Aloha Deals Insert Giveaway!

Who wants coupons?

I have inserts to giveaway- wasn't able to do my big birthday bash in November (when we started 2 years ago), so wanted to still have some celebration and thank you for sticking around with Aloha Deals!

See Widget below for how to enter (like the FB page, invite your friends and have them leave comments of how they found Aloha Deals, follow on Twitter).  If you were referred here by someone, make sure to leave their name so they can be entered too!

Contest ends Feb 22, 2012- Quick contest so enter now and get more friends to refer you for more entries!

Winner and referral will get inserts from either 01/29/12 or 02/05/12- some good ones like P&G and GM, which is why the contest is so short, so they can use some before the week is up and into next week's sales.

Gift card winner!

The winner is #17 on random.org- JC has been contacted- Congratulations! And thanks to Safeway!

FB 300

We finally went over the 300 mark with our Facebook friends!


I promised we'd have a contest once we did- here it is!


$25 Gift Card for Safeway (and partners) if you are one of those that like us over on Facebook

If you already do, you're in!

If you add friends through the Suggest This tab and your friends join, you get even more entries!


Ends Thurs (12/2) 7pm HST.


Winner announced Friday morning

Family Central Binder: Contest!

Did you complete your binder?  How is it working?

Thanks to those who participated, we want to reward you with a $25 gift card to Safeway (courtesy from Safeway!)- answer one or all of these questions (separately for multiple entries)

• What are some things you learned while putting your binder together?                      What else have you added to your binder? (leave a comment)
• Do you have a binder picture to share? Show it off!  (email: Aloha Deals)
• Subscribe either by email or feeds (leave a comment, let us know which one)
• Like "Aloha Deals" on Facebook (leave a comment, even if you already have)
• Follow "Aloha Deals" on Twitter (leave a comment, even if you already have)

Contest ends next Tuesday, Sept 7- gives you a few more days to finish and enter!

Winner announced on Wednesday, Sept 8.

And the winner is...

Turn your heads...

Andrea S. gets the $50 Safeway Gift Card!

Please email alohadeals {at} gmail dot com with your mailing address to claim your prize!

Claim by Tuesday, 6pm HST or we will re-draw.

BOOT CAMP WINNERS

$5 Amazon card (RT on Twitter): @ImAllHeart

 

1 Month menu plan (FB status or Blog) Rachel B. for her status: 

Learning how to cut coupons & organize from Alohadeals.net. LOVING IT!! I can't wait to start building my food storage, through these coupon lessons. Learn how here: http://www.alohadeals.net/ 

 

Coupon organizer (Follow by Email or RSS): Sun with Passing Showers

Newspaper inserts (Survey questions): Sy's_Momma

Personalized Shop Along (Facebook SUGGEST THIS): Dee Anne K.

 

Congrats to all our winners!

(If you won the coupon organizer or inserts, please email us so we can work out getting your prize to you)

(Other winners, please email us for more info about your prize- scheduling, etc)

NOW FOR THE OTHER NEWS:

You're all winners!  We have teamed up with WeUseCoupons.com to set up a Coupon Database right here on our site, so you can search for available coupons to use in any deals you spot- please share them with us!  The Database is in the toolbar below our logo.  Just type in the item to see if there's coupon.

BOOT CAMP: Preparing for THE SHOPPING TRIP!

So now that you have learned all this information, the next step to learning all this information is APPLYING IT!

I am a hands on learner and have only gained more from saving by going out and shopping.  When it comes to preparing, I do a few things to get ready:

1. Read the ads on alohadeals.net

I use the ads mostly as a guide to what I should buy for the week.  I have a good idea of what is in my home, what we like to eat and what we need to make it.  I've opened our menu up to sale items and haven't heard any complaints from the hub yet.

2. Pay attention to the coupon links and tips of how to find coupons (upload coupons on Safeway card, inserts, coupon website, & in-ad coupons)

      2a.  print out the ones I want, pull out coupons from my organizer that I am going to hope to use.

I have two types of organizers. 

The first one is for ALL of the coupons.  I use a wallet size organizer with dividers labeled to help me know where to find my coupons.  Another way is to use a binder and baseball card inserts.  Do what works for you. (This is the type we are giving away this week in our contest!  Get your entries in!)

3. Organize my coupons by store in my store organizer (small accordion folder-wallet size, has a section for each store)

I have an organizer for the stores.  It's the same idea of a wallet size and dividers.  I use it to store my specific store Catalina's, and where to put my coupons I want to use while on the actual shopping trip. 

