Monday, November 7, 2011

11/6 - 11/12 Tops deals & my weird shopping trip

I went to Tops today and while I ended up doing well, it was a weird trip in many ways.  I can't seem to get my camera to focus in on my receipt well enough to make it readable, but there are a bunch of things that rang up oddly.  With the 10/$10 get the 11th free sale, it would make sense for the first 10 items to ring up as $1 each and the 11th item as $0, right?  Well, I have a Mueller's pasta showing up as $0.30, Idahoan mashed potatoes as $0.03 for all 3, 1 Nestle cocoa as -$0.29, and 3 more cocoas at $5.97 for 3.  What the heck?!?  Along with all that weirdness, I also now think 2 of my Sargento cheese coupons didn't get deducted at all, and some of my coupons that shouldn't have doubled completely (since it would create an overage, which Tops doesn't allow) did and others didn't.  All those things may help explain why the total I paid was about $3 more than what I had estimated.
Anyway, since my receipt is so hard to figure out this week, I think I'll just show you what I bought and what coupons I used (and please excuse the mess in the background!):
4 boxes Mueller's pasta - part of the 10/$10, get 11th free sale
Used 4 $0.55 coupons from registering here (will need 2 email addresses, I'm sure you can convince your spouse or significant other!)

4 boxes Nestle hot cocoa - part of the 10/$10, get 11th free sale
Used 4 $0.55 coupons printed from here (hopefully it is still working if you didn't print it last week, I can't print any more to verify but they may have changed the wording on it -- it originally was for any size/flavor, but I thought I read somewhere online that they've made the coupon size and/or flavor restrictive)

3 pouches of Idahoan mashed potatoes - part of the 10/$10, get 11th free sale
Used a $0.75 off 3 coupon printed from here (look for the "print coupon" link in the upper right side, then register)

4 Pillsbury brownie mixes - on sale 4/$5, part of a save $4 instantly when you buy 8 select products sale
Used 4 $0.35 coupons from the Walmart  website (I think) that no longer seem to be available

4 Hungry Jack pancake mixes - on sale 2/$4, part of the above save $4 instantly when you buy 8 select products sale
Used 4 $0.55 coupons also from the Walmart site (again, I think) that are no longer available

4 boxes of Hot Pockets - on sale 5/$10
Used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from here (click on "get Nestle coupons")

3 Lipton/Knorr pasta and rice sides - on sale 5/$5
Used a $0.75 off 3 coupon printed from couponnetwork.com a while ago and doesn't seem to be available now

2 packages State Fair corn dogs - on sale 2/$7 (these sound gross to me, but my kids really wanted them!)
Used $1 off 2 coupon printed from their website

3 jars of Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy pasta sauce - on sale 3/$5
Used 3 $0.35 coupons, 1 from the 11/6 RedPlum coupon insert and 2 printed from redplum.com
Note: These coupons all had the new barcodes and didn't scan.  Even though the coupon from the insert stated "Do not double" the cashier manually entered and doubled it.

4 packages of Sargento shredded cheese - on sale 2/$4, part of a save $2 instantly when you buy 8 selected items promo
Used 4 $0.55 coupons printed from the Believe in Heroes website
I had thought these coupons scanned fine, but while trying to decipher my receipt it looks like none scanned and she may have only entered 2 of them manually. ??

4 boxes of Annie's Homegrown Mac & Cheese - on sale for $1.79 each, part of the above save $2 instantly when you buy 8 selected items promo
Used 2 $0.75 off 2 coupons also printed from the  Believe in Heroes website

1 package of Marcal Small Steps paper napkins - on sale 2/$5
Used $1.00 coupon from the 11/6 RedPlum coupon insert (I think there's still a valid one from an earlier RedPlum insert, also)

I also bought a $25 iTunes gift card.  The promo featured in the ad is buy $25 in iTunes, get a $5 Catalina coupon to use on your next shopping trip.  Easy, right?  Not today.  Of course, my Catalina didn't print so a front end manager force printed it for me.  I was a little surprised by the wording on the coupon, "Limit one coupon per transaction per day." 

All in all, I think I did pretty well.  My retail value was $127.42 and I paid $54.49 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of 57%.  Considering $25 of my bill was a gift card, I think that it was a pretty decent haul!

7 comments:

  1. My iTunes $5 cat didn't print either! Customer service just gave me the $5 cash since I was going to use it on my second transaction. The iTunes transaction did print out a $2 off $25 coupon though!

    My b10g1 was messed up too- the muellers were on recipe as "grocery" (no clue why) so the 11th item didn't come off. Customer service to the rescue though! It was a really good week for deals on things we will actually use. I liked that the instant savings had so many different items to choose from. A lot of stuff I buy anyway!

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  2. Thanks for letting me know it's not just me, Michelle! Since the sale started yesterday, I would've thought they'd have any computer bugs worked out by now. And it really was a good sale, especially after all the Believe in Heroes printables came out. I actually think there are still a few more things I'd like to stock up on this week!

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  3. Oh, and I'd love it if I'd ever get a random $2 off $25 Catalina! I forgot to post it earlier, but my transaction triggered a $0.75 off any Dole jar of tropical fruit or pineapple coupon.

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  4. I'm so glad that I found your blog! I have just started couponing in Rochester and my first trip was to Target. I saved $102 but spent $149 to do so. My next trip is going to be to Tops! I have a lot of these coupons that you mentioned, so I can't wait to see how I do.

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  5. Welcome, Sarah! I'm glad you've found my blog and I hope you'll continue to find it helpful. Saving over $100 at Target is a great start. You'll have to report back on your Tops trip! :-)

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  6. Just got back from Tops! I'm so excited! I used a lot of the deals that you wrote about.

    One other deal that I was so excited about was the Bailey's Creamer (LOVE that stuff) Buy 2 get 1 free, and there is a coupon at the shelf for $1 off of 2.

    I would have spent a lot less, but I brought my husband with me and he kept adding stuff. Total cost before coupons: $203. Total spent $113!! I am a happy newbie to coupons!!

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  7. Great find on the Bailey's, Sarah! I swear, my grocery bill is always higher if I bring my husband with me. :-) You saved a ton -- good job!

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