Coupon Yoda

Awesome Customer Service

2012-04-05T17:35:00.000-05:00

I love to get good customer service! You all know that I want Coupon Yoda followers to coupon ethically. I am a born rule-follower. With the increase in coupon fraud, we must do anything we can to help cashiers feel comfortable taking our coupons. Wal-Mart has evidently told cashiers that they can only take two coupons with the same ID number. This is a great way to spot a copied coupon, but not all printables have these codes in the same format. Today, my Wal-Mart refused to take a Planter’s peanut butter coupon. Since I know for a fact that they were printed in accordance with the rules, I did become frustrated. However, I was mostly frustrated with the cashier and the CSM. Their attitudes clearly told me that they thought I had copied the coupon. I despise being made to feel like I am doing something wrong when I try so hard to do the right thing. There was no effort at customer service. As a matter of fact, they had the discussion and really didn’t address me at all. I am blessed to have a high quality printer that uses toner and a husband who does not mind if I print my coupons in color. This costs us a little more, but it usually means my coupons are not questioned. I could have screamed at the cashier, but I just had her void one of the peanut butters, and she returned one of the coupons. I left, and then I called the store. This is where the great customer service happened! The lady in charge of the cashiers let me explain the entire transaction, restated that my issue was the way it was handled, and assured me she would address it. She was a bit surprised that it was refused since it was printed in color. She is an avid couponer herself and thought she had relayed that more than two could be accepted if they were in color. If you are able to print in color, that is great. I know most people cannot do that. For me, the extra cost is only a penny or two. You should evaluate your printing cost to determine if you are willing to trade a little bit of your savings for less hassle. THANK YOU to my new Wal-Mart friend! You made me feel like you wanted to helpJ Please contact me any time you have a question. The lesson for all couponers is to remain calm and work with the store to address the issues you have. Most stores truly do want to help you use your coupons. They know it increases their overall sales. Please, smile and follow all the rules. With the price matching that Wal-Mart does for us, I am convinced it is worth a few hassles along the way! Now, if only they would test market doubling, the Yoda Deals would be plentiful!

New Resource Page

2012-03-23T22:17:00.000-05:00

Over the next few weeks, I will be adding pages to the website. The first is a resource page filled with some of my favorite shopping websites. I love to find great deals and love it even more when they are shipped directly to my doorJ

Please check it out and shop through Coupon Yoda!

I will also be adding an email list for various companies. If there is something you would like to see, please feel free to make suggestions. This website is for you!

Spring Fever

2012-03-04T19:06:00.001-06:00

I don’t know about you, but if we are not going to get some major snow, I just want to move on to spring and summer! I have had my flip flops on most days, anywayJ

If you need to get a jump on shopping for the swimming season, please check out Swim Outlet. My children swim on a local team, and we always order from here. You do not need to be a competitive swimmer to find some great things! They have products for swimming, running, cycling, yoga, and nutrition – just lots of great things for an active lifestyle. Of course, they often have Yoda deals!

Check out the website here.

Get FREE Stuff!

2012-02-26T22:50:00.001-06:00

Sign-up for SuperPoints!! Most importantly, make sure you complete your profile and become a gold member. You can redeem points for prizesJ

Sign-up here: Super Points

A Few Great Deals!

2012-02-23T20:47:00.003-06:00

If you need cereal, head to Kroger this week! Through the 25^th, select Kellogg’s cereals are 50% off. Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, and Raisin Bran are ones that I noticed. If you have the $5/5 q, you can get these for less than $1/box. These are NOT the small boxes, eitherJ The $4/4 q will work for this sale also, but it may be limited to certain varieties.

Target is the place to go for Activia yogurt and Welch’s Fizz. Go to Target's site and print store qs for $2/2 Activia and $1/1 Welch’s. There was a printable for $2/1 Fizz and there was a $1/1 Activia mq in the paper. Combine these store and manufacturer coupons to get these items for FREE!!

I hope you got these awesome printables when they were available! It is SO important to print them as soon as you see them.

Kroger Quarter Back Sale

2012-02-10T08:20:00.003-06:00

UPDATE: The tags for the Quarter Back Sale at my store did say “through 2/18”, but the ad does not mention it this week. I will not be in the store until Wednesday. I will double check that and keep you posted!

