Mar 29

CATALINAS

So far in this series we have looked at:

Tips To Maximize Savings On Your Grocery Bill
Stockpiling How To’s
Coupons – Where To Get Them and
How eCoupons Work

Now I want to dig deeper into a specific type of coupon. The Catalina.

A Catalina coupon is one that prints out at a machine next to the register when you are checking out.  They are called Catalina’s because that is who makes the machines.  There are also ConAgras, Register Rewards from Walgreens and others. They essentially work the same.  They are manufactures coupons good before a specified expiration date that you can use at the store you received them from.  They are triggered by a specific purchase you made most of the time. Some stores are now accepting Catalinas from other stores, making their value even greater.
Why do couponers get so excited about them?  Well because they operate almost like cash often times. There are two primary types of Catalinas: a) a manufactures coupon, but usually of higher value then other coupons and b) a certain amount of money you can apply towards your next purchase (ie $5 off your next purchase).  

Catalina coupons are a great way to save money, but there is one caution that I like to insert when talking about Catalinas. Be very careful to pay close attention to what you are spending to get the Catalina. They are a wonderful way to save, but it is important that you understand what your ‘true’ savings is.

Why this caution. Well, marketers like to promote them like you are getting a product for free. Usually this is not the case. You may be getting a significant savings, but if you are spending money out of pocket they are not free.

Think Walgreens with Register Rewards when they advertise ‘its like getting it for free’, but somehow like free just cost you $3.99 (or whatever cost of the product was).  It is a hook for them to get the consumer to feel like they just spent less then they really did.  What is really happening is that those Catalinas or Register Rewards are providing you with some percentage of savings off of your purchase.  That percentage is a result of what you paid on the shopping trip and how much you have to spend in rewards on next trip.  For example if you are buying $1.50 in product, and get $1.50 Catalina to spend on future product purchase, you just saved 50% on that purchase (you are getting a total of $3 worth of product for $1.50 out of pocket). 50% off is a great deal, but it is NOT ‘like free’.

Now, where these scenarios really work for you is when you are using manufactures coupons to bring down your out of pocket expense.  For example in the scenario above, if I had a $.75/1 manufactures coupon and use that so my out of pocket expense was only $.75 I just increased my savings to 75% and now its a really good deal.  

Sometimes couponers will do what they call roll the Catalina. What that means is that they do a second transaction and will use the first Catalina coupon to pay for the second transaction. In that case you really do get the product for free (the coupon paid for it) and then you get a second coupon for next time. That’s like a hitting the jackpot in the coupon world

Catalina coupons are a great opportunity to save.  Just make sure you don’t fall into the trap of seeing the word free (or like free) and buy more then you would have if you realized you were only getting a specific % off, opposed to seeing the word ‘free’. Be intentional about your spending even when getting a great reward like Catalina coupons and you will find your out of pocket costs not hurting so much.


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