When I started couponing, no, scratch that. When I started EXTREME couponing, I started slow. Started with CVS, then added in Rite Aid and Walgreens, then I added in the grocery stores and the big chains (Target and Wal-Mart).
Figuring out how to get my groceries at rock bottom prices took a while. I finally learned how to get the most for my money, and I remember the first time I got overage. I was so excited I called everyone! And they all thought I was so funny.
Anyway, if you're starting out at Publix, and might not have newspaper coupons, this is a great week for you! You can get loads of cheap and free things to start your stockpile with only printables that are available and store coupons. I have created a scenario below to show you just what you can get with only the items available right now, without any newspaper or booklet coupons.
Here is a scenario of these items for you (remember that in most areas of TN, GA and AL, BOGO items ring up half price):
Buy
2 Barber Foods Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Assorted Varieties, 8 or 10-oz pkg, BOGO $4.99
-$1/1 Barber Foods printable HERE or HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
2 Buitoni Pasta Fettuccine, Linguine, or Angel Hair, 9-oz pkg, BOGO $2.39
-$1/1 Buitoni printable HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
2 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Assorted Varieties, BOGO $2.29
-$1/1 I Can't Believe it's not Butter printable HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
1 Cool Whip Whipped Topping, Assorted Varieties, 8-oz bowl, BOGO $1.49
-$.55/1 Cool Whip printable HERE
6 Betty Crocker Potatoes, Assorted Varieties, 4.6 to 6.6-oz box, BOGO $1.59
-$.40/1 Betty Crocker printable HERE, HERE and HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
2 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mix or Cupcake, Assorted Varieties, 17.52 or 18.25-oz box, (Excluding Angel Food and Carrot Cake), BOGO $1.65 (IF your store takes Food Lion competitor coupons)
-$1.50/2 Duncan Hines FLip printable HERE (use one coupon for each two items purchased)
2 Mueller's Pasta, Assorted Varieties, 12 or 16-oz box, or 100% All Natural Whole Wheat Pasta, 13.24-oz box, (excluding Lasagna and Jumbo Shells), BOGO $1.39
-$.55/1 Mueller's Whole Wheat printable HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
1 Pure Wesson Oil Vegetable, Corn, 100% Natural Canola or Best Blend, 48-oz bottle, BOGO $3.69
-$.50/1 Wesson printable HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
4 Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk BOGO .99¢
-$.50/2 Carnation milk printable HERE (use one coupon for each two items purchased)
2 Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix, Assorted Varieties, BOGO $1.99 (IF your store takes Target competitor coupons)
-$1/1 Swiss Miss Target coupon printable HERE (use one coupon for each item purchased)
2 Kodak PowerFlash Camera, One-Time-Use, 27 Exposures, BOGO $7.09 (IF your store takes Target competitor coupons)
-$5/1 Target coupon (Valid coupon is no longer available. Target changed the wording and if you haven't already printed it, it will say "excludes single-use cameras")
1 Tostitos Tortilla Chips, Assorted Varieties (Excluding Baked, Light or Natural), 9 to 13-oz bag or Tostitos or Fritos Dip, 15 or 15.75-oz jar, 2/$6 (IF your store takes Rite Aid competitor coupons)
$1/1 Rite Aid coupon (use one coupon for each item purchased)
Total oop: $4.18 + tax
Now, this is only using current printables. If you have inserts from papers, you'll have coupons to stack with some of these (see previous post about good deals). There are also matching q's from several booklets, if you make a habit of snagging a few of each that you see, you'll have some of those as well.
To reduce the out of pocket, start looking for "moneymakers". Currently there are a few in the Green Advantage Buy flyer. As you walk in, pick up a few of those (bring your scissors :) ) and then head to the cosmetics aisle. Look for Revlon beauty tool- nail clippers, emery boards, that sort of thing. Look for the cheapest ones.
Clip out the $2.50/1 Publix coupon in the flyer for any Revlon product. Buy a pair of $1.49 clippers, use this coupon, and you'll get $1.01 off your total. Buy four pair and get $4.04 off your total. See how this works?
If you go HERE and print the $1/1 Revlon tool coupon (it's a manufacturer's coupon with a Target logo on it) and use that with your Publix coupon, you've made an additional dollar to add to your total.
If you're lucky and are shopping a store that does not have a lot of couponers, you'll have no trouble finding these, if your store has a lot of couponers, you'll know it because they'll be gone! LOL!
Also take a look and see if there are any bottles of Sundown Vitamin D @ $2.99/ea. If so, and if they have coupons on the caps for $1/1, grab two, take off the peelie coupons to use, and also clip out the $6/2 Sundown Publix coupon from the flyer. This will give you $2.02 overage for each two bottles with both manufacturer and Publix coupons.
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sorry,i whant make this but my total whith coupons is $14.63, whit you have only $4.18?
ReplyDeletesorry i new.
My Publix's will not double ANY printable coupons and sometimes they won't accept them. I have 3 to chose from. When I present my coupons at one of them the front manager ALWAYS comes up to "help" the cashier. I'm nice and we talk and she lightens up a little. She has said that a couponer has been trying to get any overages in cash. I'm new and didn't think you could get overages. Now I'm all confused.
