Publix – 2.11.11

Ok, I had to send Eric in to town to go to Publix because the 11th was the last day of the Yellow Advantage Deals this go around and they were out of these 2 items when I went in last. It was well worth the trip into town though! Special thanks go to my awesome husband for doing this for me! Love you Eric!
And one thing I need to mention. Publix told Eric that he could use the amount of Publix coupons this time only but to check the website because there are big changes coming in the Publix coupon policy. I went to the website and couldn’t find anything so I emailed them. I’m still waiting to hear back. I really hope this doesn’t put a crimp in our shopping too much because we really rely on those deals to keep our pantry stocked! So keep a watch out, because I’m going to be posting that email as soon as it arrives!

Qty	Product	Reg. Price	Sale Price	Q Used	Final Cost ea.
5	Krusteaz Pancake Mix	$2.27	$1.89	.50/1	.89
16	Scott Towel Extra Long Lasting	$3.19	$2.50	16 - $1.50/1 Publix Q’s	$1.00

Total  before Sales and Coupons	$64.46
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons	$22.52 (of this $2.07 was tax)
Coupons Savings (Manuf.)	$2.50
Coupon Savings (Store)	$26.50
Sales Savings	$12.94
Total Saved	$41.94
Percentage Saved	65%

So now I’ve started my stock of paper towels (Eric was excited about this, because I usually forget to buy these…lol) and I have plenty pancake mix for a while!  Which is something the girls like!  I really do hope that Publix doesn’t drastically change there coupon policy though! Can’t wait for that email to get here so we can all find out at least what our McCalla/Tannehill Publix will be changing!

Publix shopping – 2.6.11

Qty	Product	Reg. Price	Sale Price	Q used	Final Cost ea.
12	12pk Pepsi products (various flavors)	$4.99	$2.49	none	$2.49
1	Lloyd’s BBQ Meat	$5.49	$2.75	1-.75/1	$2.00
3	T. Marzetti’s Dip (Ranch)	$3.49	$1.74	3- $1/1	.74
2	Pompeian Imported Olive Oil	$5.99	$2.99	2- $1/1	$1.99
2	Kraft Mayo 30 oz.	$4.69	$2.34	none	$2.34
2	Mt. Olive Pickles	$2.79	$1.39	2- .50/1	.39
4	Knorr Sides (Noodles)	$1.29	.69	2- .50/1	.14
4	Kraft Shredded Cheese	$4.00	$2.00	1- $1.25/2 Target 2- $1/2 printable	$1.19
2	Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough	$5.00	$2.50	2- $1/1 printable	$1.50
4	Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese	$2.09	$1.25	2- .50/2 Manuf. 1- .50/2 Target	.63
2	Krusteaz Muffin Mix	$2.59	$1.29	2- .55/1	.74
6	Rotel Diced Tomatoes	$1.39	.69	2- $1/3	.36
1	Planter's Dry Roasted Peanuts	$3.19	$1.59	1- .75/1	.84
4	Cheez-It Snack Crackers (box)	$3.89	$1.94	2- $1/2	$1.44
4	Kraft Velveeta Cheese	$3.85	$1.92	1- .50/1 Target	.92 (1) $1.92 (3)
4	Reynolds Wrap Alum. Foil	$4.43	$2.99	4- .75/1	$2.24
30	Campbell’s Condensed Soup (LOTS of varieties for eating and cooking)	$1.50	$1.00	15- .40/2	.60
2	Deer Park Sport bottle water (6-pk)	$4.00	$2.00	2- $1/1	$1.00
4	Gatorade 32oz G2		4/$5.00	none	$1.25
4	EZ Bake Pans	$1.99	.99	none	.99
1	Brillo Pads	$2.99	none	none	$2.99
1	Hertz Hamster Food	$6.99	none	none	$6.99
2	Keebler Chips Deluxe	$3.95	$1.98	none	$1.98
8	Barilla Noodles (bowtie and mostaccioli)	$1.37	.68	none	.68
2	Gatorade (gal)	$3.99	$3.00	none	$3.00
	The following were Raincheck items. It PAYS to always get your rainchecks!
6	BallPark Franks Jumbo 6pk	3.99	$2.00	6- $1.00/2	$1.00
3	Borden Singles Cheese	$2.89	$1.00 (not sure why, but these were supposed to be $2.00)	3	FREE
2	Freschetta Pizza : (just noticing I didn’t get my rain check price. Lesson learned: make sure that EACH item is on it’s own rain check even IF they are listed in the sale together.)			2- $1/1	$5.91
2	Red Baron Pan Pasta
4	French’s Mustard 14 oz	$1.85	.94	2- .30/1 2- .50/1	2- .34 2- Free
2	Publix Reusable Shopping bags	.99		Buy $10 of Pepsi Products get one free	FREE

