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    Home » Coupon 101

    Why I love Acme, Part Trois: or $174.72 for $-2.68

    by Mindi Cherry

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    I know that I need to get the Acme Markets ad info up, but I spent the morning shopping and at my sons Kindergarten Halloween parade!  I thought that by showing you what I got, you can get some ideas for deals.  I'll get the full ad up later today!

    Yes - you read that right!  I have a net cost for all of this of $-2.68.  I physically pulled $12.32 out of my wallet and the last transaction gave me $15 in Catalinas, which I still have.  Basically, Acme paid me $2.68 to take all of this out of the store!

    Transaction #1

    12 Progresso Broth:  $20

    2 Lipton/Knorr Pasta Sides:  $2

    8 Betty Crocker Potatoes:  $8

    Total:  $30

    Coupons:  6 $1 Progresso, 6 $1.25 Progresso (from Vocalpoint), 1 $.50/2 Lipton pasta coupons (doubled), 3 $.40 potato coupons (doubled); 5 $.35 potato coupons (doubled)

    Total OOP:  $8.60 (total savings $49.38)

    received 3 $5 Catalinas

     

    Transaction #2

    5 Lipton Lemon Tea: (I had coupons for these that expired today.  They are NOT part of the catalina deal):  $5

    6 Lipton Noodles & Sauce:  $6

    6 Progresso Soups:  $10

    1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix:  $1.67

    4 Chex Mix Chocolate Turtle:  $10

    2 Progresso Broth:  $3.34

    Candy Corn:  $.64

    The donut my husband told me he ate while we were in the store:  $.59

    Total:  $37.24

    Coupons:  5 $.50 16oz Lipton tea coupons (doubled), 3 $.50/2 Lipton Pasta coupons (doubled), 2 $1 Progresso Broth coupons, 3 $.50/2 Progresso Soup coupons (doubled), 1 $.40 BC cookie mix (doubled), 4 $.50 Chex Mix coupons (doubled), 3 $5 Catalinas from transaction #1

    Total OOP:  $3.54 (savings of $52.50)

    Received another 3 $5 Catalinas

    Transaction #3

    16 Green Giant Frozen veggies:  $16

    1 box BC potatoes:  $1

    3 BC Cookie Mix:  $5

    2 Progresso Broth:  $3.34

    2 Lipton Pasta Sides:  $2

    2 Lipton Veggie Sides:  $3.34

    2 Hershey Bars $1.90 (in order to avoid an overage)

    Total:  $32.58

    Coupons Used:  8 $.50/2 Green Giant coupons (doubled), 2 $.60 Veggie Side coupons (doubled), 2 $1 Progresso Broth coupons, 1 $.50/2 Lipton Pasta Side coupons (doubled), 1 $.35 BC potato coupon (doubled), 3 $.40 BC Cookie Mix (doubled), and the $15 in Catalinas from transaction #2

    Total OOP:  $.18 (total savings $60.52) 

    and I got another $15 in Catalinas!

    Total value of all groceries:  $174.72

    Total OOP:  $12.32

    Net Cost (because of my remaining catalinas):  NEGATIVE $2.68

    So how did you do with Acme this week?

     

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Frugalisfab

      October 31, 2008 at 4:33 pm

      Wow! I wish we had an Acme, or any store that doubled coupons would be good.

      Frugalisfabs last blog post..Looking For A Last Minute Halloween Costume?

    2. DIANSCRAPS

      October 31, 2008 at 4:36 pm

      Great job! I did one quick round at ACME using up some expiring coupons. Know I know where the Progresso Broths went 😀 I got 2 though.

      DIANSCRAPSs last blog post..Genuardis Nov 1 & Nov 2 48 Hour Game Day Sale

    3. Mercedes

      October 31, 2008 at 5:02 pm

      You rocked that deal! great job!

      Mercedess last blog post..How My Family Saves Money by Buying in Bulk

    4. Steve

      October 31, 2008 at 6:33 pm

      I'm curious, what products are qualifying you for these catalinas at Acme? Last year, before I became frugal, I regularly spent $150-400 depending on when my last trip was, and rarely walked out with any. Even now, when buying based on sales, and stocking up with 8 or 10 of the same product at a time, I rarely get anything. Is there somewhere I can view Acme catalina deals? I apologize if I missed it somewhere, I just found your site today.

      Thank you!

    5. Steve

      October 31, 2008 at 6:34 pm

      Nevermind - I just realized, you're using the new catalina deal from today's circular. Time to start planning!!

    6. K. Anne

      October 31, 2008 at 9:50 pm

      Oooh! I'm definitely going to hit up Acme this week. Hooray for a good sale!

