Catalinas
Catalina machine
Recently a lot of you have asked, what is a Catalina?
Catalinas are coupons that print out of the Catalina Machine, hence the name Catalinas. These machines are located right next to the registers. Most of you have probably received coupons from them before. But other great things print from them as well. Here is what you can expect to find:
- Dollar off coupons: These are coupons that are part of a Catalina deal such as buy X amount of products and get $XX back. Or buy $XX product and get $XX back. These are good on your next shopping trip to the store.
- Manuafacturer coupons: Regular manufacturer coupons print from the catalina machines however they are to be used at that particular store. You can use them at another store if that store takes competitor coupons.
- Store Coupons: Store coupon will print from the catalina machine as well. Today, was a first for me at Shoprite. I actually recieved a whole bunch of store coupons which can be stacked with manufacturer coupons.
- Upcoming Deals: Deals that are scheduled in the near future will sometimes print out a catalina letting you know it’s coming.
Here are some suggestions to help make your deals go smoother:
- Is the machine working: Make sure that the green light is lit on the machine before you begin your transacation. Sometimes I will ask the cashier if coupons are printing from the machine before I load up my groceries. Of course you only have to worry about this when you are actually doing a catalina deal.
- Requirements for the deal: Make sure you have met every requirement for the deal to work. Do you have the exact products, quantities or dollar amounts required?
- What if Your Catalina Does Not Print: If your catalina did not print, don’t hesitate to go to customer service. If the deal is advertised in your circular, you should have no problem dealing with customer service at the store. If it’s not advertised, then I would just recommend calling the Catalina company directly at 1-888-8COUPON or 1-888-826-8766 or via email [email protected].
Keeping your Catalinas organzied:
I know we have a lot of coupons. Between inserts, printable, magazines, blinkie, peelies and anywhere else we find coupons. What do you do with yet more coupons? How do you not loose them?
Well here is my solution. Store coupon books:
As I had mentioned in my Coupon Organization Video, I use inexpensive photo books as store coupon books. Each week, when I am getting my coupons ready for my shopping trip, I put them in my store coupon book along with my shopping list. All the Catalinas I received for that store are in the coupon book so they are easy to find.
To see Catalinas in action, check out my post on How to Successfull Roll A Catalina.