A READERS QUESTION ANSWERED

I received an e-mail from Christy who saw my May 11th post and had a few questions. I thought it was a great question and wanted to share the answer with everyone!!

Christy asked...When there is a target coupon that starts with a 9 on the bar code, will Publix consider this as a competitor or manufacturer coupon?

And my last question is how in the heck do you save so much money on your groceries? I saw your May 11th shopping trip that you spent less than $7.00 on grocery items...how are you doing this? Do you stack coupons on each item? Although I am doing very well with my savings, I can't seem to get it down as well as you have it. Once I find a competitor or store coupon to stack with mine, the item is either not Bogo anymore or once they are, the coupon has expired. What is your trick? Do you buy coupons online?

Any help you can offer will be much appreciated!

Here is my answer to Christy:

First of all, Publix will consider the coupon you mentioned a manufacturers coupon because it starts with a 5 or a 9. I did not purchase any of these coupons on-line although I do buy some every now and then.

Here is the breakdown of my purchases:

The Oscar Mayer were 2/$6. I used 2- $1.00 publix coupons (may not available anymore but check on the publix website under coupons) and a $2/1 blinkie, Final cost $1.50 each.

Yoplait yogurt are on adv. buy for 2 for $2.79. I used 2-$1.00 Q's from the Shrek coupon booklet found in front of the store over 1 month ago. The final cost on these were $.40 each.

The Fusion Snack mix were all FREE. There is a coupon right now on www.smartsource.com for $1 off any 4 oz. or larger Fisher product. They are on adv. buy for 2 for $2, so FREE!! There are 2 different coupons to print so you could print 4 per computer!! That means 4 FREE Fusion Snack Mix. They are in the isle with the applesauce. I had a hard time finding them.

I had a $1 Q for McCormick Spice and it was marked down to $1 so it was FREE.
The Dove was BOGO and I had a CRT from CVS for $2 off so I paid $2.29 for both chocolate.

The Suave was $1.25 each and I believe I had 2-$.55 Publix coupons from one of the books and then 2-$.50 MQ's to make them $.40 for both.

PF Oatmeal bread was on sale for $2.00 and I had a $.55 MQ.

The Oil of Olay were FREE when you used the $2 -5/2 PG coupon and stacked it with a $2 coupon from the green adv. flyer (Publix Q).

I also bought a $50 gas card for $40, making my above grocery purchases under $7!!

I hope this helps everyone who often wonders how I get my bill so LOW! If you recently attended a class, keep at it! Like I told Christy, you will always save money and as time goes on, you will get better!!