This is not something I always have time to do for you, so enjoy! The Quarter Back sale at Kroger will run through the 18^th, according to the tags in my store. Here are the participating items and prices in Anna, IL:

Wolf Chili 2/$3

Chef Boyardee $1

Zatarain’s Rice $1

Knorr Sides $1

Old El Paso $1.50

     Beans
     Shells
     Tortillas
     Enchilada Sauce

Progresso Soup $1.63

Ronzoni Pasta $1.50

Hunt’s Pudding $1

Welch’s Jelly $2.50

Jif $2.99

Smuckers $2.99

Townhouse $2.49

Club Crackers
Cheeze-its

BelVita $2.99

Keebler Cookies $1.99

Kellogg’s Cereals $2.99

Nature Valley Bars $2.99

Kroger Fruit Snacks $1

Lipton Tea, gal $2.99

RC 2 liters $1

You must buy at least 4 items, but after that you do not have to buy in multiples of four. You will get a CAT at check-out for .25 OYNO for each item purchased. This doesn’t sound like much, but check-out one deal I did:

4 Chef Boyardee Used 4-.50/1 qs I had

1 Hunt’s Used Buy 4 Chef Boyardee, Get 1 Hunt’s FREE tearpad (in my store now)

Paid NOTHING and got a $1.25 CAT. This is one of those instances where they paid me to shop – Woo-hoo!

Some of these prices are high, even with coupons. So, check your coupons and see what deals you can make!

YoCrunch at Schnuck's

2012-02-09T20:12:00.000-06:00

Schnuck’s has YoCrunch single cups 2/$1 this week. Use .65/4 printable or $1/4 printable

qs. Buy 10, and you will get a CAT for $1.50 OYNO at check-out! You can roll these!

ANYONE can Save Major $$$$

2012-01-31T22:23:00.008-06:00

I had a GREAT trip to Wal-Mart tonight! The cashier, Mary, was super nice. My subtotal was $67.41. After price-matching and coupons, it came down to $26.36. Seriously, who gets 14 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats (which would have been $44.52 alone and I got other stuff) for that? Why, Coupon Yoda, of courseJ

Here is how I did it:

I price-matched to Kroger’s Game Day Mega Sale. I bought 20 participating items. Remember, we must follow the rules if Wal-Mart is going to be nice enough to price-match for us. Those were:

14 Honey Bunches of Oats Reg Price - $3.18

                                                 Kroger price - $1.99
                                                 Printable qs - $1/1 x 14 (two campaigns &
                                                                                      multiple computers)
                                                 Yoda’s Price - .99

4 - 2 ltrs Diet Mt Dew Reg Price - $1.28

                                                Kroger Price - .99

    2 DiGiorno Pizzas               Reg Price - $5.98
                                                 Kroger Price - $4.49
                                                 Printable qs - $2/1x2
                                                 Yoda’s Price - $3.49

Other items I purchased:

6 pk raisins Reg Price - $1.48

Idahoan Hash Browns Reg Price - $1.25

All You q – Get 1 FREE
Yoda’s Price - FREE

Borden String Cheese Reg Price - $3.08

Printable q - $1/1
Yoda’s Price - $2.08

Using the combination of price-matching and coupons, I saved $41.05 - over 60%. I did not have to drive to Kroger, which is 23 miles away from me. That alone saved me almost $7 in gas! (Yes, I drive a huge gas guzzler.) I don’t always post details like this, but I want people to see just how easy this can be. Without Coupon Yoda, my kids would seriously despise beans and riceJ

Bummer!

2012-01-29T19:21:00.000-06:00

I am SO disappointed that our local Red Plum did not contain the .50/1 Ragu coupon! Some regions got $1/2. There are a few clippers that have not posted their new coupons, yet. If I find them, I will let you all know. Our coupon is for $1.25/3. You can still get Ragu for .89. That is not a Yoda Deal, but it is still good!

Classes open to the Public

2012-01-25T21:19:00.000-06:00

I will be teaching two classes on Saturday, April 28^th. If you take both classes, you get a $5 discount! These classes are open to the public. Visit Rend Lake College’s website to register.

Rend Lake College

Couponing – Follow the Savings Force

Learn to save 40-50% on your household’s grocery, personal, and cleaning needs. As seen on WSIL, Coupon Yoda teaches you to realize extreme savings without extreme behavior. You will learn where to find coupons, how to organize them, and how to find the Yoda deals. It only takes a few hours to dramatically impact your family’s budget. Coupon Yoda now spends less than $1 per item for everything that her family uses, except gas and clothing. Do not turn to the dark side! Coupon Yoda promotes ethical couponing. Learn to save from the master!

