My parents came into town last night and we have been having a really enjoyable and relaxing time with them. We went out to Pizza Perfect for dinner last night and then headed out to the Pancake Pantry this morning for breakfast (can you say Sweet Potato pancakes)? We have been lounging around all afternoon just enjoying each other's company.
We spent some time telling my parents about the wonderful world of couponing. My mom just laughed and laughed when I told her how much we save every week. So, Jason and I decided to head out to do a deal to show my parents first hand how easy it is to save money. It was so much fun to go shopping together and to enjoy the process of getting things for free. I'm still having so much fun shopping from week to week with my husband. I don't think I could enjoy this as much without him. He is starting to do better than me at his savings. :)
I guess I need to pull out the big guns to pass him up....
Ok, here's the deal (two shops combined):
Charcoal Deal:
8 Glad Sandwich bags $1.79 ea ($1/1 Q and $1/1 FLIP = FREE+)
1 Ground Pork $1.89 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Ground Pork $1.69 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Ground Pork $1.77 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Pork Back Rib Tips $1.84 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Pork Cubed Steak $1.71 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Pork Cubed Steak $1.68 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Pork Cubed Steak $1.50 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Pork Cubed Steak $1.05 ($6 off pork wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Ground Beef $1.81 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Beef cubed steak $1.50 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Beef cubed steak $1.50 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Beef cubed steak $1.12 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = FREE+)
1 Ground Beef $2.38 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = .38)
1 Ground Beef $2.54 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = .54)
1 Ground Beef $2.54 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = .54)
1 Beef patties $2.49 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = .49)
1 Filet Mignon $13.08 ($2 off beef wyb charcoal Q = $11.08)
8 Kingsford $6.99 ea ($3/1 Q = $3.99 ea)
Two $5/50 competitor coupons
Other Items:
8 Philly Cream Cheese $1.25 ea ($1/1 Q & $1/2 Publix Q = FREE+)
10 Apple & Eve $1.39 ea ($.50/1 Q & $1/1 Publix Q = FREE+)
6 Reach $1.49 ea ($1/1 Q & $1/1 Publix Q = FREE+)
1 Large Eggs $1.09 ea (FREE Eggs competitor Q = FREE)
31 Kool Aid $.20 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
4 Sugar $.85 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
2 Sugar $1.15 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
1 Chicken legs $1.79 ($1.75 off chicken wyb 2% Kraft = .04)
2 Buitoni $2.19 ea ($1/1 Q & $1/1 Publix Q = .19 ea)
2 Cool Whip $.75 ea ($1/2 = $.25 ea)
4 Bush's Beans $1.00 ea ($1/2 = $.50 ea)
3 Kraft Cheese $2.00 ea ($1/1 Q = $1.00 ea)
1 Blue Bell $6.59 ea ($1/1 Q = $5.59 ea)
1 M&M's $2.35 ea (no coupon = $2.35 ea)
1 Hershey's Syrup $.88 (no coupon = $.88 ea)
TOTAL: $241.53
TOTAL WITH COUPONS: $11.16 (.73 balance $10.43 tax)
SAVINGS: 95%
37 comments:
How fun to be able to show this to your parents! What was their reaction?
Hi Lisa. Welcome to my little home away from home. :)
My parents didn't believe that we could save that much on groceries. It was fun to see their reaction. My dad was non-plussed but my mom thought it was so great. She especially thought it was fun when I stocked her up with a bunch of free stuff to take back to Houston.
so you used $6 off coupons but really didn't get that much pork??? They let you do this?
I live in murfreesboro, so I am going to have to follow your blog to see all the great deals you get. You are so much better at this than me. I like southern savers but find I have none (OK almost none) of the coupons she has listed, do you have this problem? And how many papers do you get?
Great trips!! I haven't seen the $2 off beef when you purchase charcoal. Where did you get it?
lol! My grandmother goes with me, sees my receipts and she STILL can't believe it! :)
Thanks again SO SO much for the Morningstar- I know it's probably no biggie to you since you don't eat it, but it was so sweet of you b/c we go through those like wildfire around here. :D You're the best!
(I would offer you some meat in return- but I don't think you need it! LOL!!!)
After showing my in-laws what can be done with coupons, they now drive 1.5 hours to shop at Publix (that's the closest one to them).
They said they'd spend $20 in gas to get $200 in savings each month.
Great trip. I am loving the charcoal deal.
Chantelle, it's not any different than using overage on a different kind of item.
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Cheap & Sweet, I actually don't buy papers anymore. I get all of mine from the recycle bin and I buy my coupons off of EBAY for certain items that we don't get in this area.
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Dr. Mom, I found that coupon at Food Lion as a tearpad.
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Earthy, thanks for wanting to offer meat. I appreciate it! We definitely have more meat than we need. :)
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Proverbs Wife, I'm loving the charcoal deal too; can't believe how many coupons there are for charcoal this summer. Does anyone know if it was like this last summer? I didn't start couponing until August 2008 so I don't know if this is normal or not. Seems like it is a special campaign but I'm not sure.
Ok, nice to meet all of you. I'm enjoying getting to know you; I've been on most of your blogs and it's been fun to hang out.
