CHEAP HUGGIES DIAPERS

I did a quick run to Publix this morning because I actually needed a can of Garbanzo beans to make hummus. I actually did this purchase in two transactions because I wanted to put the diapers on another credit card. This is what I did for that transaction:

1 Lg. Box Huggies Diapers ($19.99)
1 Huggies Wipes
2 Sundown Vitamins

TOTAL PAID $7.73

I used a $3.50 MQ plus a $3 PQ Get A Bundle of Savings Book. I also used Get a Free Wipes PQ, my Winn Dixie $5 off $30 and the overage from my vitamins. Now that is a cheap way to get diapers!!

My other transaction:

1 lg. Box Huggies Diapers
1 Huggies Wipes
2 Shout Spray and Wash
Bananas
7 Voskos Yogurt
2 Heluva Good Chip Dip (yum!!)
2 Playtex Tampons
2 Family Size Lays Chips
2 Garbanzo beans
1 garlic
2 Bic Razors
2 Phazyme
2 Sominex

My total including the diapers was $8.55!! I actually was only going to buy one box of diapers but as he was taking off my coupons for this transaction, I saw it was going to go in the negative! I had him add the diapers and wipes (that were sitting there for a separate transaction) and paid $8.55. I then had him run the diapers and wipes again! I ended up getting 2 boxes of diapers and wipes and all the other stuff for less than the price of one box of diapers alone!! My daughter is thrilled to get boxes of diapers to save for the new baby! Anybody out there who has extra Huggies coupons or formula coupons, please save them for me!!!

Picture will be up shortly...off to County Line produce for sabaggo potatoes. They are only out for about 1 month and they are the best!!!

TARGET

I ran into Target today to pick up my FREE dental floss (5 of them) $.49 nail polish remover, and two $1 Rimmel Mascara. I asked the manager who rang me up if there will ever be a chance that we will get a Super Target. He said our store is slated for remodeling at the end of the year or beginning of 2012 and they are all optomistic that they will turn the old garden center into a food store. It doesn't seem like there is enough room there, but I hope they steal from another part of the store to give us a Super Center. Wouldn't that be awesome!! Then we would NEVER have to go to Walmart again!!

Speaking of Walmart...I had to go there today to return an item I bought on-line that was supposed to be new. It was delivered to me with a sticker on the box that said "DISPLAY". It was very obvious it was a display item and even had dust on it. They took it back and somehow I was shorted a little over $3 in the return. When I questioned it, she said it probably had something to do with tax and walked away. At that point, I just wanted to get out of there!! I asked a front-end person when I was walking out if they would honor Publix BOGO sales and he said "Yes". I decided to ask another front-end person at the other end of the store and she said "I don't know" "They change the coupon policy every day and don't tell us anything". Well, isn't that just dandy! Surprise! Walmart doesn't train their employees. The next time I go in there, which won't be anytime soon, I will try to price match a BOGO deal and let you know!

CHECK OUT THESE DEALS ON LAUNDRY DETERGENT

I plan on making a run to Walmart tomorrow because I have to return something I bought on-line. I plan checking out the prices on Purex Laundry Sheets and stacking the following coupons

$1/1 Family Dollar$1/1 3/13 RP

I am not sure how much they will be but I am hoping for under $2. I will let you know!

Also on the Family Dollar page, there is a $1/1 Wisk Detergent coupon that would be great to stack with the $2/1 Wisk coupon on coupons.com. I am going to hold out until the end of May and maybe there will be a sale and some cheap laundry detergent!!

I also have a raincheck for ALL detergent and I am going to use the $1 Family Dollar coupon and the $1 printable coupon to get cheap All Laundry Detergent!!

WINN DIXIE $5 OFF $30 COUPON

You may want to print this now and use on your shopping trip this week to Publix! Winn Dixie $5 off $30 are hard to come by. If you plan your shopping trip right picking up some of the freebies like the yogurt, tampons, cheap chips, etc., you could possibly come out and owe just a few dollars!!