Supply fee payable to instructor for instruction book.

$20 (plus $5 supply fee paid to instructor)
Instructor: Cynthia Mejean
COMED 4395-51 Saturday, 4/28, 9AM-Noon
Main Campus, Historic Schoolhouse

Get Out of Debt

Drowning in debt? Diving into despair? There is a way out! Learn to dump your debt and live a debt free life. You will learn how to divide your dollars, decrease your deficit, and destroy your debt. Budgeting, paying off debt, reducing expenses and living debt free will be covered. In preparation for this class, please track one month of your household expenses. An easy way to do this is to save EVERY receipt! Participants will devise a plan and learn practical ways to save on a variety of expenses.

Supply fee payable to instructor for instruction book.

$15 (plus $5 supply fee paid to instructor)
Instructor: Cynthia Mejean
COMED 5374-51 Saturday, 4/28, 1-3PM
Main Campus, Historic Schoolhouse

Game Day Mega Sale!

2012-01-25T13:02:00.000-06:00

If you have general grocery shopping to do, Kroger is the place to go! There are over 200 participating items, but they only put 70 in our local ad. I am almost positive that I saw Ragu pasta sauce for $1.31. Wait for this Sunday’s paper (since the sale lasts two weeks) and score Ragu for only .31! I snagged Honey Bunched of Oats for only .99/box and Pop-Tarts for $1.19. I was in a hurry and only able to grab a few things. There is also FREE Helluva dip, and they finally had Bacon Horseradish – my favorite. Happy ShoppingJ

Earn Cash Back to Shop Online!

2011-11-15T12:21:00.002-06:00

Have you joined, Ebates, yet? Why not? It is FREE, and you do earn cash back (paid through PayPal) on your online shopping. Just click the Ebates button on the left to join! Right now, you can get an awesome deal on All You Magazine. This is the magazine I encourage you to subscribe to JUST for the coupons. Plus, it often has lots of great ideas for saving money, decorating, fitness, etc. Every month, there are coupons in it that I use that save me more than the subscription cost. This deal is for TODAY ONLY!

You will pay the full price when you order and get 52% back. After the rebate, you could pay as little as 68₵ per issue! There are other great deals. Think Christmas gifts that give throughout the whole year!

New Ebates users will also get a $5 bonus when they make a $25 purchase - that makes the magazine deal even better!

All You Magazine, 2 years, $16.32 or 68¢ per issue

All You Magazine, 1 year, $9.58 or 79¢ per issue

Other great deals:
Southern Living, 2 years, $16.77 or 64¢ per issue
Cooking Light, 2 years, $11.52 or 48¢ per issue

Use code FALLMAGS on the following deals to get additional $5 off:

         Field & Stream, 12 issues, $2.38 or 19¢ per issue
         Parents Magazine, 12 issues, $2.38 or 19¢ per issue
         Ladies Home Journal, 11 issues, $3.36 or 31¢ per issue

Remember, these deals are for TODAY ONLY!!

If you miss purchasing All You at this price, head on over to the Angels in Action site and support a great new program with your purchase. You will still get the great price of $1.25 per issue – and you will be an Angel in Action! Simply click the "Support our Group" button on the top right of this page!

Updates Coming

2011-11-13T14:54:00.000-06:00

The deals will be updated later this evening. I will be teaching a fabulous group in Tamms, IL. Food Giant’s Ad does have some great MQs in it!

Public Class

2011-11-12T06:39:00.000-06:00

Join me for a Follow the Savings Force Class! Most classes are private, but Amber has graciously opened this class to the public. We will meet at the community center in Tamms, IL.

Sunday, November 15^th

5 – 8 pm

$15 per person

Booklet and two give-a-ways

Please email or post on FaceBook if you are coming!

Chick-fil-A Cape Girardeau

2011-11-08T21:36:00.000-06:00

Chick-fil-A had their first Family Night tonight. They will continue to have them every Tuesday night from 5pm-8pm. When you purchase a combo meal, you get a kid’s meal for FREE! They had some games and coloring sheets. They even had the cow walking around and gave away balloons. The kids can win Mini-Moos or coupons for FREE stuff. We had a great time. The staff at this store is awesome, and it is amazingly clean. Quit cooking on Tuesdays nights and eat more chicken!

