Clipping 2 Save

New Way to Save Alot @ Save A Lot

2011-05-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Just got an email from Save A Lot. Starting in June they are going to have 10 items for $10. :) From the wording of the email the items will change monthly.
The email does say in select stores so you could call your local store to see if they are participating.

Here is the link to check out what June's 10 for $10 will be. There are actually some very good buys:

Save A Lot 10 for $10

Publix - New Policies/Competitors

2011-05-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Publix has recently released a new coupon policy. It is now available at their website: Publix Coupon Policy
It is very straight forward and easy to follow.

It also states that each store will post who they consider a competitor to make things easier. I know it will make things easier as in the past I have had a cashier tell me "we don't consider them a competitor" when last week I used them and they have to call a manager over and the manager will say "yes we do put it through". Having them listed is awesome. However, we did loose some. Many will now no longer consider Target as a competitor. That is going to greatly reduce my savings, however, I will be able to shop at a closer Publix because I only drove to the further one in order to use Target coupons.

Over at the Blog Saving the Family Moneya great thing is happening! She has started a google spreadsheet where you can go input your local stores and who they consider a competitor! Go to this post: Publix Stores Coupon Policy Competitors Spreadsheet It took me all of five minutes to call my four local stores and talk to a great customer service person (all Publix have awesome customer service!) I am going to put the info I found for my local stores below but I have also added it to the spreadsheet already.

Milgen Plaza Publix on Woodruff Rd in Columbus GA: I talked to Martha and they now accept ONLY Winn Dixie and Piggly Wiggly

Parkway Center Publix on Schomburg Rd. in Columbus GA: I talked to Stephine they ONLY accept Piggly Wiggly and Winn Dixie THEY WILL TAKE TARGET UNTIL 5/23/2011.

Cross Country Plaza Publix on Macon Rd. will ONLY accept Winn Dixie and Piggly Wiggly

Bradley Park SQ Publix on Bradley Park Dr. I talked to Steven and they will ONLY accept Piggly Wiggly, Winn Dixie and Fresh Market. (they USED to accept Target so be forewarned if you used Target there they are NO LONGER a competitor)

Save on Gas...

2011-05-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

Any way to save helps... this week Publix has a coupon in their weekly for $10 off a $50 gas card. Gas stations vary based on your area. The weekly ads can be found in the front of your Publix store. There is a limit of one per customer so one for you and one for significant other...

Here is what the q looks like...

For Those Learning Couponing .. Check out these resources

2011-04-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

For great how-to videos:

To help you plan ahead:

To search an EXCELLENT coupon database and find match ups:

In order to use the data base you must JOIN FOR FREE:

A few other great videos to help you get started:
COUPON MOM VIDEOS

In my next post I will give you links to many of my favorite blogs that I follow to find great deals. Make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed, follow via networked blogs or google or subscribe via email so you don't miss the next post. Links to subscribe are in right side column of this blog.

Print Your NEW Coupons ... and some deals

2011-04-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Check out all the coupons sites for some great new Q's. They reset at the beginning of the month.
Coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

@ Coupons.com you can find .35/1 goldfish Q They are on sale 10 for $10 @ Publix this week. That Q will double so you can get some Goldfish for .30!!

Garnier is also on sale @ Publix for $2.19 and there is a $1.00 coupon on coupons.com .

Planning Day

2011-03-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, this afternoon, when and IF my son goes for a nap (it will be a when, however, sometimes it seems like naptime never arrives). I'll have at least an hour, if not two, to try and plan my shopping trip.

I found the method I used last week, using the small "brag book" to keep me organized while in the store, worked better than any other I have tried yet. ( that post can be found here )

Even though today is planning day all week I have been watching posts on other savings blogs that I subscribe to and on We Use Coupons in order to have a heads up on what deals to look for. I have a few notes written on which coupons to pull and clip already.

I will also go to Couponmom and check out the stores in my area. I love her store sales lists b/c you can click on the % saved column and it will sort it bringing FREE items to top and higher savings items.

