Homeland sales seem to cycle. Some weeks they have tons of great deals (like last week) and then the next week won't have much. This is one of those weeks and thus I haven't even made it to Homeland yet this week. I have to go tomorrow though because I have a gas catalina expiring. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the Homeland gas catalina program, but if you aren't you need to be! Every time you shop at a Homeland store with a gas station, you will get a gas catalina if you spend a certain amount (before coupons). Here are the amounts:
$30-$49.99 = $.10 gal
$50-$74.99 = $.20 gal
$75-$99.99 = $.30 gal
$100-$124.99 = $.40 gal
$125 or more = $.50 gal
As you can probably guess, you get off the amount listed above per gallon you buy at a Homeland gas station, up to 20 gallons. Even better, you can use 3 catalinas per trip! That means if you have 3 $.50 gal catalinas you get $1.50 off per gallon! Gas is about $2.35 now, so lat means you are paying $.85 gallon for gas! Pretty cool huh?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
A new couponer's worst nightmare...the coupon nazi!
After regularly couponing at Homeland for 2 years, I met my first coupon Nazi yesterday. I actually found the whole situation funny, but if I had been a new couponer it probably would have been enough to make me stop couponing from embarrassment.
I happened to be north, so went to the Homeland at NW Expressway and McAurthur. I bought several sale items, and also some regular price items that are good deals after doubled coupons. The cashier looks over my items and immediately asks me if I have coupons. I told him yes and hand them to him after flipping through them quickly to make sure I bought everything I had a coupon for. I took out one coupon I did not use, and handed him the rest. He rang up my order and then printed out a register journal of my receipt. He immediately informs me that the coupons for the Edwards singles and Over the Moon Milk won't double. Actually, they DO double if the cashier just scans them, so what he was telling me is that he was going to hit the DND button before entering them. Since Homeland has the right not to double coupons that say DND, I have no problem with that. He then went through my coupons to compare prices to make sure I get no overage. Again, Homeland's policy is to not give overage so I have no problem with that. When he started to compare the coupons to make sure I got the right size, I will admit I got a little irritated, but whatever rocks his boat. This whole process took about 20 minutes and included a void (after he told me I cannot use both a $1/1 and a B1G1 coupon). He said they had some problems with people using coupons at the store (but didn't go into details) and I guess this is what they have decided to do to restrict coupon usage. Since it's better than not using coupons, I don't really have a problem with it, especially since he was polite throughout. I of course would have liked to have had all my coupons doubled and the overage, but you can't expect that. I just wish they would come up with a better method to speed the process up. Twenty minutes to check out is quite excessive to me. Of course oher than that, I have an offbeat personality so I thought it was funny. However, I would also understand why other couponers would be mortified by the experience and either not shop there again or not use coupons again. Hmmmm....wonder if that was the point? Good thing I am made of sterner stuff! LOL
I happened to be north, so went to the Homeland at NW Expressway and McAurthur. I bought several sale items, and also some regular price items that are good deals after doubled coupons. The cashier looks over my items and immediately asks me if I have coupons. I told him yes and hand them to him after flipping through them quickly to make sure I bought everything I had a coupon for. I took out one coupon I did not use, and handed him the rest. He rang up my order and then printed out a register journal of my receipt. He immediately informs me that the coupons for the Edwards singles and Over the Moon Milk won't double. Actually, they DO double if the cashier just scans them, so what he was telling me is that he was going to hit the DND button before entering them. Since Homeland has the right not to double coupons that say DND, I have no problem with that. He then went through my coupons to compare prices to make sure I get no overage. Again, Homeland's policy is to not give overage so I have no problem with that. When he started to compare the coupons to make sure I got the right size, I will admit I got a little irritated, but whatever rocks his boat. This whole process took about 20 minutes and included a void (after he told me I cannot use both a $1/1 and a B1G1 coupon). He said they had some problems with people using coupons at the store (but didn't go into details) and I guess this is what they have decided to do to restrict coupon usage. Since it's better than not using coupons, I don't really have a problem with it, especially since he was polite throughout. I of course would have liked to have had all my coupons doubled and the overage, but you can't expect that. I just wish they would come up with a better method to speed the process up. Twenty minutes to check out is quite excessive to me. Of course oher than that, I have an offbeat personality so I thought it was funny. However, I would also understand why other couponers would be mortified by the experience and either not shop there again or not use coupons again. Hmmmm....wonder if that was the point? Good thing I am made of sterner stuff! LOL
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Advice to new couponers...read and read again!
Sounds simple doesn't it? However, its amazing how easy it to to forget this rule and pay more than you want to. The perfect example happened in my shopping trip today. Lots of good freebies at Homeland this week so I made my first of many trips this week on my way home. I'll detail what I got below. However, not reading the signs cost me a couple of bucks. Not a lot I admit, but if you do 2-3 trips a week x 52 weeks, you are all of a sudden in the hundreds. Anyway, this is what happened.
Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta is on sale 10/$10 this week. You'd think that means any smart taste pasta right? The rotini, the elbows, the penne or the spaghetti. That's what I thought and I was wrong. Only the spaghetti was on sale. The others were full price @ $1.69. I had a $1/1 coupon and a $1/2 coupon which should have gotten me 3 free boxes with $.69 overage (homeland doubles coupons up to shelf price, so when an item is on sale you get overage...in this case $.69). Instead, I paid $1.40. A stupid mistake that I won't do again!
My other mistake? Not reading my coupon close enough. As I mentioned, Homeland doubles up to (and including) $1.00 coupons. They will even double coupons that say do not double (DND) if it doubles automatically when it scans. Sometimes you do get a cashier who will read the coupon and press the DND button, but usually not. This assumes that your coupon starts with the number 5. All (most?) #5 coupons will double when scanned. However, a coupon that starts with the number 9 will not double. Why is this relevant? Homeland also had Mt. Olive relish on sale for $.99. I had a $.55/1 coupon when doubled would have given me $.11 overage. However, my coupon must have started with a 9 because it didn't double and thus I paid $.44 for relish. Still a good deal, but since I don't need relish, I wouldn't have bought it if I knew it would cost me money. So remember....read, read read!
So after all that, this is what I got today for $7.45:
~~(1) Snickers Ice Cream Bars $3 -$1/1 = $1
~~(1) Blue Bunny Ice Cream $1.99 -$1/1 = FREE
~~(1) Edward's pie singles $2 -$.75/1 =$.50
~~(1) Kellogg's Fiber Plus Bars $2 - $.75/1 =$.50
~~(1) NY Toast Croutons $.99 - $.55/1 = $.10 overage
~~(3) Ronzoni Pasta $5.40 -4.00 (2 *$1) = $1.40
~~(2) Cat Treats $1.89 ea -$1/1 = 2 FREE
~~(1) Mt Olive Relish $.99 -$.55/1 = $.44
~~(1) Trident Gum $.99 -$.75/1 = $.51 overage
~~(2) 20 oz Pepsis 1.49 (no coupon, just thirsty! LOL)
~~(1) Capri Sun $1.98 - $1/1 = FREE
~~(2) Hormel Canned Chicken $1 ea -$1/2 = $.50 ea
Should have been $2 cheaper, but still a lot of food for a small amount of money!
Ready to start saving like this? Remember to stop by www.weusecoupons.com and view the shopping lists for Homeland and all the other great stores. Just tell them that iLUVcoupons sent you!
Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta is on sale 10/$10 this week. You'd think that means any smart taste pasta right? The rotini, the elbows, the penne or the spaghetti. That's what I thought and I was wrong. Only the spaghetti was on sale. The others were full price @ $1.69. I had a $1/1 coupon and a $1/2 coupon which should have gotten me 3 free boxes with $.69 overage (homeland doubles coupons up to shelf price, so when an item is on sale you get overage...in this case $.69). Instead, I paid $1.40. A stupid mistake that I won't do again!
My other mistake? Not reading my coupon close enough. As I mentioned, Homeland doubles up to (and including) $1.00 coupons. They will even double coupons that say do not double (DND) if it doubles automatically when it scans. Sometimes you do get a cashier who will read the coupon and press the DND button, but usually not. This assumes that your coupon starts with the number 5. All (most?) #5 coupons will double when scanned. However, a coupon that starts with the number 9 will not double. Why is this relevant? Homeland also had Mt. Olive relish on sale for $.99. I had a $.55/1 coupon when doubled would have given me $.11 overage. However, my coupon must have started with a 9 because it didn't double and thus I paid $.44 for relish. Still a good deal, but since I don't need relish, I wouldn't have bought it if I knew it would cost me money. So remember....read, read read!
So after all that, this is what I got today for $7.45:
~~(1) Snickers Ice Cream Bars $3 -$1/1 = $1
~~(1) Blue Bunny Ice Cream $1.99 -$1/1 = FREE
~~(1) Edward's pie singles $2 -$.75/1 =$.50
~~(1) Kellogg's Fiber Plus Bars $2 - $.75/1 =$.50
~~(1) NY Toast Croutons $.99 - $.55/1 = $.10 overage
~~(3) Ronzoni Pasta $5.40 -4.00 (2 *$1) = $1.40
~~(2) Cat Treats $1.89 ea -$1/1 = 2 FREE
~~(1) Mt Olive Relish $.99 -$.55/1 = $.44
~~(1) Trident Gum $.99 -$.75/1 = $.51 overage
~~(2) 20 oz Pepsis 1.49 (no coupon, just thirsty! LOL)
~~(1) Capri Sun $1.98 - $1/1 = FREE
~~(2) Hormel Canned Chicken $1 ea -$1/2 = $.50 ea
Should have been $2 cheaper, but still a lot of food for a small amount of money!