4. Make my list for each store

My weekly shopping trips consist of Walgreen's and Safeway.  They are close together in Kaneohe, which makes the trips very productive. My list for Walgreens consists of 2 columns.  The first one is: Transaction 1, and the second one is: Transaction 2.  Since I live further away from Walgreens, I like to use my Register Rewards [RR immediately.  My first transaction includes the items that will give me the RR's back.  The second transaction utilizes the [RR]'s.  Remember that a [RR] is counted as a coupon.  Walgreens only allows 1 coupon per item which if you have an coupon already for each item, the [RR] won't be used.  

**You can use cheap "filler" items (gum, candy, etc) that don't need coupons so that the [RR] will work. A good filler item this week are the 3/$1 W toothbrushes in-ad coupon. Walgreen's coupons don't count toward the # of coupons used (1 coupon per item purchased).

Safeway's list is organized by transaction if there are Catalina's (like last month's CHILL deal- I would get my $10 back and use it on the next transaction).  No matter the amount of columns per list, an (*) is put next to the item if I have a coupon.  That way, I make sure it's used at the register.  I get too flustered and usually miss out on a sale if I organize while at the store.  I do have a section of "maybe" coupons which is when I compare the store price with my coupon and weigh it out with my need/want for the item.  I usually see it within the next couple of weeks in the ads, which allows me to walk away and not spend more than I need.

Another suggestion to organizing your transactions would be to use your cart.  If the kid section is available, us that smaller part as the items that you need to get coupons out for (extra items you found on sale, or your maybe items)  Then use your main part as the items you already know you are prepared for.

You don't have to do multiple transactions if you don't want to.  Just keep an eye on the expiration date of those Catalinas and RR's.

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Contest day 4:  Today you're going to show us and OTHERS what you've learned from Aloha Deals either during BOOT CAMP or in the past and share the link (www.alohadeals.net or any specific post that helped you).  There are 3 ways to enter, you can do one or all!

You can write a BLOG (and post your link in comments), EMAIL to your friends (and BCC alohadeals@gmail.com only) or post on FACEBOOK (type in "@Aloha Deals", not copy and paste, in your status so we can see your thoughts on our page).  If we can't see your post, the entry can't count.
Winner will either get newspaper inserts or the coupon organizer!

Facebook contest day 4: on our page, go to SUGGEST THIS tab and after you confirm you are a fan- SUGGEST Aloha Deals to your friends!  Winner will get an assisted shopping trip to the store of your choice!

BOOT CAMP: Getting to know the stores in Hawaii, Contest day 3

Is there one store that you haven't tried out yet?  Walgreen's took the longest for me to figure out- it's newer and I wasn't used to the Register Reward [RR] system. 

Hawaii has it's own unique local stores: Foodland/Sack-n-save, Times Supermarket (recently acquired Star market) Tamura's Market, and Long's Drugs- with all stores having locations on Oahu and only some stores on the other islands. There are also smaller chains on the neighbor islands- we couldn't get by without Friendly market on Moloka'i or Sueoka's on Kauai and Hasegawa store on Maui. We also have some regional and national chain stores: Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Whole Foods, Walmart, Kmart, Target and Walgreen's. 

Each have their own programs and policies:

Foodland/Sack'n'Save
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: Maika'i (Rewards are given after $200 in purchases- can be used toward travel points, products and 5% off purchase)
Sale schedule: Weds-Tues, view their ads or from store/Midweek
Coupon policy: accepts manufacturer's coupons, can use B1G1 coupon when they are having a B1G1 sale on same product.
Bonuses: Catalinas (money back) and coupons after purchases, sometimes certain stores have special insert sheets in Midweek

Times Supermarkets
(recently took over Star Markets)

Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui (20+ stores)
Membership card: none
Sale schedule: Weds-Tues, found online and in the Midweek.  
Coupon policy: accepts manufacturer's coupons
Bonuses: Weekend sales are pretty good ones to look for.  Ad sometimes has manufacturer's coupons (did you get the $1/2 Kraft singles in last week's?)

Tamura's Market
Locations: Wahiawa and Hauula, plus other stores in this family chain
Membership card: none
Sale schedule: Every 2 weeks: Weds- 2nd Tues, ad found in Midweek only
Coupon policy: accepts manufacturer's coupons
Bonuses: Also can find manufacturer's coupons in their ads.  Ex: Powerade came to about $.60 each with their sale and in-ad coupon.

