Jill Cataldo

I do share the current codes at the end of my workshops whenever they're available. And I will have new codes for you soon as part of Deals of the Week. There hasn't been much going on with new codes for the Trib lately, but I hear that's changing... :) I would say I should know more within the next week or two. And, Christmas is an okay week to let a subscription run out anyway, as we get no coupon inserts.

Honestly, I don't know the answer to that. It would be up to the commissary where the shopper was trying to redeem them - they have coupon policies just like any other store.

It was in a Kohl's ad that came in the newspaper - the entire flyer was in Spanish.

Some of the best stockpile storage solutions come right from readers' suggestions -- I remember an email from a couple that said they needed a home for their stockpile far more than they needed a linen closet. They moved the towels and sheets to shelves in their master bedroom closet and re-appropriated the linen closet for groceries!

... and it's tough, because Rite-Aid has come out and said they won't take gang-cut -- while lots of Walgreens do exactly what you've described. That's the first I've heard of them stapling insert coupons to the shelf, but many stores do clip and keep the extras in a box at the makeup counter.

This year, the insert distributors are really starting to crack down on what happens to those unsold inserts, as they believe they should not be distributed if they weren't sold to someone.

Check your store's coupon policy. Some stores' policies indeed do state that coupons must contain "a valid expiration date." At these stores, those coupons would likely not be accepted. At stores that do not have that stipulation in their policies, they would probably be accepted, because again, they WILL scan if the barcode is present.

However, I'd use them soon - those older coupons probably also have the UPC-A (older-style) barcode, which is supposed to disappear completely by the end of the year from our newer coupons. I am honestly not sure if registers will continue to read the older barcode too, or only the GS1 at that point.

I found a good tearpad of red gold cherry tomatoes coupons w/o an expiration date... I still have some left. They also have a barcode, but where you would normally see the words and date for expiration date, it reads "no expiration date". So I would be interested to hear this as well. I suppose Jewel would not take it, but other than that I don't know. This tearpad was located in the produce section of Dominick's, back when they still took expired coupons.

It may just be your internet connection? The video wants to play faster than it loads so then it pauses and restarts after more has loaded.

If it's not that then I'm not sure . . .

It took me a while to figure out how to get things to work as well. I am not able to print at work, since my company locks down all downloads, and ya haveta download their special coupon program. At home, only one of our four computers allows me to print coupons, which is unfortunate but I deal. Maybe one day I can at least get my netbook going!

One thing I discovered is the one computer that does work seems to like it when I use Internet Explorer. I hate that browser, really can't stand it whatsoever, but if that's the one sacrifice I have to make to save all the money we've been doing, well then by golly that's the browser I use. Firefox is what I prefer, but it just isn't compatible for some odd reason. (Pssst! If anyone knows of another compatible browser, Chrome perhaps, please let me know! IE is so s-l-o-w and buggy!)

One thing too - when trying to print coupons, "clip" a coupon you have no intention of using to try it out. Sites like coupon.com only let you print so many, so why take the chance of losing a coupon you actually have an interest in using? For me, that would be something like diapers, since we haven't had babies in the house in a long time. ;)

the first time you use a coupon printing website (like smartsource or coupons.com) it prompts you to download a coupon printer. After the first time you download it, you wont' need to continue downloading it every time. If you've installed a filter that is blocking that application it could be the problem. You should check that it's not blocking your printing capabilities. Hope this helps !

Jill's way of shopping is a totally different thought process than "normal" grocery shopping - like she says, "stick with me and you'll never shop the same way again!" Sounds like you should first change your thought process - look at sales and then plan meals, instead of planning meals and then shopping. For example - if chicken is on sale $1.49/lb, stock up on chicken. Put a couple week's worth in your freezer and leave 1 pack out for dinner for that night/week. If it's pork that's on sale this week, buy a bunch of pork. Then you have your main dish (protein) covered. Then you can follow Jill's sales and stock up on other things you need for meals like: boxed potatoes, soup, marinade packets, frozen veggies, refrigerated pillsbury rolls, etc.

Here is a few examples of what I do:
Buy a large pack of chicken breasts when on sale. Cook 3 chicken breasts for dinner that night (maybe bacon-wrapped chicken, or grilled marinated chicken, or something.) I bake the rest with only oil, salt & pepper and put in fridge. Then the next night I might make chicken pot pie or chicken noodle casserole.
My hubby loves biscuits and gravy, so one day I'll make that for breakfast. I cook ALL the sausage & biscuits in the morning, but I only use 1/2 of it for the breakfast. Then I use the rest of the sausage in a pasta for dinner. If there are rolls left I just warm up the rolls again for dinner.
When there are sales on fresh vegetables (like the 1- for 10 11th free at Meijer) I will get a bunch of, say, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, etc, and just re-use them in different ways throughout the day and throughout the week (ie omelettes for breakfast, a salad for lunch, put them in pasta for dinner). Again, you're making the most of what you have even if you only bought what was on sale.

Some weeks, if there aren't any OUTSTANDING sales and you're on a tight budget, you might just have to get creative and say, Well, what's in my freezer, cabinets, fridge, and how can I make a meal out of it? Honestly Jill's way of shopping can save you even more money because you stock up when things are SUPER cheap, and that way even if you DO have a week where you are really tight on budget or don't have money to go shopping at all, you should have enough to get you through just by cleaning out your pantry. You're not forced to go spend money on groceries, because you already have them!! :)

I've only recently learned to be more efficient with my menu planning based on the couponing sales. It sounds like you're a pretty organized lady though, so it will probably come more easily to you, once you just tweak your thinking a little bit!! :) hope this helps!

I would suggest changing your menu planning to weekly. This way you can plan your meals around what is on sale. At least until you have your stockpile, then you can go back to planning a month at a time. If you plan your trips right, you would only need to make one trip a week. For me the closest Target and major grocery stores are in the next town about 30 minutes away. I have a Walmart in my town but I plan a weekly trip to the next town. It still makes it worth it even with the rising gas prices because I am getting my groceries for next to nothing. I hope this helps.

Funny thing is... I turn my columns in to my editor almost 2 months before you guys see them. I'm working on May's columns right now..!

That first year of couponing indeed goes fast, doesn't it?

With the one-minute tips, many of the newspapers that syndicate my column in print were looking for a short, fast way to deliver more coupon tips via their websites -- so, I started reworking tips for these videos, and my syndicator launched the video tips almost a year ago. It's been a fun way to present some of the same class & column material in a quick and easy-to-understand format. I'm glad you like them. :)

I agree. I have a very large family, and it is frustrating to find the shelves empty and see people with tons of the same stuff in their cart. Yes, people should take enough for themselves and extra for the future, but think of others when piling up your cart.

With you Momof4 :)

Truly, some of the mail I get is incredible. There are days I think I've heard the "worst" stories of bad in-store experiences you can imagine, and then I read something worse.

Click their page, then click "60 Second Savings" and scroll down to the columns - they have an archive of my past year's worth of columns there too.

Thanks -- that's something we started doing this year. My content syndicator had so many requests for a video/web component to the articles... hence, "Sixty Second Savings!"

the coupon issue at Target was addressed on this mornings WGN news just before 9. Target has known about this "computer glitch" since August and has done nothing. They did say you can go to customer service and be refunded the difference. Like our time isnt valuable!!!!