COUPON INSERTS 5/1/11

WOO HOO!!! There will be 4 inserts in this weekends paper. Make sure you check your paper before you buy it to make sure they are all in there. There have been many times I have bought a paper only to find they are missing the inserts!! Head out early to buy your extra paper.

There should be 2 SmartSource, 1 Red Plum and 1 PG

UPDATE TO STEWART'S PRODUCE AD

I just got an update today that Stewarts' suppliers shorted them Bone-In chicken breasts so they do NOT have any more of that sale item at $.99 lb. They also don't have any more $4.99 shrimp.

They do, however, have fresh broccoli, brussel sprouts, both at $1.50, first of the year Georgia Peaches at $1.50 lb., seedless watermelons at $5.99, and red bliss potatoes at $1.29 lb.


All the produce is from local farms and is very fresh. They will try to run either bone-in or boneless chicken breasts as well as $4.99 lb. shrimp next week!

BETTER THAN FREE KOZY SHACK PUDDING

Here is a perfect example of grabbing a few blinkies when you see them. I saw the $1/1 Kozy Shack blinkies and only grabbed two of them. Can you believe that!! Now I wish I had more. They are on a BOGO sale this week for $2.99. When you use two $1/1 blinkies, you only pay $.50 each BUT the deal gets even better. If you have the Happy Thanksgiving expired yellow adv. flyer and your store will take an expired PQ, use the B2G1 Free coupon and get 2 MORE FOR FREE! Since they are BOGO you will get 2 free instead of one! Better yet, you are able to use a blinkie for each one you purchase. So the deal looks like this:

Kozy Shack Pudding, 22 oz or 6 pk 4 oz cup. BOGO $2.99
Use yellow adv. coupon B2G1 and get 2 more for FREE
Use 4 $1/1 blinkies

...do the math! They are paying you to take them out of the store!

NEED SOME CHIPS?

I noticed that the Lays Chips were BOGO. So here is a deal for you. I think they were $3.99. Use two $.55/1 from 3/13 SS and two $1/1 coupons from the yellow adv. flyer Spring Into Savings and pay only $.45 per bag!! There is also a coupon for $1 off Tostitos Tortilla Chips in the same flyer and I think they were BOGO also. That should make them about $1.50 per bag!

Use the Buy 1 Heluva Good Dip and Get One FREE coupon from the yellow adv. flyer Hop Into Savings and get a great deal on dip for those chips!! Get ready for the summer BBQ's and camping trips!!

YOU KNOW YOU'RE ADDICTED WHEN...

You know you are addicted when you get excited opening up your birthday gifts and you find the Publix Spring Cleaning flyer in your birthday bag and you get soooo excited that you got one!!! I was reading to watch for the flyer and I never saw it in my paper...my husband did though!! He snatched it and put it in the bag with my other birthday gifts and watched me squeal with delight when I found it! Heck, how can you not get excited about a $5 off $30 coupon!!! I also received a garlic press, lemon squeezer, 64 oz. Gator cup and the biggest mondo container of Peterbrook Chocolate Covered Popcorn! It was the best birthday ever!!!

If you see me walking through Publix with a smile on my face it is because I just ate some of my favorite chocolate covered popcorn and drank my Crystal Light in my humongous Gator cup!!!

SOME MORE DEALS

Don't forget to pick up these feminine hygine products when you are at Publix. We got the razors for the guys, now let's get some freebies for us!

Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons or Playtex Sport, 18 ct BOGO $4.29

Use the $3/2 coupon from the February ALL YOU magazine and stack with two $.50/1 Wags IVC and get tampons for FREE!

AND...

to save on your laundry needs do this deal...

Shout Laundry Stain Remover with trigger, 22 oz bot BOGO $2.99
-$0.55/1 Shout Laundry Product 4/3/2011 SS Insert (exp 5/14/2011)
STACK with the $.50/1 Wags IVC and pay only $.45 for Shout Spray Wash

I would get these deals while we can still use the Wags IVC's. I suspect these will no longer be accepted when the new coupon policy comes into play. I hope the April booklets are still out. They are good until 4/30 so if you don't see them in Walgreens, ask for them.