Follow the Savings Force Couponing Class

2011-11-01T17:35:00.000-05:00

There will be a Follow the Savings Force class in Tamms, IL on Sunday, November 13th. It will be held at the community center in Tamms from 5-8 pm. The fee will be $15 per person. There will be two give-a-ways and each participant will receive a booklet. Learn how to impact your budget in an extreme way without extreme behavior. Contact me on FaceBook or via email to register to reserve your spot! The host for this class has graciously opened it to the public. Thank you, Amber!

FREE Schick Razors and Shorts

2011-10-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt that a store had purposely pulled an item because of a great coupon deal? I have been waiting for Wal-Mart to have the Schick disposables that sell for $1.97 since I printed the $6/2 coupons! Tonight, they had them. I also found OP cover-up shorts for my daughter on clearance for $2 each. Here is what I bought:
     3-12 pks Diet Coke and 1-12 pk Fanta (price-match to K-Mart @
                    4/$10)
     5 pairs OP cover-up shorts
     2 lbs green seedless grapes
     12-12 pks Schick disposable razors (6-$6/2 qs)
     1 bag Lay's potato chips
My OOP = $12.76 (incl tax)
This got even better when I got home and realized that the razors all have a $3/1 coupon inside! This will mean 12 more packs of razors for FREE plus another $12.36 in overage. I love it when it all comes together!

Join Superpoints!

2011-10-10T12:48:00.000-05:00

This is another way to earn FREE money! Click the links below, but once that are used, they are gone!

Lucky Person #1

Lucky Person #2

Lucky Person #3

Lucky Person #4

This program is by invitation only, so snag them while I have them!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

2011-10-07T09:41:00.000-05:00

I am looking forward to classes the next two Saturdays! Tomorrow is a private class, but the 15th at Rend Lake College is open to the public. The Follow the Savings Force class will be held from 9am-12pm. Here is the course catalog description of the class:

Learn to save 40-50% on your household's grocery, personal, and cleaning needs. As seen on WSIL, Coupon Yoda teaches you to realize extreme savings without extreme behavior. You will learn where to find coupons, how to organize them, and how to find the Yoda deals. It only takes a few hours to dramatically impact your family's budget. Coupon Yoda now spends less than $1 per item for everything her family uses, except gas and clothing. Do not turn to the Dark Side! Coupon Yoda promotes ethical couponing. Learn to save from the master!

The class is $20 (payable to Rend Lake College) plus a $5 supply fee payable to the instructor at the class. Call (618) 437-5321 or (800) 369-5321 ext 1714 or 1267 for more information. You can register online at www.rlc.edu/comed/register.php

I hope to see many of you from this area in this class! If this is not a convenient location for you, contact me via email @ yoda@couponyoda.com. I am willing to stay in the area (or stop at any point headed south to Cape Girardeau) that afternoon to teach another class. If you can get a group of people together and a place to meet, contact me ASAP to work out details. If your group would like to host a private class, individual arrangements can be made.

Schnuck's Success & K-Mart Doubles

2011-09-28T00:43:00.000-05:00

I had a great trip to Schnuck's tonight! Here is what I bought:

    6 Old El Paso products
        .50/1 q x 6
    8 Yoplait Greek yogurt cups
        .50/2 q x 4
    8 Nesquick powder (7 serving bag)
        .35/1 q x 8
    2 Beggin' Strips
        $1.00/2 q
Total = $8.63 and $3 CAT for meat

I did a second transaction and used the CAT to buy a 2 lb roast for only $1.42!

I do not usually shop at K-Mart, but they are doubling up to .99 this week. I got a great deal on 32 oz Powerades. They are $1 (not a good price), but when you buy 10, you get 5 for FREE. I also had some qs I found on tearpads a couple of months ago for .75/2. Total for all 15 bottles = $3.15

What kind of fabulous deals are you finding in the store these days? Post in comments or on FaceBook. We'd love to share in your Savings Force ways!