Ready to start saving like this? Remember to stop by www.weusecoupons.com and view the shopping lists for Homeland and all the other great stores. Just tell them that iLUVcoupons sent you!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
An introduction...
Welcome to Couponing in the City...Oklahoma City in this case! I am what I call a sport couponer...to me, using coupons to save money and get items free is a game. Other people play poker, I play couponing. Everyone I talk about my shopping trips always are impressed but say it takes "too much time." I am writing this blog to show people just how quick and easy it is!
What a lot of people don't realize is that you don't have to go through the ad and matchup your coupons before you shop...there are tons of sites that already do it for you! I am going to give a plug to my favorite coupon site on the web www.weusecoupons.com. Just find your store in the list and click to enter the forum and you will find a weekly coupon matchup! Make sure you check out Homeland..I am the forum leader for Homeland at WUC so I do the matchups every week!
Still not convinced? Let me give you an example of a shopping trip I did yesterday to show you how much you can save a Homeland with just a little work.
This is what I bought:
~~(1) Cat Treats $1.89
~~(1) Tidy Cat Litter $2.49
~~(2) Velveeta Shells and Cheddar Cups $1.19 ea.
~~(1) Kraft Mayo $2.29
~~(1) Kraft Miracle Whip $2.25
~~(1) Bertolli Frozen Meal $5.00
~~(1) California Pizza Kitchen Pizza $5.00
~~(1) Blue Bunny Ice Cream Bars $1.99
~~(2) Kashi Pizza $3.00 ea.
~~(1) Pictsweet complete meal $2.00
~~(1) Breyer's Ice Cream $2.63
~~(2) Cool Whip $.99 ea.
~~(1) Danactive Yogurt $2.00
~~(1) Activia Yogurt $2.00
~~(1) Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.99
These are the coupons I used (remember, Homeland doubles coupons upon to, and including $1.00, but only one like coupon per transaction).
~~$1/1 Cat Treats = FREE
~~$1/1 Tidy Cat = $.49
~~$1/2 Velveeta Shells and Cheddar =$.19 ea.
~~$1/1 Bertolli Meals = $3.00
~~$1/1 California Pizza Kitchen =$3.00
~~$3/1 Kashi Pizza = FREE
~~$.50/1 Pictsweet = $1.00
~~$1/1 Breyer's Ice Cream = $.63
~~$1/2 Cool Whip = 2 FREE
~~$1/1 Danactive = FREE
~~$1/1 Activia = FREE
~~$1/1 Kraft Cheese = FREE
All that for only $10.94...plus I went to a store with a gas station so I got a $.10/gal catalina which will let me save $.10 per gallon on gas at a Homeland store!
Doesn't it make you want to pick up the Homeland ad and start shopping? :-) LOL
What a lot of people don't realize is that you don't have to go through the ad and matchup your coupons before you shop...there are tons of sites that already do it for you! I am going to give a plug to my favorite coupon site on the web www.weusecoupons.com. Just find your store in the list and click to enter the forum and you will find a weekly coupon matchup! Make sure you check out Homeland..I am the forum leader for Homeland at WUC so I do the matchups every week!
Still not convinced? Let me give you an example of a shopping trip I did yesterday to show you how much you can save a Homeland with just a little work.
This is what I bought:
~~(1) Cat Treats $1.89
~~(1) Tidy Cat Litter $2.49
~~(2) Velveeta Shells and Cheddar Cups $1.19 ea.
~~(1) Kraft Mayo $2.29
~~(1) Kraft Miracle Whip $2.25
~~(1) Bertolli Frozen Meal $5.00
~~(1) California Pizza Kitchen Pizza $5.00
~~(1) Blue Bunny Ice Cream Bars $1.99
~~(2) Kashi Pizza $3.00 ea.
~~(1) Pictsweet complete meal $2.00
~~(1) Breyer's Ice Cream $2.63
~~(2) Cool Whip $.99 ea.
~~(1) Danactive Yogurt $2.00
~~(1) Activia Yogurt $2.00
~~(1) Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.99
These are the coupons I used (remember, Homeland doubles coupons upon to, and including $1.00, but only one like coupon per transaction).
~~$1/1 Cat Treats = FREE
~~$1/1 Tidy Cat = $.49
~~$1/2 Velveeta Shells and Cheddar =$.19 ea.
~~$1/1 Bertolli Meals = $3.00
~~$1/1 California Pizza Kitchen =$3.00
~~$3/1 Kashi Pizza = FREE
~~$.50/1 Pictsweet = $1.00
~~$1/1 Breyer's Ice Cream = $.63
~~$1/2 Cool Whip = 2 FREE
~~$1/1 Danactive = FREE
~~$1/1 Activia = FREE
~~$1/1 Kraft Cheese = FREE
All that for only $10.94...plus I went to a store with a gas station so I got a $.10/gal catalina which will let me save $.10 per gallon on gas at a Homeland store!
Doesn't it make you want to pick up the Homeland ad and start shopping? :-) LOL
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