STEWART'S PRODUCE WEEKLY AD

Stewart's Produce weekly ad is up and the bone-in chicken breasts are on sale again this week. This is a great price so stock up if you need them!

Fresh, never frozen Bone-In Split Chicken Breasts,
$.99 lb.

Flank Steaks, $4.99 lb.

26-30 count EZ Peel De-Veined Shrimp, $4.99 lb.

BIG 10 lb. bag Idaho Potatoes, $2.99 each,

California Iceberg Lettuce, 2 heads for $1.00

Local Grown from Sykes Farm in Elkton:
Yellow Squash, $.99 lb.

PUBLIX 4/26/11, SAVED 84%

Let me first begin by saying I am going for mother-of-the year award! I didn't have many items on my grocery list this week, so I decided to buy EACH of my daughters a $20 box if diapers and wipes. On top of that I bought 20 - $3 coupons for Bic Razors from a coupon clipping site and paid $2.99 and got them all for FREE! I treated myself to the Snapple which was B2G1 and used 3 $1/1 MQ's and 3 $1/1 PQ's from the expired yellow adv. flyer that expired on 12/31/10. (Sorry I can't remember the name of the flyer). I ended up buying 1 and getting 2 for FREE! I opted for the Papaya Mango Diet Snapple. I can't wait to try it!! I also used a $.50 Suave expired publix q and paid only $.50 for the shampoo. That deal was posted a few posts back. This is what I bought for $38.44.

3-6 pk. Snapple
4 Juicy Juice
2 Polish Sausage
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars
1 Nature Valley Granola Thins
Can of mushrooms
Bakery Rye Bread
Lemons
Bananas
4 Suave Shampoo
4 Dove Deodorant
2 Large boxes Huggies diapers
2 Huggies wipes
20 Bic Disposable Razors

My total was over $150 before coupons. I paid $38.44 which was less than the 2 boxes of diapers, a savings of 84%. Basically everything else I bought was free!! You can't beat that with a stick!

BOGO SALES AND USE OF COUPONS

Some of you have mentioned to me through e-mails that the beach Publix will not allow you to use ANY coupons on a BOGO or only let you use one . I asked my daughter who works there if this is true. She said they were never told that policy. My advice to you is to ask for a manager to come to the register. Sometimes I think you get someone who just doesn't think you should get $$ off on a free item! (You think it was coming out of their pocket!) So if this happens to you, either ask for a manager or go to the customer service desk and tell them you didn't get reimbursed for the coupons and I am sure they will happily give it to you. You may want to tell them which cashier did not accept them so they can properly train him/her and give them the correct policy!

SHOPPING AND SAVING AT WALMART - FACT OR FICTION?

How many of you (me included) thought that when we went to Walmart every week to do our weekly grocery shopping we were getting the best bang for our buck? I was reading an article recently from a well-known and respected "coupon queen" and she said the same thing I have been saying for years. If your shopping option is an everyday low price supermarket (aka Walmart), you may not enjoy many deals where you take products home free or cheap after coupons. Some people may find that hard to believe because they have been brainwashed to think walmart has the lowest prices around! Prices at Walmart typically do not dip low enough to match the dollar amounts of high-value coupons paired with a supermarket sale. PERIOD.

So attention all you Walmart shoppers!!! Don't be deceived thinking you are getting the most out of your hard-earned dollar at Walmart!!! When I have time, I will take some of my Publix shopping trips and compare it to a Walmart shopping trip. I have done this many times and am still amazed when I see the difference!

If you were like me and shopped at Walmart and now find your deals are better at Publix, PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT OR SEND ME AN E-MAIL. I would like to show everyone else that they are missing the boat and could actually save more money! I will post the comments so newbies or people who may be considering jumping on this coupon wagon can actually see it from others who are doing it!

