Oh, how I heart Publix!

For starters, if you do not have a Publix in your area, I'm so sorry. I suppose it's the one saving grace I have here, since I don't have stores near me that allow triple coupons...

At one time, I was very leary of Publix; not really sure why, but probably because their prices at first glance are pretty intimidating. Fast forward to present day. A friend convinced me to look at the Publix ad, but only at the things that were BOGO. She said, "if you get BOGO items and have coupons for them, you'll save a load of money." You know, she was right! :)  For example: Last week, here is what I purchased



I actually spent $47, but saved $124. Sweet!

Unlike most stores that run sales Sunday to Saturday, Publix starts their new sale on Wednesdays, most weeks. On Wednesdays, they offer a penny item. When you spend $10 (before coupons!), you can get that Publix brand item for 1 cent. It's usually something non-perishable (although one week, it was sandwich cheese). I will often break my shopping order into $10 groups to take advantage of this deal as many times as possible and I have never had a store clerk to roll their eyes at my coupon-crazy tendencies.

Last week, it was coffee. The week before that, it was juice.You can see from the picture, we got 6 bricks of coffee last week. Did we need them? No. But for 6 cents, we were able to donate them to our church's food pantry. Is the penny item always something we will use? Mostly, but if not, we donate it. We are a family of 6, trying to live on a budget, yet help as many people as we can along the way. Years after it was written, Matthew 26: 35-40 still speaks very loudly to me. :)

My friend, Jenny, told me about the website I Heart Publix. On Mondays, this site puts out a sneak peek at what will be BOGO at Publix that week. That gives me 2 days to gather my coupons and plan my attack before I go all coupon-crazy on them on Wednesdays. :)

One more thing, while I'm singing, "Oh, how I heart Publix," they will let you stack coupons. What's that, you ask? They allow you to use more than one coupon per item and they double coupons up to $.50. Example: 1 manufacturer's + 1 of their own or a competing store (Kroger, Target, etc). For instance, last week (see picture), I purchased Country Crock margarine tubs with 2 coupons for each tub (1 manufacturer's + 1 from Kroger & Target) and the final price was $.80/tub-- and it ain't those rinky tubs, neither! :) I did the same with the Kraft cheese. Even with a sale, that's way less than you could get it somewhere else.

So, get to luvin' you some Publix (if you have them!) and save you some money, honey! :)