Catalinas
Catalina machine
Recently a lot of you have asked, what is a Catalina?
Catalinas are coupons that print out of the Catalina Machine, hence the name Catalinas. These machines are located right next to the registers. Most of you have probably received coupons from them before. But other great things print from them as well. Here is what you can expect to find:
- Dollar off coupons: These are coupons that are part of a Catalina deal such as buy X amount of products and get $XX back. Or buy $XX product and get $XX back. These are good on your next shopping trip to the store.
- Manuafacturer coupons: Regular manufacturer coupons print from the catalina machines however they are to be used at that particular store. You can use them at another store if that store takes competitor coupons.
- Store Coupons: Store coupon will print from the catalina machine as well. Today, was a first for me at Shoprite. I actually recieved a whole bunch of store coupons which can be stacked with manufacturer coupons.
- Upcoming Deals: Deals that are scheduled in the near future will sometimes print out a catalina letting you know it’s coming.
Here are some suggestions to help make your deals go smoother:
- Is the machine working: Make sure that the green light is lit on the machine before you begin your transacation. Sometimes I will ask the cashier if coupons are printing from the machine before I load up my groceries. Of course you only have to worry about this when you are actually doing a catalina deal.
- Requirements for the deal: Make sure you have met every requirement for the deal to work. Do you have the exact products, quantities or dollar amounts required?
- What if Your Catalina Does Not Print: If your catalina did not print, don’t hesitate to go to customer service. If the deal is advertised in your circular, you should have no problem dealing with customer service at the store. If it’s not advertised, then I would just recommend calling the Catalina company directly at 1-888-8COUPON or 1-888-826-8766 or via email ncsc@catalinamarketing.com.
Keeping your Catalinas organzied:
I know we have a lot of coupons. Between inserts, printable, magazines, blinkie, peelies and anywhere else we find coupons. What do you do with yet more coupons? How do you not loose them?
Well here is my solution. Store coupon books:
As I had mentioned in my Coupon Organization Video, I use inexpensive photo books as store coupon books. Each week, when I am getting my coupons ready for my shopping trip, I put them in my store coupon book along with my shopping list. All the Catalinas I received for that store are in the coupon book so they are easy to find.
To see Catalinas in action, check out my post on How to Successfull Roll A Catalina.
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.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Question were do you find the inexpensive photo books. Thanks for all the tips.
brenda
@brenda, I got mine at 5 Below but any dollar store usually has them. Mine had pictures of kittens on them.
Thank you so much for posting this, I get so confused with the catalinas and how to use them. This helps alot!
Onc you complete a catalina deal and get your coupon do they allow you to do it a second,third time?
@George, In most cases yes, but I always try to get confirmation of that first. That, however, is not the case at Walgreens. You can not use them to roll.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for all you do! I have two questions I hope you can help me with. 1) I have a catalina that printed from SR – it says save 2.00 on any 5 general mills cereals. On the top it says it’s a manufacturer coupon and can only be redeemed at shoprite. If I plan on purchasing 5 boxes of cereal but also have regular manufacturer coupons (ex. .75 off 1 box) for each box can I use this coupons as well? 2) I have a bunch of catalina’s that printed out for baby formula that I don’t use – but I would like to give these to some of my friends who do use this particular kind. Is the catalina linked to my price plus card or would a friend of mine be able to use this?
THANK YOU!
Hey Sarah. If the catalina states manufacturer coupon then you can not use it with other manufacturer coupons. To answer your other question, yes you can give it to friends as it’s not linked to your card. Hope that helps…C
I’m a little confused about catalinas. If the deal says that you have to spend $20 on a certain brand/type of item to get $20 in reward certificates, do you need to actually SPEND the $20? I was under the impression from a lot of websites that if you have coupons for those items, you can put out less money out of pocket to get the catalinas. However, I called my Shoprite just to ask and they said that it has to total $20 in money spent AFTER the coupons.
How exactly do these catalinas work in coordination with manufacturer’s coupons?
If you have a coupon for let’s say $1 off an item and you have a coupon that printed from the catalina for $1 off does that mean that you can use both the manufacturer coupon AND the catalina on the same visit on the one item?
Is there anything that can be done with expired catalinas? I don’t how I let $5 expire today. I usually go to safeway between 12-1AM, just before the store closes.
I do not get catalinas at Pathmark or Shoprite except for oil change or internet connection from verizon. How do you get these catalinas?
I regularly shop at those both stores( every week). I was able to get the $5 a week for 4 weeks from shoprite when there was a Dole and nestle deals a while back.
Is there any trick to maximizing the store coupons or knowing when to expect to receive them at checkout? I am a newbie and would like to learn the art of Catalinas and store coupons to stack with my other coupons.
How do I get the most store coupons?
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