Recent Trip: Fred Meyer

I know what you are thinking....1) "Didn't she just buy Coffee-Mate?" and 2) "I thought she said she wasn't one of those crazy couponing hoarders."

To which I will reply....1) I drink A LOT of coffee, 2) These don't expire until May, and 3) I got them all for $1.25.

Here's how it worked out:

Transaction #1
(4) 16 oz Coffee-Mate creamers (on sale 2/$3)
-(3) $1/1 Coffee-Mate coupons
-(1) $.75/1 Coffee-Mate coupon

OOP = $2.25
Receieved catalina for $3 off any Fred Meyer purchase

Transaction #2
(4) 16 oz Coffee-Mate creamers (on sale 2/$3)
-(1) $1/4 Coffee-Mate coupon (from the Coupon Exchange)
-(1) $3 off catalina

OOP = $2.00
Receieved catalina for $3 off any Fred Meyer purchase

I ended up paying $4.25 and still have a $3 catalina. So my total price works out to $1.25 or $0.16 each. I also got two $1/4 Coffee-Mate coupons back but I put them in the Coupon Exchange since I figured I won't need Coffee-Mate for a while.

Shopping Tip

My local Fred Meyer stores offer a simple, but valuable service, The Coupon Exchange. At the front of every store is a basket where you can take the coupons you want and leave ones you don't want. Most of the time, people drop off catalina coupons that they won't use. The Coupon Exchange is always my first stop when I go into Fred Meyer. I never take too many but I've scored some great coupons. And I always make sure to leave a few I know I won't use.

On my most recent trip, I picked up:

$1/2 Glade Jar Candles (holiday scents on clearance at Target)
$1/1 Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent
$1.50/1 Seventh Generation Disinfecting Cleaner
1 Free Code for the free lunch bag promo from Lean Cuisine (my friend, Kelly is collecting these so I'll pass this one along to her)

Do any of your local stores offer this service? Take a look around and you just might find some gems.