      K. Annes last blog post..Faxed Again

    7. Mindi

      November 01, 2008 at 7:40 am

      Diane: in my defense, I did #1 & #2 at Collegeville 1st thing in the morning because we were over there running errands. I finished at Limerick after the Halloween Parade (because of the frozen veggies - had to get them last before I headed home) and they WERE out of almost all the broths.....but it wasn't me! 😉

    8. $5 Dinner Mom

      November 01, 2008 at 9:08 am

      WAY to go! Love those catalinas!
      Erin

      $5 Dinner Moms last blog post..Tuna Melts

    9. Shannon

      November 01, 2008 at 9:11 am

      I cleaned up today at Acme too. I was very low on chicken, so I only did two transactions and then bought $15.00 worth 99 cents per pound chicken. Check out coupons.com... new coupons to throw into the mix to make this deal sweeter!

    10. Trina

      November 01, 2008 at 10:57 am

      You are my hero! I wish I had an Acme near me! That was awesome.

      Trinas last blog post..Three Hulk Items at Amazon for $30

    11. Manisha

      November 01, 2008 at 12:23 pm

      I'll be able to do really well also. I just gathered my coupons up, and I had 7 50 cents on frosting coupons, which means free frosting AND it counts towards the deal. Can't complain about that!

      It'll end up being just under $10 OOP plus I'll walk out with $10 left in Catalinas, so I hit the jackpot. I'll end up doing 4 transactions, and yet, I'll still have at least 1 more deal worth of coupons left if I feel like it later this week.

      Thanks for the inspiration!

    12. Darla

      November 01, 2008 at 4:58 pm

      Dang that donut. 😉

    13. Shannon

      November 03, 2008 at 2:35 pm

      I had the worst experience this morning at the Limerick ACME. I had a cashier who would not double my coupons, although every other cashier always does. I just said forget it and took my coupons.. I felt bad, but it was alot of money! 🙁

    14. Manisha

      November 06, 2008 at 11:28 pm

      Ok, so I ended up spending $23.40 tonight out of pocket. However, I saved $221, AND walked out with $30 in Acme coupons. So, I managed to get paid $6.60 cents to walk out with $250 worth of groceries.

      AND, I got an additional $150 in turkey credits. All around, a fantastic trip.

    15. Mindi

      November 07, 2008 at 12:17 am

      That's so great Manisha! Good Job!

    16. MR

      January 19, 2009 at 11:23 am

      Hey guys! While I am not a mother; I am a part-time employee at the Collegeville Acme! I was doing some searching online here, to see if there were any interesting articles about the closing of our store...and, I stumbled across this.

      *While I love to save as well (obviously we are all consumers - and, I am penny pinching like everyone else)...and, I don't like to be a "Debbie Downer" but, some of the things that are mentioned here I just wanted to comment on.

      1 - I am not sure whose line you went into (or maybe it was self-checkout?), but you are not supposed to get paid for those coupons. I know that registers wind up saying that we owe money. But, really they are not supposed to give you that money. It is okay to break even...no prob.

      2 - I saw someone mention that they were upset that the Limerick Acme would not double your coupons, but other cashiers do all the time. I honestly do not know if this was the case or not....but, many times the coupons will specifically say not to double them. The manufacturer specifically says not to. If we do not following the rules of the manufacturer...we do not get the credit that we are due...and, the company loses out.

      Sooooooo, I just wanted to mention those few things.

      I am going to miss all of you Collegeville Acme shoppers!

      O, and props to all of you that do all of that AWESOME bargain shopping! I see them in the store all the time, and it is awesome.

    17. Mindi

      January 19, 2009 at 11:50 am

      Hi MR! Mindi here and I know your store very well! I often split my shopping between your store and Limerick so as not to clear out one store when I do deals like this...I'm going to miss you guys!

      Just to clarify - I would never expect to get money back.

      When I say something like "in order to avoid an overage", it is usually because I would rather use a Catalina to pay for my groceries than pull money out of my wallet. If, for instance, I have 3 $5 Catalinas and after I scan my "regular" coupons, my total is $16.25, I'm thinking "ok - now I just scan my $15 in Catalinas and I will only have to pay $1.25". But after I scan them, the register does something wonky and says that Acme owes me money....so I end up grabbing whatever is cheap by the register (candy bar, etc) to get me to a positive balance. Sometimes I catch it before I scan the last one...in which case I'll just not scan the last one and pull a few more dollars out of my wallet and save the last Catalina for another trip. Frankly, it KILLS me to pay $1 for a candy bar 😉

      Are any of the Collegeville employees going to be coming up to the Limerick store? I'm wondering if they are anticipating Limerick getting busier with the closing of Collegeville and it would be nice if at least some (or ALL) of the Collegeville employees didn't have to worry about finding a new job!

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