Couponing at Publix

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I’m saving money using coupons. I’m going to only address couponing at Publix in this post. I do shop at CVS and BJs, but we’ll start with Publix :o)

Some of the rules you need to know first:

· Publix allows the use of one manufacturer coupon AND one store coupon per item purchased. This applies to BOGO (Buy One Get One) items as well. So, say mayo is on BOGO. You can use as many as 2 Publix coupons and 2 manufacturers coupons on those 2 items. It’s like applying FOUR coupons to one item because the other one is already free!

· Publix accepts competitor coupons. Check with your store to confirm who they consider their competitor. I use Target and Winn Dixie coupons all the time! Even the “$10 off of a $50 purchase”.

· Publix does not accept expired coupons.

· Publix accepts internet printables (IP’s). Many Publix will not accept IP’s for free items or IP’s over $5 in value.

Where do I get my coupons?

· I have one paper delivered to me and I get the paper coupons from one or two family members each week.

· I print a good amount of coupons online from different sources. I follow several blogs that will link to coupons. There are also coupon sites that reset coupons on the first of every month.

· I sign up for free samples online and they will often send coupons with them.

· Publix has flyers and coupons in a kiosk at the front of the store. Be sure to look there. Every month or even more often they have two flyers that come in the paper and are also in that kiosk at the front of the store. One is a green flyer and one is yellow. These are great coupons to pair with a manufacturers coupon. If you have a baby, sign up for the Baby Club. You get some great coupons (that aren't just baby related) in there!

Blogs I like:

o http://www.iheartpublix.com/ This website is awesome! Sales and BOGOs change on Thursdays and this website will post the sales on Monday. That has helped me tremendously in being able to plan out my shopping BEFORE I go to the store.

o http://www.southernsavers.com/ (There is a tab that relates only to Publix)

Printable coupon sites:

o Coupons.com

o Smartsource.com

o Redplum.com

Now that you know the rules and where to find coupons, let me just ramble a bit. People tell me all the time that they don’t understand how a person can save so much because they can never find coupons for the items they buy. Well, if you’re only shopping for the stuff you ‘normally’ buy then you’re not going to save a whole lot. I’ve been couponing for about 4 months and I can typically save 50% or more at Publix. On a good shopping trip I use $40-$50 in coupons. There are a lot of things that I buy whether they're on sale or not, but I’ve learned that we can be flexible with a lot of things, too. I also stock up when there is a sale. I used to only clip coupons for things I would normally buy. Now, I clip coupons for ANYTHING I might be interested in. Why? Because if it goes on sale or BOGO and I have coupons to pair with it then the item is SUPER cheap. I shopped the other day and I had a $1 manufacturer’s coupon and a $1 Target coupon for Bagel Bites. I’ve never bought them before. They were $2.49 regular price so that means they were 50 cents after the coupon. How could I NOT get them? It’s that way for A LOT of things! It’s all about pairing sales with coupons. That’s how you get things really cheap.

You won’t save money on produce and fruits, but you can shop the sales around those items. I save a lot on boxed goods, cereal, condiments, household products, and personal items, and diapers.

It takes time to coupon, but it's been worth it for me. I HATED grocery shopping before and made my husband do most of it, but now it's like a game and a fun challenge and I love it!

Here is how I organize my coupons. I started with a little accordion organizer, but quickly switched to a one inch binder. I bought baseball card holder pages to put each coupon in and then divided it into five categories with tabs. So yeah, I take this into the store with me. I totally thought I'd get some crazy looks (and maybe I do), but I get a lot of great comments!

Here's my stockpile of personal items. A lot of this is from my CVSing, but some is from Publix, too. We have more deoderant, body wash, shaving cream, razors, toothpaste, and shampoo/conditioner than anyone would ever need. I think we'll be making a donation around Christmas time. It's kind of out of control. I can't pass up FREE stuff though!