Thanks!

ATTENTION NEW COUPON SHOPPERS!

Because many people have been watching the new show on TLC network called Extreme Couponing, I want to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Judi Wampler and I have been teaching coupon classes since 2009 to help families cut their grocery bill 50% to 75% (and sometimes more) with coupons.

Whether you learned about this blog from the St. Augustine Record, a friend, a "graduate" of the coupon workshop, or from a stranger in the grocery store buying a cart full of groceries for a ridiculously low amount of money, you are in the right place!

Do you want to learn how to use coupons differently? You will no longer be cutting them out every week from the inserts. We cut them out the week we will be using them matching them to the weekly ad. This saves time and gives us the maximum payout for minimum effort!

Are you ready to learn? Attend a St. Augustine Savers Coupon Workshop and you will learn how to shop like you never have before. Class sizes are limited. The next class will be April 25 and May 9. Give me a call or e-mail me for more information. You will not be disappointed!

NO INSERTS THIS WEEK

Just a reminder that there will be no inserts in this Sunday's paper because of the Holiday Easter weekend. There will be no need to purchase extra papers this week!

GANG-CUTTING COUPONS

Have you heard of Gang-Cut Coupons? This may be a new term to some of you. When you stack multiple copies of inserts together and cut them as one it is referred to as gang-cut coupons. With coupon usage on the rise, gang-cut coupons are causing issues for manufacturers and retailers alike.

How does this affect the retailer? When these identically-cut coupons are submitted for redemption, the manufacturer may assume that the coupons have been sold to the consumer, either through a clipping service or e-bay. Manufacturers can refuse to reimburse the store that submitted the coupons. Even if you did buy 20 boxes of cereal and used 20 coupons, if the cereal coupons are gang-cut, meaning each coupon will bear the same cut lines as the one before it, they are flagged and the manufacturer does not have to pay the retailer for it.

What does this mean for us? Basically, manufacturers want to see the resale of coupons ended. That means no more e-bay or coupon clipping services. That is why when you order coupons they state that you are not paying for the coupons but paying for their time. It may come about in the near future that retailers may deny coupons that appear to be gang-cut. I plan on making sure when I cut my coupons they are not cut exactly alike. If I order them on-line, I may re-cut some of the coupons so they don't look like they were all cut together. This assures me that they will be accepted and that the retailer will be reimbursed for them. Maybe I am a little ahead of the game, but I sure don't want to see the retailer not being paid for the coupons because it has been flagged or having them not accept my coupons because they have been cut alike.

This is just something to put in the back of your brain. No stores have ever said anything about this. I think this is something the manufacturers may push. I just want to stay one step ahead and give you the heads up as well.

SOME OTHER DEALS I FOUND FOR THE NEW AD STARTING 4/28

Here are some of the "deals" I found in the new ad starting Thursday, April 28th. Look for the peelie in your binder for $1 off fresh produce wyb Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Corn Flakes, or Corn Pops. These are BOGO in the new ad. Buy 4 and use the $1/3 coupon and use the peelie for $2 worth of produce. Not the best deal but if you need any of these cereals and have the peelie, it may work for you!

Love to Shop Here, Love to Save Here Specials:

Suave Hair Care Products are on sale for $.99. Use the $.50/1 publix coupon from the March Into Madness Green Adv. Flyer and pay only $.50 for Suave shampoo.

Nature Valley Granola Bars are $1.99. Look in your binder and see if you have the peelie for 3 FREE cups Yoplait Yogurt wyb 1 box Granola Bars. I also found a PQ for buy a box of Granola Bars get a FREE box of Granola Thins!

Remember, these deals are only good if your store will accept an expired Publix Q. I will pass along any other deals as I find them!

