I’m posting this shopping trip to Pathmark because I wanted to share a catalina deal with you. I get a lot of questions regarding catalinas and rolling them so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to show you how it works.
This week at Pathmark there are 4 catalina deals going on. The deals include Bimbo Bakeries, Unilever, P&G and Nestle. These deals, at Pathmark,work on the retail or shelf price of the item not the sales price. So, your qualifying amount is much easier to reach and can make for an even better deal. Note: That is not the case at all stores.
I purchased these items in 3 separate transactions. Your goal is to try to have your lowest out of pocket amount on your first transaction and then you use your catalina to “roll” into the next deal.
This is the Unilever deal that requires you to spend $15 and you receive a $5 catalina. Here is how it went:
Transaction #1:
Buy 5 Wishbone Salad Dressing ($16.45) $8.45
-(2)$1.25/2
-(1)$.75/1 Printable (no longer available)
Paid: $4.45
Received a $5.00 catalina
Transaction #2:
Buy 4 Ragu ($11.56)$6.76
Buy 1 Country Crock ($3.99) $2.49
-(2)$1/2 Ragu
-(1)$.50/1 Country Crock
Total: $6.25
Use $5.00 catalina from previous transaction
Pay: $1.25
Receive a $5.00 catalina
Transaction #3:
Buy 10 Hunts Tomatoes $7.70
Buy 12 La Yogurt $3.48
-(3)$.45/3 Hunts
-(1)$1.50/12 La Yogurt
-(1)$.25 La Yogurt (store coupon)
Total:$6.73
Use $5.00 catalina from previous transaction
Pay: $1.73
No catalina for this deal. I chose to use the catalina to take advantage of some good deals Pathmark was having. However you could have rolled this as many times as you had coupons for.
So for all this I paid out of pocket $7.43 for $65.78 worth of groceries.
You can mix and match these deals for whatever is best for your family. It may be a little bit more out of pocket but if it’s for something that you use a lot then it’s worth it.
Did you come up with a great deal scenario at Pathmark this week? It’s fun to see all the different deal ideas.
Cindy Livesey is the force behind Living Rich With Coupons which provides its readers with all the resources they need to shop smart so they can get life’s luxuries for a lot less. Her family of 5 has saved over $11,000 a year in groceries. And you can too.
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Great job! If we can figure out those CATs its like shopping with Monoply money!! Cute site!
You are amazing! This is crazy. I’m going to have to go to my Pathmark today to see if I can do it…I’ll let you know.
Hi I’m new to catalina shopping. How do I use the catalina if it prints after my transaction is complete. Do I ask the cashier to void the transaction and I use the catalina?
@Lis, No you use the catalina on your next transaction. You can use it on another transaction right away or another day. There is an expiration date so just be sure to use it before it expires.
How do u find out what the “catalina deals” are in the store (eg. shoprite, pathmark)? And how often do stores carry these “catalina deals”?
When you have to spend a certain amount of money for a Catalina to print, is this figured before or after coupons and sale prices?
The amount you have to pay is figured after the deduction of the coupons.
hi Cindy,
how do you tell apart from a catalina and a store coupon when they are printed from the same machine? and how do you know that your were going to get catalina before shopping?
Thank you
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