I'll post some of my finds a bit later on.

Sales this Week @ Publix

2011-03-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

There is one major deal I definitely will take advantage of.... BOGO Pepsi products! Pepsi 2 liters for around .85 can't beat that!

Peter Pan peanut butter is also BOGO

Go to I Heart Publix To see a full list of the deals with coupon match-ups to help you get prepared for your shopping trip this week.

An Example of Deals I Used @ Publix

2011-03-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

Publix had on sale Hamburger Helper: 10 for $10 or $1.00/box.

I had several Target printable coupons for .75 off 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper.

I also had several manufacturer coupons for .75 off 3 boxes.

My store doubles only up to and including .50 so nothing doubled.

I could, however, use one store (target) coupon and one manufacture's coupon. So, I saved $1.50/3 boxes bought which brought the price down to .50 per box.

I bought 12 boxes.

With Publix the main trick is to find out who your local Publix considers a competitor. Well, that and use your coupon on the weeks that the items are on sale.

One local Publix does not consider Target as a competitor, however, one a bit further out does and also several other stores including: Winn Dixie, Walgreens and a couple other local stores.

Gettin' Better All The Time --- Saved $119.00

2011-03-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

I took another trip to Publix this weekend. I found, from looking at the flyer, there were some deals that would allow me to stock up on some great items for an extremely low price. People who clip coupons have different ways of organizing them and getting ready for a trip. I have tried toting my huge coupon binder in the store and things tend to get tricky, at least for me, so I have tried a few other methods. This past weekend I think I hit on one that will work for me.

No matter what ways I have tried so far when I get to the cash register my coupons tend to be in a mess. Generally it’s from me going through them a zillion times to make sure I got everything, got as many as I needed and to pull coupons out for items the store didn’t have. I went more than prepared this time.

My weapons of choice:

My laptop and We Use Coupons Database of Coupons and great sales lists from Couponmom.com. A printed sale list looks like this:

Technorati Tags: coupon organization,coupons

On my printed list you will find #’s marked beside items that I need more than one of.

My new weapon … a small photo book purchased at the Dollar Tree for yup.. a buck. You’ll see my new method in a minute.

First I made and printed my list. Then I found the coupons and clipped them. I save the whole inserts in file folders by Sunday date. This makes finding them easier.

I put my List on page one of my photo book:

Then on the following pages each coupon or set of coupons gets it’s own page:

As you can see I use post it notes on pages that I need to pick up more than one item of to tell me what I need. I can use them several weeks in a row by crossing off the previous week’s note. As I am getting my items I pull the coupons used from their slot and put them neatly into the last page of the book. This way when I get to the check out I have a neat stack of coupons all grouped together. I always ask the cashier if she wants my coupons first or after. I have found that all cashiers at my Publix want them ahead and they stack them in piles and they scan them as they scan the items.

I also add a list of things I need at the store that I don’t have a coupon for otherwise I’ll forget those items.

This past week this is what the bottom of my receipt looked like:

Not bad for only my third trip. I am very happy with my new method. It was SOOO much easier to keep track of things.

Saving Money on Your Food Bill… tips to get started

2011-03-16T10:33:00.001-07:00

In the last few months, while preparing for a move to GA, I have also been learning to save money by using coupons. I have found many resourceful sites and read and read and read some more. I found some sites that also offer video series, so I added watching videos to my learning experience.

I have had many friends ask me via Facebook just how am I saving so much money on my grocery bill. I decided to take this route to answer everyone at once and keep everyone updated so that as I learn you can to!

First, let me say this: while living in FL I hardly ever shopped at Publix. I LOVED the store, the customer service etc. however, I thought the prices were just too high. Once I started learning couponing, however, I found that I can save the most at Publix (actually I could probably do better at Kroger but the nearest one is 48 miles away and with gas prices it wouldn’t be a savings to drive that far).

