Party at Publix!

As you know, Anna does her couponing at CVS...She saves us tons of money on things like medicine and health & beauty supplies. Well, I go once a week to our local Publix and do our grocery shopping. The Coupon Competition title of this blog is misleading because there really is no competition between me and Anna. Her savings at CVS blow my savings at Publix away!

That being said, through www.southernsavers.com we have been able to reduce our grocery bill to less than half of what it used to be by shopping at both Publix and CVS. We also have stocked up on several items, so if you are in need of paper towels, toothpaste, instant mashed potatoes, or bleach let us know...We can definitely make a gift basket for you! Our pantry and freezer are both full and we have been blessed by doing this coupon thing.

So anyhow, Publix....I am sure one day Anna (who is more into the details) will give you guys a step-by-step approach on how to save a ton at money at Publix. I am a simple man so I will tell you what I do each week and hopefully that will help you guys out.

What I do every week before I go to Publix is go to Southern Savers and get my grocery list ready for my trip. Click on the Publix tab at the top of the page and find their weekly ad. I think most Publix ads begin on Thursdays like mine does here. Look at each deal (especially the buy one get one free deals!) and click on what you want and/or need. The Southern Savers Lady (her name is Jenny! -- Anna) puts an acorn icon besides what she thinks is an outstanding deal. Go thru the list, click on each item that you want, and at the end you can print your grocery list.

When you print your grocery list, you will find that you can print coupons from your list. Print out all your coupons and/or go find any coupons you might have on file that you got thru the RP (Red Plum) or SS (Smart Source) inserts in the Sunday newspapers. Once you get your coupons together (this is the short, short version) put them in order of the store layout. For example, I put any coupons I have for deli (which are rare) and dry goods first. I put medicines and dairy last because they are at the other end of the store. This saves time and headaches of going thru all your coupons.

One other thing I would recommend is not doing too much at the beginning. I tried to do it all at once and I just got a big headache. My first time doing this, I wasn't very organized and I literally stopped in the middle of the dry goods aisle for 15 minutes and got even more confused. I am surprised that Publix did not call security to take me away.

It takes time and it takes preparation. At first, you will likely still need to buy your staples at the Great Satan (Walmart) or Target, which actually has some good deals (Yes it does!  See my post here! -- Anna). But, after about 6-8 weeks of keeping it simple, your grocery list will shrink dramatically and you will never have to go to Walmart again. Thank you, Lord! So, start off small...Keep it simple and (I can't believe I am saying this), organization is the key.

That is just a few tips to start you off at Publix. This week I bought $86.80 of groceries for $33.13 which is a 62% savings! Not a bad week at all, but I still can't compete with God's gift to couponing (Anna, aka Mrs. CVS!)..But, I did get several items free or at a steep discount.  Here are some of those items:

10 Packs of Kool-Aid (free)

Theraflu 24 pack Warming Relief Caplets (free with a rebate)

Transformers, Spongebob, and Spiderman fruit snacks- 79 cents each

Club Crackers- $1.44

Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bars- $1.49

Lysol Disinfecting Wipes 80 count (the big ones) $1.99

Kettle Chips - $1.45

A lot of snacks and junk last week (see pic below), but still overall a very good week. There are great deals like this every week. Hope this gets you started.....Happy shopping!

Chris