Free at Albertsons (for those who are couponless)

There are quite a few freebies at Albertsons this week (up until Tuesday) and since almost everyone loves free groceries...I thought I'd give you a gentle reminder right now. This is written for those of you who may be new to coupons, or don't know what you're doing. Here's what you can get for free (and how to do it- you'll need one of their Preferred Savings cards).

• Kraft BBQ sauce- currently on sale at $1 apiece and part of the Epic Savings promo. For every 2 bottles you buy, you'll get back a $1 catalina good on your next purchase. Buy 10 bottles, pay $5 out of pocket and you'll receive $5 in catalinas making all your BBQ sauce free!
• Kraft Pasta Salad- not quite as easy, this one may take a little luck. The boxes are on sale at $1 and also part of the Epic promo, so when you buy 10 an instant $5 will come off your total. If you can find 5 boxes with "$1 off 2 boxes" coupons attached, they will be free. If you can only find 3, you can use two doublers (find them in the weekly ad, available at Customer Service) to make them all free. Don't like pasta salad? use just the pasta part for anything you want! Please note: you can mix and match any of the Epic Promo deals. Only able to find one peelie for Pasta Salad? Use that and a doubler to buy 4 boxes and grab 6 bottles BBQ Sauce. You'll have to pay $3 but you'll get that $3 back...making this whole transaction FREE!
• Breyer's Ice Cream (pint sizes)- print two "$1 off 2" coupon here before you head to the store. Get those double coupons. Pick up 4 pints on sale for $1 each. Pay nothing, and you'll get a "$4 off 5" coupon you can use (no doublers needed) to buy another 5 pints for $1 total.
• Honey Nut Cheerios (17 oz)- $1.99 as part of the Epic Promo. You can print a $1 coupon here, and use a doubler with it to make it free. Note: it does say "Do Not Double" but in most parts of Washington, it doesn't matter to the store. You can print this twice and mix the two of these with 8 BBQ sauce bottles to make the most of this freebie.
• Nature Valley Nut Clusters- $1.99 as part of the Epic Promo. Find a $1 coupon here, print it twice, when used with a doubler it's free! Mix them with 8 BBQ sauces or 8 boxes Pasta Salad (provided you have 4 peelies) to make the best of this deal. There's another coupon available here, this one can also be printed twice!

Remember, if something is part of the Epic Promo you'll need to have 10 participating items to make it work. Otherwise, after the coupon and doubler- you'll pay $0.50 per item (that would have been free otherwise). Also, you can only use 2 doublers per transaction, but most stores will let you do three in a row with no problem (as long as the lines aren't crazy). If you feel funny doing this (and some people do) you can leave the store after each transaction and put your groceries in the car. You can use the $1 catalinas you earn buying the BBQ sauce to pay for more BBQ sauce and will still get those $1 catalinas back. Still unsure about what to do? here's a sample scenario:

Transaction #1

buy 8 BBQ sauce and 2 boxes Cheerios. Use two of the cheerios printable coupons and two doublers. You'll pay $4 and get back 4 $1 catalinas.

Transaction #2

buy 8 more BBQ sauce and 2 bags Nut Clusters. Use the two nut cluster coupons, two doublers, and the $4 in catalinas from your last transaction. Pay nothing (except maybe tax?) and get back 4 $1 catalinas.

Transaction #3

buy 4 pints of Breyer's and any other groceries you might need. Use your two Breyer's coupons and two doublers. If buying other groceries, you can pay with the $4 in catalinas you have. If not- your total should be nothing (except tax?).

If you purchased nothing else, you'll go home with: 16 bottles BBQ Sauce, 2 boxes of cereal, 2 bags Nut Clusters, 4 pints of ice cream, and $4 to use the next time you shop at Albertsons. You'll have spent $4 and maybe small amounts of tax. Yes, it's a lot of BBQ sauce- you can either give some away or learn new recipes to use it up. I'm sure you'll figure something out!