There may have been some other things that I’ve left off of this list. I honestly have no clue! But point is I got some really great deals this week!  Eric was especially excited about the soda deals. Anyway, here’s the breakdown of amount spent and saved.

Total before Sales and Coupons	$356.35
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons.	$175.46 of this amount $18.13 was tax
Coupon Savings (Vendor)	$42.15
Coupon Savings (Store)	$16.58
Sales Savings	$122.16
Total I saved	$180.89
Percentage saved this week	51% Not great, but considering a lot didn’t have coupons I feel okay with this!

So the biggest thing to remember on next shopping trip.  1. Make sure that all rain checks are written with each item individually regardless of the sale being together (I.E. My Freschetta and Red Baron Rain Check were on the same one and the cashier only did the Red Baron pizzas. Cost me about 7 bucks… lesson learned!  And a side note learned… watch the cashier while ringing up rain checks OR check out all rainchecks separate from regular items!

Publix Shopping – 1.30.11

Qty.	Product	Reg. Price	Sale Price	Q used	Final Cost ea.
2	Tasteful Selections Potatoes 24-28 oz bag	$3.99	$1.99	.50/1	.99
2	A1 Steak Sauce 10 oz.	$4.49	$2.24	2-Man. .30/1 1-Target $1/2	.74
6	Kraft BBQ Sauce	$1.69	.84	NONE	.84
6	Kellogg’s Cereal (2 each-Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks)	$4.39	$2.19	2- $1/3	$1.86
8	Campbell’s Chunky Soup	$2.45	$1.22	4- .50/2	.72
4	V8 Splash 64 oz	$2.79	$1.39	2- $1/2	.89
2	Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Meats 7-9 oz	$6.00	$3.00	1- Target $1/2	2.50
4	Arm & Hammer Toothpaste 6-6.3oz	$3.00	$1.50	4- $1/1	.50
10	Juicy Juice 8pk boxes	$2.99	$1.49	2- .50/1 2- $2/4	2 @ .49 8 @ .99
10	General Mills Chex Mix (flavored)	$2.50	$1.25	5- .50/2	.75
4	Orville Redenbacher’s Popping Corn (2-Butter & 2 Kettle Corn)	$5.07	$2.53	2- $1/2	$2.03
6	Gorton’s Premium Battered Tilapia Fillets	$7.73	$3.86	6- $1/1	$2.86
4	Totino’s Pizza Rolls 40ct	$4.49	$2.24	2- .50/2	$1.81
8	Pillsbury Savorings (several dif. varieties)	$4.49	$2.24	4- $1/2	$1.74
2	Marie Callender’s Dinners Fresh Steamers (loaded Mac N Chs)	$3.59	$1.79	2- $1/1	.79
4	Solo Heavy Duty Plates 22ct	$2.99	$1.50	2- Target $1/2	$1.00
2	Purina Beggin’ Strips 10oz	$5.29	$2.64	2 – Free purina Busy Product w/ purchase 2 – Publix $1/1	$1.64 (plus  free treat)
2	Purina Busy Bone Dog Snacks	$3.50	$3.00	Coupon above	FREE
**	Price before the coupons for the dog treats	17.58		SAVED - $14.30!
2	Chobani Greek Yogurt 6oz	$1.20	$1.00	2- .30/1	.40
4	New York Texas Toast	$3.29	$1.64	4- .50/1	.64
4	Hillshire Farm Deli Selects 5-6oz	$4.00	$2.00	2- Publix $1/2 4- $1/1	.50
4	Ragu Pasta Sauce	$2.45		2- .50/2	1.95
4	Publix Pasta Sauce	$2.45		Buy theirs Get Ours Free Promotion	FREE
2	Mueller’s Spaghetti Noodles	$1.49		2- .55/1	.94
2	Publix Spaghetti Noodles	$1.15		Buy theirs Get Ours Free Promotion	FREE
1	Hellmann’s Mayo w/ olive oil	$4.94			$4.94
1	Publix Ketchup	$1.59	$1.29		$1.29
1	Angel Soft 9roll Double	$5.69	$4.99		$4.99
1	Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Snacks	$2.19			$2.19
1	XBox magazine	$9.99			$9.99
2	Publix Margarine	$1.19			$1.19
1	Gal. Publix Milk	$3.59			$3.59
1	Qt. Publix Choc. Milk	$1.59			$1.59
1	Gal. Barber’s Choc. Milk	$5.29			$5.29
1	Reese’s Hearts (bag)	$3.99			$3.99
1	Publix Cat Food	$3.39			$3.39
1	Gatorade gal	$3.99			$3.99
1	Publix Ice Pops Variety	$2.99			$2.99
1	Publix Ice Pops Banana	$1.79			$1.79