Long's Drugs
Longs was recently bought by CVS (2008), but it is still run under the name Longs because of the tradition that it stand for to local families. 
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: none
Sale schedule: Sun-Sat, ads in Sunday paper
Coupon policy: accepts manufacturer's coupons
Bonuses: They don't do the CVS Extra Care Bucks [ECBs] weekly, but you can build your points and redeem them Quarterly.

Safeway
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: Club card
Sale schedule: Weds-Tues, Sun-Tues. Paper ads in Sunday paper with some in-ad couopns, view their ads online or pick up in store while supplies last.  Comes in Midweek- certain areas only -not mine :(.
Coupon policy: accepts manufacturer's coupons with store coupons and eCoupons.  They also have an official coupon policy to print out and keep with your coupons.  It specifically states they do not accept coupons for B1G1 without a purchase being made and FREE items.
Bonuses: Catalina deals- which is money back when certain products are purchased and also gives out coupons after payment- usually on new products or similar items to what you just bought. 

Costco
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: yes, annual fee- $50
Sale schedule:
Coupon policy: There are coupon booklets they send out to members that are good for about a month at a time.  No manufacturer's coupons are accepted, but they will take formula checks that are mailed and written out to you.
Bonuses: Meat and dairy are very hard to beat anywhere else.  Because of the convenience of bulk shopping, we like to compare our prices to Costco to make sure we are getting the best deal possible- this is something we are working hard to do more often in our store ad posts.    

Sam's Club 
This is the store I know the least about- don't have membership.
Locations: Oahu
Membership card: yes, annual fee- $40
Sale schedule:
Coupon policy: No manufacturer's coupons.  There is a program called eValues: offers are loaded directly onto your Plus Membership card, and the discount is automatically applied at the register.
Bonuses: Click'n'Pull: set up your purchase online, then pick up at the store.  Looks like a great tool- anyone know if this works in Hawaii?

Whole Foods
Locations: Oahu, Maui
Membership card: no
Sale schedule: Every 2 weeks: Thurs-2nd Weds. Ads can be downloaded in .pdf from their website
Coupon policy: They also have their own printable coupons
Bonuses: Organic foods

Walmart
No Super Walmart in Hawaii (some grocery, no meat/produce).
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: no
Sale schedule: Sun-Sat, ad in Sunday paper
Coupon policy: They have a coupon policy to read and print out as well.
Bonuses:  Walmart has a great price-matching policy, as long as you bring in the ad from the other store with the better price.  You can also use a coupon with the price-matched items. 

Kmart
No Super Kmart in Hawaii
Locations: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Membership card: Shop Your Way Rewards (also good at Sears), earns % back 
Sale schedule: Sun-Sat, ad in Sunday paper
Coupon policy: Manufacturer's coupons accepted
Bonuses:  This is the only store I've heard that doubles in Hawaii periodically, but it's a very particular process: with membership card, only 5 coupons, up to $2 in value.  They do have some great dollar deals though.

Target
No Super Target, Target is the newest chain to Hawaii.
Locations: Oahu, Big Island

Membership card: no
Sale schedule: Sun-Sat, ad in Sunday paper and
Coupon policy: Target-only coupons are available that you can print from home and use with a manufacturer's coupon.
Price Matching!
Bonuses: Some of their best deals work when you get a Target gift card back.  These don't expire in 2 weeks like Catalinas or RRs do.  Text OFFERS to TARGET and get the Mobile Coupons sent to your phone.

Walgreen's
Locations: Oahu, Maui
Membership card: none
Sale schedule: Sun-Sat, ad in Sunday paper and online (extras at stores)
Coupon policy: Manufacturer's coupons accepted and stacked with Walgreen's coupons and Monthly coupon booklet
Bonuses: Register Rewards [RR]- one same deal per transaction, then reward can be used on next purchase but expire in two weeks.  This is why I usually do my RR deals in the first transaction and then use the RRs to pay for the remaining non-RR items.
What got me in their store was seeing on some mainland blogs that we had the same prices and sales on most items and how many of them I could get for under $1 and even free.

It is always important to know each store's coupon policy and might want to print and keep them with you in case there are cashiers or managers who aren't aware of it.  

Most sale prices in Hawaii reflect a $.50-$1.00 raise in price for some items (cereals, snacks) and canned food, meat, dairy can go up even more compared to mainland prices. The lowest I've seen for a gallon of milk in a long time is $4.99. Canned veggies and fruits are good at under $1 a can and soups under $2 a can are also a deal.

 

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Contest time! 

 

*Day 3 is a questionnaire

(leave your answer and your email in comments or email to alohadeals@gmail.com): 

What 3 stores you shop at most? 

