Today's Trip to Acme!

I don't usually shop at Acme, but I heard about a deal they have going on this week where if you buy $25 worth of specific General Mills products, you get $10 in catalinas (register reward coupons) back. The thing is - EVERYTHING included in this deal was on sale, but they were counting the shelf price toward the $25. So it was VERY easy to get to $25 in qualifying merchandise. The deal ended today, so I had to act quickly! You can read all about it HERE!

I did seven transactions in all and I just kept rolling those register rewards!

Transaction #1
Bought: 10 Hamburger Helpers (shelf $2.69, sale $1.00 each)
Used: (3) $1/3 Hamburger helper coupons
Paid: $5.50 out of pocket (remember - the coupons doubled!)
Received: (2) $5 catalinas

Transaction #2
Bought: 10 Totino's Pizza Rolls (shelf $2.60, sale $1.25 each) and 2 Betty Crocker instant mashed potato pouches ($1.00 knock down price)
Used: (2) $1/3 Totino's, (2) $1/2 Totino's, $10 catalinas from previous transaction
Paid: $.50 out of pocket
Received: $10.00 Catalinas

Transaction #3 - I actually ran into a little trouble with this one
Bought: (5) Betty Crocker Cake Mix and (5) Betty Crocker frosting
Used: (3) .75 off when you buy both cake mix and frosting and $5 catalina from previous trans.
Paid: $3.00 out of pocket
Received: $3.00 catalina (for buying 4 or more frostings)

**I didn't realize that the price of the frostings in my store was different than had been posted online. So I didn't hit the $25 mark on this transaction. Plus, this is when I realized that Acme doubles coupons, so I couldn't use both $5 catalinas, as I had planned. It all worked out in the end, though. But this deal could have been sweeter if I had been more on top of things! **

Transaction #4
Bought: (6) Chex Mix (4) Progresso Bread Crumbs and (1) Gold Medal Flour
Used: (4) .50/1 Progresso, (4) .50/1 Chex Mix, (1) .50/2 Chex Mix, and $8.00 in catalinas
Paid: $1.14 out of pocket
Received: $10.00 catalinas

Transaction #5
Bought: (3) Cinnamon Toast Crunch (3) Golden Grahams and (1) Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes
Used: (3) .65/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch, (1) $1/3 Any GM Cereal, $10.00 catalinas
Paid: $.50 out of pocket
Received: $10.00 catalinas AND $3.75 off a gallon of milk (surprise!)

Transaction #6
Bought: (4) Yoplait Splitz yogurts, (3) Betty Crocker Box Muffin Mix, (3) pouches of instant mashed potatoes, and a box of Cheerios
Used: (4) .50/1 Yoplait, (3) .50/1 Betty Crocker Muffin mix, (1) .75/1 Cheerios, and $10 catalinas
Paid: $.50 out of pocket
Received: $10.00 catalinas

Transaction #7 - I wanted to use up my catalinas since I don't regularly shop at Acme and I didn't want them to go to waste. I was all set with a gallon of milk and some other things, but then I got that coupon for the free milk, so I had to go back and get a few more things. Fun!!

Bought: 1 bag of Gold Medal Flour, 1 packet of Betty Crocker cookie mix, a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, a tub of margarine, and a pint of sour cream
Used: $10 catalinas and $3.75 off milk catalina
Paid: $.76 out of pocket
Received: NOTHING! I'm done!

Totals for the whole trip!
Shelf Price = $183.00
My out of pocket cost = $11.86!

I practically RAN out of that store and loaded it all into my car! I was afraid they were going to chase me away! Actually, I'm kind of surprised no one working there was watching over me while I was doing all this. I had, literally, TAKEN OVER half the self check-out area. Luckily, the store was completely dead at this hour. The folks working there just hung out around the customer service desk and only bothered with me when I beckoned them to help me because a coupon wouldn't scan or something. I tell ya - if I HAD been trying to get away with anything, it would have been EASY! I must look like an honest person! :)

But now my pantry is GOOD and stocked for the fall and winter. I even got some great baking supplies that I'll hold onto for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Special thanks to Living Rich with Coupons who posted all the deals!