Total before Coupons and Sale Prices	$431.56
Total After Coupons and Sale Prices	$194.80
Coupon Savings (Manuf.)	$47.20
Coupon Savings (Store)	21.10
Sale Price Savings	168.46
Total price of extra items not planned in the shopping trip	$51.21
Had I not had Eric and Aleah “I want this” shopping, lol,  my total price would have been approximately	$150.00
PERCENTAGE SAVED TODAY	45%
Percentage I WOULD have saved without the extra stuff	55%

So, lesson learned on this shopping trip, don’t take 3 year old and husband on shopping trip together! I found myself having a harder time saying no to a 3 year old than I usually do to my husband…lol  Usually I stick straight to the shopping list and rarely buy anything that I’ve not got a coupon for and is not on sale. As you can see my husband will spend $10 bucks on a magazine… I won’t if it’s just for myself. He doesn’t do it often which is why I don’t mind bending my shopping rules when he does want one…lol  And my little girls and husband are suckers for Choc. milk. I should have paid attention though, because I wouldn’t have spent that much on Chocolate milk either, I would have gotten generic!  Plus I try and get my milk at ALDI which is way cheaper, but no time this weekend.  Not a bad shopping trip though. Everyone was happy and instead of freaking about my coupons (I LOVE PUBLIX CASHIERS!) they were walking through the store while I got my rain checks talking about my total saved. I did find out that only 1 more person has been to this Publix, and been through those ladies line, who had saved more than $200.00. That lady saved about $280.00, but I did remind the cashiers that I had quite a few rain checks for a good deal of items that I had planned on buying but they weren’t available…lol  Anyway, I hope your shopping trips for this week were as productive and full of savings as mine was! Don’t forget to check out CVS this week! Good stuff, and if you are new to CVS and don’t have a card, register for one and get a printable $4 coupon!  Jennie at Southern Savers has all your favorite stores and current sales ads along with coupons printed so head on over and get to saving!

Savings Tips from Katy!

Tip 1: buddy up with deal seekers. Let savings bloggers do the heavy lifting. Coupon Mom, Deal Seeking, My Chicago Mommy,
Tip 2: hop on a coupon train. Trade with friends & get deals you really want. Online coupon trading forum : Hot Coupon World or A Full Cup. After signing up you will receive an envelope in the mail with a pile of coupons (between 25-100). Take the ones you like, replenish it, & send it to the next person on the list. And it keeps going on!
Tip 3: Download deals to your grocery card. Make sure that your card is scanned at checkout and save instantly. CellFire & Zavers are a couple of great sites to get started on!
Tip 4: Discover sale products on the fly. Look for discounts while you shop. Look on each aisle for coupon dispensers & attached to products. On the way out check your receipt for coupons printed out & on back. Just remember to be courteous to other shoppers. When taking coupons from the store shelves, these are your blinkies and peelies, remember that others will be along behind you. Common courtesy says take 2 each trip to the store if you desire to. Also don’t take coupons from a product if you are NOT buying that product!

