Since I started couponing 2 months ago, I have amassed a huge stockpile of toiletries, home goods, laundry care, and make-up. I have accumulated a few great deals on food items, like chewing gum, pasta and pasta sauce, hamburger helper, and cereal, but have to say that my food stockpile is puny in comparison to my personal items stash. Most likely because we go through food items more than household items, so the stock depletes much more quickly. Since we are going into the holiday season, which typically includes large dinners, potlucks at work, and lots and lots of baking, I am looking forward to increasing my food surplus, and Target is a great place to start this week.
They have an in-ad coupon for a $10 gift card when you spend $50 or more in food and grocery items. I also plan on rolling my coupons to do multiple transactions over the course of this week (I have to pace myself when shopping with a 3 year old). I also hesitate doing multiple transactions after work because I never know how long the lines are going to be, if my first transaction doesn't work it, the rest of my transactions may not work either (because typically, I roll my gift cards from transaction to transaction), and how much I can shop and entertain the toddler.
Today, I did my first of 3 transactions planned for the week. And yea, I plan my week out in advance on Sundays, especially if multiple transactions are involved. I love to match-up ads to coupons on my own, but I also really enjoy reading some of my favorite blogs, and Facebook group posts (I have actually received some wonderful insights and tips for people on Facebook pages that are very clever). Once I have my transactions planned, I will make sure I have all my coupons together. Today I used over 20 coupons in one transaction, which is a record for me.
My transaction breakdown was as follows (at Target in Woodinville, WA, other store prices vary):
4 Nutrigrain Fruit and Oat Bars $2.50 each
6 Kelloggs Special K Bars $2.50 each
2 Nurtigrain Bars $2.50 each
2 100ct Lipton Tea Bags 2 for $6.00, $3.00 each
2 Barilla Pasta Blue Boxes $1.44 each
2 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes $1.00 each
2 Betty Crocker Frostings 2 for $3.00, $1.50 each
4 Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa Boxes $1.38 each
2 Betty Crocker Instant Potato Pouches $1.12 each
The total was $51.64 before store and manufacturer coupons. I used the following coupons in this order:
***The Nutrigrain and Special K bars were on promotion for a $5 gift card for every 4 purchased, so my purchase triggered $15 in Target gift cards ***
Target in-ad coupon for $10 GC with the purchase of $50 in grocery items, the cashier should then scan and hand you a $10 Target gift card
Then hand the cashier the remaining coupons, Target coupons first, then manufacturer coupons:
$0.75/2 Barilla Pasta TQ x1
$0.50/2 Betty Crocker Froster TQ x1
$1/2 Kelloggs or Nurtigrain MQ x4
$1/1 Nutrigrain Fruit and Oat Bars MQ x4
$3/2 Lipton MQ x1
$0.40/1 Swiss Miss MQ x4
$0.75/2 Betty Crocker Cake or Frosting MQ x2
$1/2 Betty Crocker Potatos MQ (peelie) x1
Then scan your cell phone for the Target Cartwheel for:
10% off Swiss Miss
10% off Betty Crocker
Total Out of Pocket: $34.25 (no tax, all food items), got back $25 in gift cards ($10 for meeting the Target Grocery threshold), and $15 for the Kelloggs Bars. I rolled my gift cards from last week's purchases towards this purchase too, which was great because I didn't pay anything out of pocket. Total net out of pocket was $9.25, or $0.35 per item!! That's pretty incredible!
Keep those gift cards rollin'. Its a great way to accumulate a stockpile when things go on sale, I am sure that there are more to come this week as I lay out my plan for Round 2.