Always impressive!! I've said before I'm getting jealous of the FL and the charcoal deals, but now I am totally there! :) Just call me green eyed monster hahaha!
Thanks for the tip on the Philly Cream Cheese regarding the Publix Q. I have the $1.00 MQ but didn't think about using the PQ for the bricks.
I know one Glad q was a FLIP but what was the other $1 off q?
Anon, the $1/1 manufacturer Q came from the "Fire up the Grill, Fire up the music" booklet. It expires 9/30/09.
Okay...Question...I just realized that I can use the $6.00 off Pork wyb charcoal because one of the stores is Food Depot. How would you suggest I use this to help benefit me since I can't use a FL Q? I could use one if I went into the city, but that is more difficult since I have a 2 year old. :) Thanks in advance. Also, don't worry replying in a hurry b/c I know how time is when your parents are in town. :)
Bethany, I am not familiar with Food Depot and I'm not sure that their POS system allows for overages on the coupon. Therefore, I couldn't recommend a use for the coupon.
Also, you can use the $6 off Pork coupon at any store; it does not have to be used at the stores listed on their website as the wording of the coupon does not state that it has to be used at the stores listed.
You did an AWESOME job on this trip. This is much to be desired. I just moved to Florida, and they have a Publix down here but I have no idea how to maximize my savings.
I run an online website/magazine for women who want to live more frugally. I was wondering if you would be interested in writing a four part series on how to shop at Publix and then maybe post your super savings once a week on my website.
Please send me an email at msshadiggy {at} gmail.com if you are interested.
which publix do you shop at? i've never been able to use more than one of a certain flip at a time! i usualy shop at nipper's corner, or maryland farms in brentwood!
Stacey, I shop all over town. I shop at:
Nipper's Corner (Nashville)
Maryland Farms (Brentwood)
Concord (Brentwood)
Cool Springs (Franklin)
Royal Oaks (Franklin)
Were the Apple & Eve juices on sale? Can you please tell me what size they were?
Thanks,
Kay
Just found your blog. I'm excited to find another Nashville couponer...always nice to know about the local deals. Looks like I'm on the opposite side of town from you though. I always wish I could hear from other people about which stores are the most coupon friendly.
Oh, and also, which recycle bins are you going to? That's how I do it too! Have you had good experiences with dumpster diving around here? Only once did I have a grumpy lady get mad at me for it. She was just being mean, but I still feel a bit nervous about it now. :)
Kay, welcome to my local Nashville blog. The Apple & Eve juices were not on sale. There are two kinds that will provide overage and they are both in the organic juice section (not the regular juice section). There are 3-packs of Apple & Eve 100% juice for $1.59 and smaller 4-packs of Apple & Eve 100% juice for $1.39. Hope that helps.
gaijingirl, welcome to the blog. We love to hang out with our local peeps! Where do you live? I'll let you know if I've heard about your stores. I have several folks from my church that are couponing all over Nashville and we share information about our local stores.
I used to go to the recycle bins by Nipper's corner (at the Walmart). They just moved them though and we haven't seen them at their new location (which is supposed to be at a park down the street on Edmondson). I have never had a problem dumpster diving and neither has my husband. I don't talk to anyone while I'm there and I don't respond to people when they talk to me (I'm from Los Angeles originally and we don't talk to people we don't know; probably because we grew up with so many crazy folks around us)!
WOW...Great Job! I'm local to Nashville as well and have been teaching classes here for quite some time...it's always great to meet the other local couponers ;-) I came across your blog via Frugal Dr. Mom :-) Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!!!
Blessings...Angel
www.FaithfulandFrugal.blogspot.com
Which of those Nashville stores allow you to use more than one store coupon (food lion, etc) at a time?.....it is frustrating to have to do lots of small purchases some weeks!
Stacey, YMMV on this one. It just depends on your cashier. I've used more than one at each of the stores listed above. But if your deal doesn't work out then realize that they have the right to reject the coupons because they say "one per transaction" on them. My experience has been that "everything depends on your cashier." I choose my cashiers very carefully (there are coupon-friendly cashiers and not-so-friendly cashiers).
Brandy at ipreferpublix.blogspot.com sometimes lists the cashiers that she likes. I have toyed with the idea of doing a visual series on the cashiers that I like.
Stacey, PS - I try not to use more than 3 or 4 FLIPS in one transaction. My husband and I go shopping together and all of our cashiers know us. We shop on the same day at the same store every week and then we make special trips to other stores during the week.
It really helps to have a reputation at your store for being an upright couponer. We love our cashiers and our stores. We give alot of the items that we get for free to the cashiers and the baggers. This is a good thing to do as it lets them know that you care about them and it is a way of saying thank you for all their time.
Awesome idea about giving freebies away to the cashiers and baggers. I give coupons to them but never thought about the actual item.
Question...I am going to attempt the charcoal deal at Publix this week with my newfound Food Depot (competitor store) Q. I just bid on 10 of the $4 charcoal Q's. We apparently didn't get that wonderful Q in Atlanta. :( Do you suggest I get a raincheck for the charcoal since I don't think my charcoal Q's will get here in time. Also, what do you think is a good price to pay for them. Thanks as always!!
