How is it that we clip and clip our coupons and never approach getting $600 worth of groceries for less than $3 like the ladies on the Extreme Couponing show do? It is simple. They have a secret weapon. If you notice closely, those extreme couponing discounts happen when the shopper stocks up on Catalinas and hands them over in one trip.

I tried this out myself this month. I concentrated on getting all of the awesome Catalina deals and “rolling” them over. In two weeks of shopping, we got more than $200 worth of groceries at one store for the total cost of $13.94. I know that is less of a savings than the lady on the show got, but hey, I was impressed, especially since I’m not on television.

The Catalina coupons were the big secret of my success. I got multiple Catalinas for $10 off and $25 my next order. I always wondered how the extreme couponers or super savers could pay so little for items that don’t even typically offer coupons. Catalinas are the answer.

For all of those items that don’t typically have coupons, such as fresh produce or organic brands, the Catalinas act like cash. You can apply that $10 off toward a bag or two of oranges or potatoes, let’s say, to get them for free.

What are these things and how can you get them for free? You know those little pieces of paper that print out at the cash register? Most people ignore them. I’ve even found a few high value ones sitting on the grocery floor or in the parking lot.

These coupons are usually triggered by the items that you buy. For example, if you spend a specific dollar amount on certain products or a specific number of select products, you’ll qualify for money off of your next order.

Sometimes these offers are advertised and sometimes they aren’t. Often, you have to do a little research to find them.

When they are advertised, you may see notices in your local store flyer, on a sign hanging in the grocery store itself or in a small tag on a shelf.

To find the unadvertised opportunities, you’ll have to do your research and get insider information from people who have found them. Going forward, I’ll be paying careful attention to these offers and passing on that information to you. This means that you can visit FreeCoupons.com to find the best grocery store catalina deals.

Here are some tips for using Catalinas for extreme couponing:

• Do your research to find the products that trigger the offers
• Use multiple coupons on the trigger products to get them for as little as possible
• Make multiple trips through the checkout line to score as many of the offers as you can.

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