What one store did you learn something new about and want to try? 

What else do you want to learn on Aloha Deals?

 

*Also go SUGGEST THIS to your friends through the Aloha Deals Facebook page- 20 new friends per day!

BOOT CAMP: Where to find coupons

Today we're going to go over some of the main sources for finding coupons:
1. Newspapers
2. Online sites
3. eCoupons
4. In stores
5. Magazines
6. Order inserts/coupons

1. Newspaper inserts:
Some have asked me if it's worth it to buy multiple papers at $2 each (Honolulu Star-Advertiser- who has connections for getting more than one subscription?).  I see it as manufacturers giving me money to buy their products- sometimes even taking them for free.  If I use more than $2 in coupons from each paper, I'm getting my money back and more. 

Some sites suggest having 1 paper per member of your family.  Having 2 or more of each coupon will also get you more mileage.  We already discussed the B1G1 coupons, but stocking your pantry will go a lot faster when you have more coupons to get more items in that trip.  Kmart is having a 10 for $10 on Barilla pasta this week- I can take in my $.75 coupons and get 5 for $.25, so I'll get 5 for the usual price of 1 ($1.25 is common store price) because I have multiple of the same coupon.

2. Online sites
If you'd rather print coupons (set your printer to the "quick/fast" print setting so you don't use as much ink), there are lots of sites you can check out.  RedPlum and SmartSource have some of the same ones as the newspaper inserts, but you can also use those as having multiples for good sales
Coupons.com
Redplum.com
Smartsource.com

You can go directly to the sites of the products you see on sale and want to find coupons for.  One site I follow suggests a campaign to write 5 companies daily and give them some feedback- positive or negative.  If I do have something negative, I try to let them know what changes I'd like to see, but this has gotten me some good coupons!  It is also why I now look forward to checking my mailbox.  Mailed coupons have been pretty good values- I got a $3 off IAMS coupon from a P&G quarterly mailer, and used it with my $3 off IAMS eCoupon- $5.99 total for an 8 lb. bag of dog food.

*If you click through the links on our website, you will help pay for the upgrades we have done to our site and the extras we do and give away-- we'd really appreciate it!*

3. eCoupons
Right now, Safeway is the only store that uses eCoupons.  These are coupons that are "uploaded" to your Club card and will automatically come off when you buy the particular products.  Please pay attention to if you need to buy 1 item or 2.

There's also a different kind of site- you can upload and get credit for in a different way.  Upromise.com has eCoupons that get credited to your college fund instead of showing it coming off your receipt.  They also have a credit card that gives you 11% back on your grocery purchases.

4. In stores- Blinkies and Booklets
While I'm shopping in stores for groceries, I'm also shopping for free coupons.  The stores have "blinkie" machines for their products in their stores.  When I see them, I take a few and save them for a super sale.  Sometimes I don't use them at the same store I found them in. 

• Safeway had a $.70/1 Kellogg's blinkie that I used on this week's Foodland B3G3 sale.  I showed you how to get those for $.60 per box after the milk coupons, but I got them for $.15 per box because I had those extra blinkie coupons!

• Another example was the $1 off Crest toothpaste I found in Walgreens and I took 3, then Safeway had their $1.25 Crest sale- got each for $.25!

There are also sometimes booklets with coupons in them- some may be for a particular store or sometimes they are general.  Customer service desk is the best place to find any booklets.  Last week Foodland had a Spring Savings booklet with $15 worth of coupons in it (there were alerts through Twitter/Facebook- another good reason to follow!).  These are usually higher amounts than you'll find in printables.  The store-specific coupons can also be used with a manufacturers coupon, so you'll get to stack for extra savings!

When you get your receipt after your purchase, stores also have those machines that print out coupons based on the items you've bought as well.  They are not store coupons, but can be saved and used for a good sale later.  

5. Magazines
One of the best magazines for coupons is the ALL YOU magazine (only found at Walmart).  I did my subscription through Ebates, which gives you $5 back after your first order and about 26% back on the subscription price.  I'm watching for them to double the % back like when I did it, which is an even better deal.  They sent me back a check for the $5 + % back about a month later.

Sign up, then search for "magazines.com" and then "ALL YOU" magazine.
26% back and $5 sign up bonus: under $10 for 12 issues
Or wait until I see them giving double % back to get 12 issues for $6.58- let me know if anyone is waiting!
They also post the list of what coupons are in each issue. 