Tip 5: Save everyday on all the products you buy. Snap up store specials: JC Pennys, Shoprite, Target & other retailers deliver deals through their own mobile apps & via text messages.  Savings aren’t just for groceries but for everything you buy!
Tip 6: Get savings in the palm of your hand! Phones have opened up a whole new world of coupons for you! If you own a Smartphone there are coupon apps which help you organize & store coupons - and even compare prices with other stores on the spot. Look into Facebook for iPhone or android. Many times you can find coupons on product pages on FaceBook and if you simply LIKE their product they will allow you to print a coupon for their product!  Check places for individual deals (discounts, free stuff, or other rewards), friend deals (where you & a pal claim something together), loyalty deals (for regulars ) & charity deals (businesses donate to a cause every time you check in). 
     Redlaser for iPhone. To figure out if you are getting the best deal - you point your phones camera at the product bar code & receive prices from nearby stores & popular online retailers. If you find it lower elsewhere ask a manager to match it.
CardStar for iPhone, blackberry, windows or android. Keep track of all your reward cards with this handy app. Enter all your membership numbers into the app , Toss out your cards & let the cashier scan your phone to get your points.
Yowza for iPhone, blackberry, android or palm pre. This aggregator scours the Internet for you & let's you choose the coupons you want. You can also create a list of your favorite stores. To redeem coupons, have cashier scan from your phone.
Shared by: blogger – Mash Up Mom
More Tips from coupon experts.
Simplify your search - use PPGazette to save time from searching many websites.
Do your research - check Free Snatcher on Fridays to get a list of coupons that will be in the Sunday paper. If the deals are good get more than one paper.
Shop prepared - take a calculator to figure out which brand is cheaper by the ounce with the coupon deducted.
Question authority- Ask manager if store takes expired coupons or price matches competitor coupons. Save a bundle when you pair sale items & store coupons.
Be charitable - never throw out a coupon - donate it to a food pantry or Womans shelter or trade it.
Editors tip - Check out The Find a website that will tell you were to buy the product, lists coupons, & reviews.
Join the moms club. Check out Mothers & More - great resource for connecting with other Moms in your area for advice, child care & play groups, and to buy & sell or swap kids items.
Shop on Deal days: Target slashes kids clothing on Mondays. Old Navy & Gap often markdown items midweek. Shop the sales at the end of the season for the following year & you'll pay a fraction of the full retail price.
You can resale outgrown clothing to resale & thrift stores for a little extra cash.
Go green & trade outgrown clothes for new ones: thredUP , kizoodle , Zwaggle & Peace Love Swap .
Simplify to save by leaving the kids at home. Buy clothes that will last. And don't overbuy.
Spend less on entertainment, books & toys. Search for printable coupons for toys & games at Coupons.com , target.com & Hasbro play saver.
Save on refurbished at BestBuy & GameStop both have pre-owned video games & gadgets & give store credit for old ones.
Drop into discount stores like TJMaxx for quality marked down toys.
Go green - Toys To Trade , Swap My Games , and swap.com for books CDs DVDs & games. Or find in person swaps near you at: Peace Love Swap.
Spend Less on baby gear. Hold a swap - gather moms in your area to trade kids gear. Start by using All You Swap.
Find discounts - BabyCheapSkate scours the web for the best deals every week.
Join Amazon mom at Amazon.com for deals on diapers & related accessories (30% off), plus free delivery extends to most amazon items.
Buy & sell at RockBuyGear & it donates 2% of all proceeds to Children's charities.
Go green - for baby & maternity gear FreePeats & Swap Baby Goods
Also check out All You (also for exclusive coupon codes for online ordering) for more info on any of the above or pick up a copy of all you magazine at Wal-Mart & for sure get a subscription:-) Awesome magazine!! While you are at there website visit there FREEBIES page and every day there is a new product that you can try for free. Remember that these often come with 1 or more coupons!
Hope y'all got a little piece of info you may not have already known;-)  May you each have a great week!!
Hugs & God Bless~
Katy

Coupons 1.23.11

Ok, Southern Savers posts a coupon insert preview every week. You can view the full list HERE and see if it's worth getting the paper for you. If you are like me and you just get the papers regardless as long as there are inserts then this Sunday there will be 2 inserts. 1 RedPlum and 1 SmartSource.

