Publix and the Wonders Found Therein

For several months now I have been meaning to post on the great deals we've been getting at Publix. If you don't already shop there, you should, because our grocery bill has been cut drastically. Now, before I begin telling you of our shopping sprees, I must tell you that because of the current market and our need to pinch every penny we can, we have altered our way of eating. We still try to eat as healthfully as possible, but we cannot afford all of the organic stuff right now.

Every week, when we get the new Publix ad (which runs Thursday to Wednesday), we go to this website: www.southernsavers.com She spells out all of the deals and links to coupons (or tells you of a newspaper coupon) available for each deal. Publix has many items that are buy one get one free (BOGO). They will accept store coupons, manufacturer coupons, and competitor coupons. That means you can BOGO and stack 3 coupons making certain items almost free (and sometimes earning money towards the rest of your bill). Now, here's the deal...once you have been doing this for a while, you will have a nice stockpile of groceries with which to plan meals. In the beginning, you may have to plan your meals based upon what you can get that current week.

Just so you know, we have used coupons for Target and Food Lion as competitor coupons. I have linked to a Target coupon below for the Pepperidge Farm bread. This link will take you to the "Hot Coupon World" website. The page that comes up lists all the coupons available at Target. All you have to do is find the ones that you want, enter the number of coupons (unlimited) in the box, and then click on "Get coupons." Once your page of coupons comes up, you can print them. It's that easy!

Here are some deals that we scored this week. If you want to take advantage of them, you will need to get to a Publix before Thursday.

Arm and Hammer toothpaste is BOGO (normally $2.99 each)
Print (2) coupons here for $1 off each tube (makes them about $0.50 each)

Lipton tea bags (24 ct.) are BOGO (normally $3.99 each)
Get (2) "Family is its own Reward" booklets found in store. Use (2) coupons for $1 off each box (makes them about $1 each).

Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal is BOGO (normally $3.99 each)
Print (2) coupons here for $2 off each box (which EARNS you $0.01 total--FREE plus some!!)

Kraft BBQ sauce is BOGO (normally $1.49 each)
Print (2) coupons here for $1 off each bottle (which EARNS you $0.51 total--FREE plus some!!)

Lawry's 30-minute marinades are BOGO (normally $2.29 each)
Use (2) coupons from the Red Plum 5/17 insert for $0.50 off each bottle (makes them about $0.65 each)

Ragu Pasta sauce is BOGO (normally $2.27 each)
Print (1) coupon (or as many as you want) here (for IE) or here (for FF) for $1 off 2 jars (makes them about $0.64 each)
OR
Use (2) coupons from "Family is its own Reward" booklet found in store for $0.75 off 1 jar (makes them about $0.39 each)

Breyer's ice cream is BOGO (normally $4.25 each)
Use (2) coupons from Red Plum 5/17 insert for $0.75 off each carton (makes them about $1.38 each)
OR
Use (2) coupons from "Family is its own Reward" booklet found in store for $1.50 off each carton (makes them about $0.63 each)

Lysol Bathroom or Kitchen cleaner is BOGO (normally $2.69 each)
Use (2) coupons from Smart Source 6/07 insert for $0.55 off each bottle (makes them about $0.80 each)
OR
Print (2) coupons here for $0.50 off each bottle (makes them about $0.85 each)

Kotex Pantiliners are BOGO (normally $2.95 each)
Print (1) coupon here for $1.50 off two boxes (makes them about $0.73 each)
OR
Use (2) coupons from Smart Source 6/14 insert for $1 off one box (makes them about $0.48 each) ---We did not have this coupon in our insert, but I thought I would mention it for those of you who may have gotten it.

Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Bread is on sale for $1.99 (normally $3.29)
Print (1) coupon (or more if you like) here for $1 off one loaf (makes them $0.99 each)

If you bought all of this at full price, it would cost you $57.11!!! By taking advantage of the BOGO deals and by using coupons all of this would only cost you $9.80!!! That is a savings of 82.8%!!!! WOW!!!

Our total grocery bill this week (had we paid full price for everything) would have been $225.47. After taking advantage of some BOGO deals and other sale items, using coupons as much as possible ($49.50 is what we used), and even paying full price for some items (like fruits and vegetables) our total bill was only $99.73!! That's a savings of 55.8%!!! Sweet!!!

Now, there are other good deals, but I've just hit some of the highlights of some really great deals. So, check out the current ad and the "Southern Savers" website to see what deals you might like to take advantage of this week.

Happy Shopping!!!