6. Ordering coupons and inserts
When you know of a month-long sale of something that you want to stock up on or you get a raincheck that you can wait a few weeks on, ordering specific coupons with an added "handling" fee may be your best route.  There are sometimes limits on amounts (up to 10) or minimums on purchase (must have $4 in an order), but this is how you can specifically get coupons you want.  One service is The Coupon Clippers, which sends out coupons on Tuesdays and I think one other day per week.  There's also Coupon Dede, which does whole inserts and clipped.

So there really are some great outlets to get coupons- any combination of these could work for you.

BOOT CAMP: Thinking Outside the Box- Coupon Basics, Contest day 1

I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to saving with coupons. It was a huge transition for me, so I took it slow.  I used to think couponing was hard and confusing but I took it a step at a time.  I ultimately learned that in order to be successful I had to THINK OUTSIDE OF MY BOX.

First I had to expand my horizons when I shopped. A friend stated the other day that "You can't be brand loyal, when the brand is NOT loyal to you!" Isn't that so true? For example: I used to only buy Pampers for my daughter until I realized Huggies was a LOT cheaper and had better coupons (sometimes $3 off per pack!!).  She didn't have allergies so I quickly made the adjustment. So my first step was that I had to decide NOT be brand loyal. I have my particulars like my laundry detergent that I need to keep with because of certain allergies and sensitivities. When I used to be brand loyal, I used to also recycle all the items I would buy despite if it were on sale or not.  Doing this would limit our food menus for each week which made me really bored and not want to prepare meals. Not only did being open to the sales and deals allow us to have a wide variety of meals but I went from saving 30% of my money to 60%.  Many would assume that the food on sale is not healthy for you, but we make sure that our meals are balanced and healthy for us.  I like to create our meal menu from what I already have on stock, you can check that out each Monday to see how I am utilizing what I have already on hand!

Besides just reading the store ads, there is a step further, when you are ready for it. You can begin to CLIP COUPONS. You can find coupons in 3 different places:
** the coupon website and printing the coupons you select
** Sunday paper has inserts (P&G, SmartSource, and Red Plum)
** Ecoupons @ Safeway.com. 
                      (Look for tomorrow's post to find more on "Where to find coupons!")


When you decide to CLIP COUPONS, keep some of these highlights in mind.  These are a few things I learned along the way:

** Clip out EVERY coupon.

Remember that we are not buying one particular brand anymore and you never know when it will go on sale. I used to miss out on many deals because I clipped out only what I thought I'd use. I would lose out on a $1-$2 off here or even a free item. I started to save everything and realized that I was saving more than I was in the beginning which is another way I went from saving 30% all the way to 60% on each shopping trip to Safeway.

** Make Lists!

When you start to accumulate your coupons you'll notice that it helps to make lists of what you need and want to buy while you are out.  I make lists either on the computer or on paper.  I also put a *  next to the item if I have a coupon to go with it at the checkout.  I plan out my trips carefully since I travel with my 1 year old.  Our trips have to be planned and quick.  The lists keep me on track. 

** Get ORGANIZED

Organization is very different for everyone.  My way may not be your way, but the important thing is to organize it YOUR WAY.  When I started to COUPON CLIP, I would set out the coupons for the day and for the particular store. I still kept the other coupons with me just in case I found a deal at the store and could use a coupon I had on hand. After just clipping coupons for a couple of weeks I bought a coupon Organizer that is perfect for me. There are all sorts of ways to organize your coupons. (notebooks, accordian organizers, envelopes, etc)

Couponing is a process and you have to do it at your own pace. If you read the ads in the paper or on this site and find anything confusing, please contact us. We want to help you save! If you have any tips of how you save or find deals, please share your tips with us!

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Now for the weeklong contest: Follow Aloha Deals on Facebook.  Then click on the "Suggest This" tab and confirm you are a fan.  From there, you can pick 20 friends PER DAY you can suggest Aloha Deals to.  That is a possible 100 friends through the course of the week (until Friday).  The person with the most friends joining will be the winner of one our great prizes!

Monday's contest: Any Twitter followers who RT our posts this week can be entered to win $5 of Amazon bucks- can be used toward anything!  1 RT = 1 entry.

You can also follow our Twitter if you don't have an account through an RSS feed for updates in your blog reader to know when a new post is ready or if there's a quick deal to share that isn't long enough to blog about.  Share a link to one of our articles this week in an email/blog/facebook status and you can also be counted in the contest. 

(Include alohadeals@gmail.com in the email, forward a link to us for your blog or type "@Aloha Deals" in your Facebook status so we can view it and count your entry)