ReplyDeleteKim in Mid Tn(M'boro)
Anon- Don't be sorry! and Welcome! All the coupons with a face value of $.50 or less will double here in TN (and Al and GA, I think FL locations do not double). And you're using one coupon for each item. For example, there are two Barber chicken items purchase, so you're using two one dollar off one item coupons. Make sense?
ReplyDeleteLet's see, I'll re-check my math...
Here is what you'd pay, pre-coupon, pre-tax:
4.99
2.39
2.29
.75
4.77
1.65
1.39
1.85
1.98
1.99
7.09
3.00
Total: $34.14
Then your coupon values:
(2) $1/1 Barber
(2) $1/1 Buitoni
(2) $1/1 I Can't Believe it's Not Butter
(1) $.55/1 Cool Whip
(6) $.40/1 Betty Crocker (doubles to $.80/ea)
(1) $1.50/2 Duncan Hines
(2) $.55/1 Mueller's Pasta
(1) $.50/1 Wesson (doubles to $1/1)
(2) $.50/2 Carnation milk (doubles to $1/2)
(2) $1/1 Swiss Miss
(2) $5/1 Kodak
(1) $1/1 Tostitos
= -$29.95
=Total oop: $4.19
Kim- Welcome! hmmm. Sounds like one couponer is making it diificult for the rest. The manager that you spoke to...was it the store manager? Or just a Customer Service Manager? The next time you go in, ask to speak to the Store Manager. Be nice, friendly and polite. Publix coupon policy (as far as I know...) is to allow internet printed coupons, as long as they are valid and not for a "free" item. If they look at the printable coupons, they will see that they can easily tell whether they are valid or not (look at the pin number on each printable). Many managers have not been properly coupon trained, and don't know this. It might help for you to show them. There is no reason they should not take your internet coupons.
ReplyDeleteAs for the boubling...I have heard that the suppressing of the duobling of "Do Not Double" coupons is on the rise. Here's the thing, and when you talk to your manager, I would certainly ask about it... doubling of coupons is a promotion that the store offers to bring you in the doors. It has NOTHING to do with the manufacturer. The manufacturer doesn't pay for that double, the store does. I honestly don't even know why manufacturer's put that on there since it has nothing to do with them. If there are Kroger or other stores nearby that will take them, and double them- I'd certainly point that out, as the Publix will be losing business for something silly since the manu won't be reimbursing the double anyway.
As for overage... Most Publix stores allow overage, and here's why- Publix gets reimbursed full face value of each manufacturer coupon presented. I've had cashiers tell me, I'll write the value of the item on here and we'll give it to you for free. That's ridiculous. When those hundreds/thousands of coupons go in to the clearinghouse, do you think there's an employee reading each and every coupon to see if a cashier somewhere handwrote a different value on there? nope. Don't think so. Those babies are being scanned by a large machine and processed by barcode. If the barcode states that you will get $4 off your product, then that's what the store gets reimbursed. Plus $.08 handling PER COUPON. The store actually makes more money off you as a couponer than the guy paying with cash/credit.
I never expect a store to open the register and hand me cash back. I think that's a little over the top. It's happened, but I try not to let it happen. But there's no reason your coupons should be declined overage if you've got other items to cover that amount.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI am in Murfreesboro as well. Which store do you usually visit? The store on Hwy 96 (towards Franklin) is for the most part coupon friendly. They have been suppressing some of my coupons that say "Do not double" but I don't have any problem with them not accepting them at all. It sometimes depends on the cashier you get as well. They also accept Target, Food Lion, and the GFS $5/$50 coupons that come out from time to time. They also accept Sav-A-Lot coupons as well. The Publix on Rutherford Blvd. and the one on Memorial have always been helpful too. Hope this helps!
Thanks for your awesome posts, as always. I'm trying to delve into the world of extreme couponing. I absolutely love couponing and try to make it a game to see how little I can spend. I'm still trying to learn how to spot mm so your posts help tremendously.
ReplyDeleteKim - I would be interested as to which Murfreesboro store you have been shopping at. I shop at the Victory Village store and have not had any problems using printables. I have found that they double the printables that say "do not double" but have been surpressing the regular coupons that say that. I have also had no problem getting overages at that store. Once the cashiers get used to you, they will start to trust that you're an honest couponer.
Sadly my Kodak camera coupons from Target say Not for one use cameras. I was hoping to get some stocking stuffers with those. I'm not sure what happened to the coupon- did Target change the wording in it later after some had printed it? I printed that one later on my mom's computer as I've had problems with target on mine and didn't want to waste a print.
ReplyDeleteColleen- Yes, apparently Target changed the wording on these sometime this week. When I printed them last week they said "$5 off Kodak *Camera *Digital Frame" and that's it. If you were able to print it earlier, then your q will work, as it does not have that exclusion, but the more recent prints will not work for the disposable cameras. Target is sneaky.
ReplyDelete