To get you started I suggest you research your local stores. In most cases this is as easy as finding their website, putting in your zipcode to see their weekly ad. Once you search your local store you can get a phone number. Give customer service a call and ask them these few simple questions:

1. Do you double coupons?

2. If yes up to and including what values? (our stores here double up to and including .50 some stores double up to and including .50 but coupons valued between .50 and $.99 are rounded up to $1.00 – wish I had that here but sadly I don’t)

3. Do they accept competitor coupons?

4. If yes, who do you consider competitors?

This is an important question. One of the reasons I can save so much here at Publix is that Publix accepts competitor coupons, they treat them as a Publix store coupon. I can use a competitor(Publix) coupon AND a regular manufacturers coupon on the same item. So, if Peanut Butter is BOGO (buy one get one free) and is 3.00/container right off the top I have saved half. My Publix accepts Target as a competitor so lets say I have printed off from Target’s website and .50 cent coupon off that peanut butter AND I have a .50 off manufacturers coupon. Here is how it would work out:

            Peanut Butter Reg Price    3.00 each.

             On sale BOGO (our store makes the price 1/2 so you do not have to buy both items if you do not want to) so they would be 1.50 each

I am buying TWO items so I can use TWO target(publix) coupons and TWO manufacturers coupons.

              3.00 - .50 target = 2.50 now   -   .50 target = 2.00 now. (competitor/Publix coupons do NOT double)

              2..00 – .50 manufacturers coupons (which will double) = 1.50 – .50 doubled = 1.00 now

              1.00 – .50 manufacturers coupons (which will double) = .50 - .50 doubled = FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

TWO jars of peanut butter absolutely FREE!!

5. Make sure to ask each different store their competitors. We have several Publix locally. One considers Target a competitor because Target is next door. I drive a bit further to shop at that Publix.

The key to all of this is to buy the sale items WITH coupons and to try to stock up when they are on sale. I would try to get four jars of peanut butter when the above sale is on and that should last me until the next sale on peanut butter. If you have a larger family or know there is a need for more you could try to get six or eight at a time when it is a stock up price.

Another question I have been asked is where to get coupons. I have a few sources: the Sunday paper, All You Magazine (sold only by subscription or at Wal Mart), printable coupons from the internet and coupon clipping services. I used to buy four Sunday papers. Since moving to GA the store a mile from here only sells the Columbus paper, which does not have near as many coupons as the Atlanta paper. Driving to town to buy Sunday papers is expensive so I began getting mine from a clipping service. The Atlanta Paper is $3.00 on Sunday. I buy whole inserts, generally six of each for around $11.00 ( www.wholecouponinserts.com ) They ship fast and it ends up much cheaper. You will want to find a service that is close to your home state in order to cut down on the time it takes to get these in the mail.   It is illegal to buy coupons, however, they do not charge you for the coupons, you are being charged for the service and handling.

I know one thing you are thinking: Figuring out what coupons to match with these sales will take HOURS… at first, getting organized and ready to shop does take some time, however, as you learn you get faster at these things, you learn the short cuts and if you can save HUNDREDS of dollars on a grocery trip a couple hours of preparation becomes VERY worth it.

In the side bar of this blog I will be linking to some of the sites I use regularly to help me match up sales and coupons. If I had to do this all by hand and figure it out all on my own I don’t know if I would have it in me. However, there are several sites that help match up and even gives you deal scenarios. (CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid are great places to get deals. Personally I use CVS, Walgreens customer service has been lacking at the ones I have tried).

One of the best sites to join is:

Just click on the We Use Coupons box above to join. Here you will have access to all kinds of forums where user upload great deals and info to help you find the best deals in your area. There is also a GREAT coupon database that I use to help make my match ups. I’ll do a post on that in a day or so.

Another great resource is : www.couponmom.com

You need to go and sign up… it’s free. Then you can go to

http://www.couponmom.com/tutorials-416 to watch video tutorials on how to use the site to do match ups and save money on coupons.

This should help you to get started.
Technorati Tags: getting started couponing,couponing,saving with coupons