Follow the Savings Force Couponing Class

2011-08-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

I will be teaching a Follow the Savings Force class at Rend Lake College in Ina, IL. The class will be held October 15th, 9am-12pm. Here is the course catalog description of the class:

Learn to save 40-50% on your household's grocery, personal, and cleaning needs. As seen on WSIL, Coupon Yoda teaches you to realize extreme savings without extreme behavior. You will learn where to find coupons, how to organize them, and how to find the Yoda deals. It only takes a few hours to dramatically impact your family's budget. Coupon Yoda now spends less than $1 per item for everything her family uses, except gas and clothing. Do not turn to the Dark Side! Coupon Yoda promotes ethical couponing. Learn to save from the master!

The class is $20 (payable to Rend Lake College) plus a $5 supply fee payable to the instructor at the class. Call (618) 437-5321 or (800) 369-5321 ext 1714 or 1267 for more information. You can register online at www.rlc.edu/comed/register.php

I hope to see many of you from this area in this class! If this is not a convenient location for you, contact me via email @ yoda@couponyoda.com. If your group would like to host a private class, individual arrangements can be made.

On the Mend

2011-08-17T12:08:00.001-05:00

Yoda has been released from the hospital and is getting better! I want to hear that you are finding great deals to save your family money! I'm hoping for a big sale the week of Labor Day. Grocery deals have not been as good as what we usually see. I think they may get better this fall. There are a few great deals at Kroger this week. Don't forget that the Mega items will stay the same for next week!

Traveling

2011-08-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

I am traveling this week, and will not be able to do a complete match-up for you guys. Yoda seems to need to sleep!

Here are a few things I saw:

Schnuck's - Bugles - $1 - There is a .50 q out, so they would be free!
                   Bounty napkins, 50 pk - $1 (.25/1 q)
                   Oscar Mayer bologna, 16 oz - $1
Aldi - As always, great produce prices!
     strawberries - .99/lb
     grapes - .75/lb (sold in 2 lb pk)
     bananas - .44/lb
     blueberries - $1.49/pt

Check the Weekly Deals out for next week. I'll be home and posting as usual, but for now...back to Junior Olympics!!

Be Prepared!!

2011-07-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

I do not usually write about shopping trips, but I learned a valuable lesson and thought I should share. One huge savings tip that many people miss is to simply BE PREPARED!!! I know, it sounds simple, but a little preparation can help you score some awesome deals. Sometimes…just between you and me…you do not even need coupons!

Yesterday, my son had a swim meet in another city. This city has a wonderful grocery store that is larger than my normal store. They have a much better selection and often stock items that my store does not. I needed to buy make-up. I have found awesome clearance deals at this store on a regular basis. So, after swimming and lunch, I make my poor child follow me through the store. There was not ONE product on the make-up aisle marked down. I was pretty disappointed. A sweet lady saved my shopping trip from being a bust. She noticed my coupon binder and stopped me. She figured if I was couponing, I would surely appreciate a great deal. She showed me a beautiful salmon fillet that had been over $8 that had been marked down to .80! We do not normally buy fresh seafood because it can be quite expensive. $8-9/lb just cuts into our budget too much. I was an hour and a half from home with no plans to buy anything refrigerated or frozen. I had my trusty insulated bag with me (I had used it as my cooler for the swim meet), so off to the seafood counter we went. My son LOVES salmon and rarely gets to enjoy it, so he raced me across the store! Not only did we find salmon, but also tilapia fillets and tuna steaks. We ended up with $167.92 worth of fresh fish for only $21.13.

It was a Yoda deal!

Just to be safe, I did buy a bag of ice to put in the bottom of the bag. I put it all in my freezer when we got home, and at four ounces per serving, my cost is less than .25 each. In the future, I will have more bags with me. They store had TONS of seafood, and they were still marking them down when I left. This truly was a case of being in the right place at the right time. However, you can increase your chances of finding such deals by checking the sell by dates in your store. Ask the meat manager if they have a set time that they begin to mark down the meat. I do not recommend making special trips to the store just hoping to snag a deal like this, but be observant. You never know when you will find exactly what you need, so be prepared!

The Great Recovery

2011-07-28T10:59:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of Dave Ramsey? He has radio and television shows in which he speaks to the proper way to handle our money. As a matter of fact, he says that we need to get back to handling money like God and Grandma. I agree! Dave Ramsey is responsible for The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, and other tools. My husband and I have joined Dave Ramsey’s The Great Recovery. We will help this nation recover one family, one church, one community at a time! Please check out www.thegreatrecovery.com and get involved!