The Binder Method

I decided that I'd make a quick post on coupon binders. This is NOT the easiest method by far. It takes time to gather, clip, sort, and file your coupons. But for a POTSY like myself, time is something I usually have plenty of. This method has been the best for me because everything is sorted by category in one location, my binder. I got my binder categories from The Krazy Coupon Lady's website. You can go straight to the categories HERE and print ready made sheets or make your own. I actually split the Pets category into Cats and Dogs because it was easier for me this way. I made my own dividers just using construction paper and a marker. This allowed me to tweak the categories provided.  By using the categories, you can get the most out of your binder. It allows you to flip straight to soups if you are looking for a soup coupon.  Or if pasta is what you need, then flip to the pasta section! I would also invest in tabs that you can place on your divider sheets so that you can flip faster and more efficiently. I started out without tabs and it took me too long to find the sections. Tabs made it much easier!
Next, perhaps the most important part of the binder is the way you store your coupons. Get to your local supercenter (Target or Wal-Mart) and find baseball trading card holders. These are thing plastic sheets with 9 pockets per sheet. You can store up to 18 different coupon sets per sheet. Just turn the sets back to back and slide into a card slot. Some don’t like folding their coupons to fit into the slots, so they prefer using the photo sheets. I did a quick search and found 2 different types that I myself might be interested in. Both by We R Memory Keepers and found on Amazon.com but I’m sure that you could find what you prefer at Wal-Mart, Target, or even a craft or hobby store.  Basically these will allow you to store your larger coupons without having to fold them. If I do decide to go ahead and buy these and use them, I’ll post a photo showing you. I’m sure that not having to fold a stack of coupons would save space as far as thickness of the binder, so this is probably something I’ll definitely look into getting. I’ll let you know! :)
Perhaps the absolute most important part of the binder method is the binder itself! I had a briefcase binder that my husband had bought for me several years ago, but many use the binders that you find in the school supplies at your local store. Just be certain you get one that is large enough because you don’t want to outgrow your first binder if you spend money on it! So don’t shop too small!

This is the inside of mine. As you can see there are pockets allowing many different uses here. I have slots where I keep all my store bonus cards. There are is a slot on the left that is perfect for holding a small calculator (a must have when following a budget!). The slot on the right is probably for a cell phone, but I place my coupons that I don’t use during a shopping trip in it. Many times I’ll have coupons pulled that I intend on using but the item is sold out. So that I don’t lose my coupons I don’t use, I slide them in this slot and put them in their proper place later on.  There are also two folder slots, you can see one folder sticking out of the front slot there. I put inserts in these, as well as coupon books that I’ve not yet clipped out of like the P&G books you can get by mail. Oh and a pen or pencil and there are 2 slots here for those. In the back of my binder there is a notebook that I make my lists on every week. And last but not least I always keep envelopes in my binder. I have one for each of the main stores I frequent. I just reuse these every time I shop. This gives me a place to store the coupons for the planned shopping trip without misplacing them and mixing the different stores up.  For instance, all the coupons I plan on using at Publix go into my Publix envelope and so forth.  If you are super frugal then just use the envelopes from junk mail, they are great for this and they are always plenteous!
Well I guess that just about does it on the binder method. Like I said this isn’t the easiest or quickest of the methods, but it is the one that has worked the best for me. I have everything I need in one place. Categorized and portable.  It does take quite a bit of time clipping the coupons and storing them, I usually spend several hours on one day of the week doing this or I split it up. One day I’ll take out all the inserts and separate the pages. The next I might start the clipping process and only do a few pages and store those away. It all depends on how I’m feeling.  You might also be thinking about clipping being doing a page at a time. What I would suggest is to separate the pages. Then take 3-5 sheets of the same page, and either using scissors or an exacto blade cut the coupons out all at once. I use a cutting board and a razor knife and this works best for me. Anyway, Good luck with your binder! And since there may be some who do not think the binder method is best for them, I’ll try and find posts around the internet on the other methods being used.

PUBLIX 50% off sale!

This Saturday and Sunday (1.22 and 1.23 2011) Publix will have ALL Kellogg's Cereal and Pop Tarts at 50% off. Grab your coupons and head in for some GREAT deals and stock up!