you don't live in the greater Seattle area and would like to find a blogger that covers grocery deals near you, I highly recommend you check out The Grocery Gathering. Each of the 50 States is represented and many, many grocery stores covered. Go here to find one near you.

Please continue to send me your deals! I love featuring them and seeing what you're able to pull off at the stores. Just please remember that your deals follow these ethics guidelines. 

Great job, Julie!!  

      

Friend saves 58% at her Fred Meyer trip!

I'm really pleased to share the trip that my friend, Haley, did at Fred Meyer. Haley is newer to couponing and this is a perfect example of how you can really just dive in there and start saving big!

Here are her finds:

 

Altogether, she saved 58%, spending $16 and saving $23. Nice work, Haley! What I love about her trip - the grocery basics she was able to find, including chicken tenderloins and milk. It can be done!

Please consider sending me your finds and deals! Email me at thecouponproject at hotmail dot com. (As a reminder, please make sure your deals are in alignment with my Ethics Policy.)     

Want to score some Fred Meyer deals, too? See what's currently on sale over here.   

  

Friend spends $31, gets $145 worth of products!

My friend Keri rocks it again! You might remember her Albertsons post from last week. She just had to send me the pic of her great trip today at Walgreens. Undoubtedly, her deals would've required multiple transactions as they involve Register Rewards. Keri tells me her Walgreens store was very friendly and happy to help with her deals. She also tells me that they had a very good stock of the body wash, so she was able to take advantage.

 

   

Do you have more than one Walgreens in your area? If so, I definitely recommend "feeling the waters" and determining which store has the best stock in general and the most coupon friendly cashiers. I've discovered that a Walgreens store 15 minutes for me is MUCH more likely to have what I need and be patient with all my coupons than the store 5 minutes from me. Once I read on a forum how a gal actually wrote all the store managers in her area to determine which one she'd give her business. When she made her choice, she made sure to introduce herself to that store manager. That might sound like a bit much, but if you're at all concerned about forming great relationships with the stores you frequent, you might consider some of these ideas. 

Back on track! All told, Keri spent $31 and saved $114 - a savings rate of 79%. Fabulous job, Keri!

Want to get in on some of these deals? Go here for my Walgreens post, and here on the Orbit deal.