Awesome thank you...I just came back from Publix and found them...kind of figured they would be near the section where my son's soy milk was when I saw the word "organic" on the Q. I forgot to check back here before I left so I came over to let you know that I did find them.
One more question...where did the $1/1 Glad Q come from. I'm searching through my things and could use some guidance.
Thanks...Kay from SC
I shop at the Publix in the Mt. Juliet and Hermitage areas. Mt. Juliet used to be my store of choice, but they've been disappointing me somewhat lately. I think I read a post somewhere on your blog(s) about the DM sending them a coupon policy review and that task backfiring for us...that's kind of what it's been like. There are some that scrutinize every coupon, re-sort everything (after I already did it to make it easy for them!), pull everything out, etc, etc. It's sooo frustrating. I try to go through self-checkout and they gave me heck about that a couple times because they said it's too difficult for a customer to do when they use too many coupons. I think it's easier than dealing with some cashier who holds up the line for 25 minutes just because they are doing their unnecessary coupon analyzing.
I used to shop same time every week, but now, my regulars are gone! Shakes up my world. lol.
As for Dumpster Diving, I try just to ignore people too. But, There was that lady once to accused me of trying to steal "people's information." I told her to come look in my bag and I'd prove it was just coupons and she refused to look. I thought, if I was going to steal "information" (whatever that means...their address? What else is in there? That's all public record anyway) I would not be a very good thief to do it in the middle of the day in front of all those people!
So far, that's really been the only bad experience, but, I still sometimes worry some other grumpy person will call the cops or city and I will be sad. Maybe I'm too much of a goody-goody. hehe.
Bethany, I would definitely try and get a raincheck from customer service. Just go up and ask them for a raincheck. They should just write one out. If they go back and check the stock (which I don't think they will) then just tell them that you have purchased some coupons to use and they didn't get here in time. They want to make their customers happy! Let me know how it goes! I bought a set of 10 for $1.00. They are high dollar coupons so anything under $2.00 would be fair for 10.
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Kay, the $1/1 Glad Manufacturer Q came from the "Fire up the Music, Fire up the Grill" booklet. You can probably buy these on EBAY if you didn't get that booklet.
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gaijingirl, my friend shops at Hermitage. She has spoken with the manager a few times and he has been great to deal with. If you have a problem then go and talk to your managers. Let them know that you are an ethical couponer and you seem to always have problems at their stores with the cashiers. Let them know what the problem is and they will work to help you. The District Mgr. has spoken to the store managers and he is trying to help them to be more coupon friendly. This is a good time to go and communicate with your store managers in a professional and courteous way.
Also, I have a method for you to try out that works really well for me. Don't (I repeat) don't hand your coupons over to the cashier. Even if they ask for them I say, "no thank you." I tell them that I have had coupons that were not scanned and I prefer to hand them over a section at a time. I then proceed to order my coupons in such a way that it will make sense for the cashier as she scans them (i.e. $X/XX Q first, then manufacturer Q, Store Q and Competitor Q for the same item, then on to the next section, etc). I always do this and it does several things for me. One, I always have all of my coupons scanned. Two, I can listen for the beeps when I hand ten coupons from one set. Three, I can watch the screen while they are being scanned so I ensure that they are input correctly (they are input incorrectly all the time). And four, I make my cashiers happy by being very organized. This will go a long way in ensuring that you get checked out quickly.
Hope that helps.
Can you help me with the math on the sugar/koolaid deal? It's going over my head for some reason.
31 Kool Aid $.20 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
4 Sugar $.85 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
2 Sugar $1.15 ea ($2 sugar wyb KA Q & $1 sugar wyb KA Q = FREE+)
Melissa, I actually thought that I was buying 30 Kool Aids. Ok, here's how the math works. Let's pretend that you bought 30 Kool Aids at .20 cents each and 6 sugars at .85 cents each:
30 Kool Aid = $6.00
6 bags of sugar = $5.10
- use (3) $2 off sugar wyb 10 Kool Aid Q
- use (6) $1 off FL sugar wyb 5 Kool Aid Q
TOTAL: $11.10
MINUS COUPONS: $12.00
BALANCE: .90 in overage
I only recently began to try to coupon in a big way and only found your site today. I'm excited to find a site with local info about Publix. Did we get the mfg. coupon for charcoal in the Tennessean or is this one you are getting from coupon clippers or elsewhere?
Thanks!
Ah, I gotcha now, thanks. I was only adding $9 worth of coupons (3 of the $1 ones).
Karla, welcome to the blog. Where do you live?
The manufacturer coupon for the charcoal came from the "Fire up the Music, Fire up the Grill" booklet @ Publix. I also just recently purchased $4/1 charcoal Q's from EBAY.
Have a great evening!
where is this coupon ??? use (6) $1 off FL sugar wyb 5 Kool Aid Q
????
Lisa, the $1 off Food Lion sugar was a tearpad at Food Lion.
Do you, by chance, recall when the sugar FL Q expires? Where they on an aisle or in the front of the store?
Thank you!
Kay
Kay, it expires on 9/30/09.
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