PUBLIX 4/19/11, SPENT $1.56, SAVED 97%

Produce coupons don't come along all the time so I ran to Publix tonight after work to pick up a few things. The Kraft cheese was out a few days ago so I wanted to make sure to get that deal. This is what I bought:

9 Kraft Mozzarella Cheese
10 Tutturosso Crushed Tomatoes
2 large bags baby carrots
bananas

Total Spent $1.56. I used the blinkies in front of the tomatoes and the cheese and stacked with the $1/2 TQ and $5/$25 coupon!

WILL WE SEE CHEAP WAFFLES SOON?

I am hoping there will be a BOGO waffle deal soon to use this coupon. Go here and use zipcode 34639 to print a $1/1 Kelloggs Fiberplus Eggos. I still have waffles in my freezer from when I got them all for FREE! If we get them cheap or free again, I may have to make some more room. I always take them out of the box so I could store more in the freezer!

GOOD DEAL ON ECOTRIN, BETTER THAN FREE SOMINEX AND PHAZYME

For those of you who take a low-dose aspirin, there will be a good deal with the new Green Advantage Flyer starting April 23rd. Stack the $5/2 coupon in the green adv. flyer with the $2/1 coupon here and pay $1.49 per box. This is not a bad deal for 125 - 150 count box!

Also, don't forget to print your Sominex and Phazyme coupons now to stack with the $5/2 PQ in the green adv. flyer. This should make for overage to use towards your other groceries. Don't you just wonder what the cashier is thinking when they see all this Phazyme (for excessive gas) go through the register...just blame it on your husband!

PUBLIX 4/17/11, SPENT $30.70, SAVED 78%

My bill was a little higher than usual this week but I bought a ham for $11.00 and babybel cheese that cost $8. That was the only thing my daughter wanted so I took the opportunity while they were on sale and used my $2 coupons. The Dove chocolate was speaking to me so I just had to get it! At $1.15 per bag after coupons, I just couldn't resist! Another thing I couldn't resist was the Breyer's Ice Cream that I ended up paying $2.00 each. Of course, I utilized the $3 off $6 in produce coupon and have my produce for the week (in addition to what I already have). The rest of the items were stockpile items or snacks for lunches.

This is what I bought:

1 Ham ($10.90)
4 Babybel Cheese
4 Progresso Bread Crumbs
2 Lays Chips (forgot my two $.55 coupons, darn it!)
1 Jello Temptation
4 Ritz Crackerful
2 Fig Newtons
Capers
2 cans Dole pineapple
2 Dove Chocolate
2 Pam
2 Crushed Tomatoes
2 Hellmans Mayo
Bananas
Zucchini
Corn
Ricotta Cheese
Fresh Pineapple
2 Breyers Ice Cream
2 Mentos Gum

So far my grocery total for the month is $122.50. I am guessing I will probably make it to $200 max this month, making my groceries $50 per week and that is including items going into my stock!!

My totals so far for the year are as follows:

JANUARY $144.79
FEBRUARY $162.31
MARCH $546.88 which includes 11 gas cards, which meant my groceries were only $106.88 for the month of March.

GOOD DEAL ON PAPER TOWELS AT WALGREENS

My Walgreens deal for today will add a few more paper towels to my stockpile. At our house we use quite a bit of paper towels so when I get the opportunity to stock up at a good price, I take advantage of it. The deal looks like this:

Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6 rolls $5
-$1.50/1 Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6 rolls or more (30 days rolling) PRINT-$1/1 Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6pk – 04-17-11 SS x5/29
-$1/1 Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6 rolls, 68 sheets ea. (5904) April Coupon Book
= AS LOW AS $2.50 EACH

That comes out to $.47 per roll of paper towels. Not a bad

GOOD WEEK TO JUMP INTO WALGREENS

It looks like this week will be a good week for Walgreens if you want to jump into the drugstore game! They have several "freebies" this week. Remember, if it is your first time playing the drugstore game, you will have to pay with cash money first. Then just use your RR's you receive from your first purchaseto pay for your other purchases and keep getting RR's back! Here are the freebies this week:

FREEBIES:

Always Dri-Liners, 40-pk or Leak Guard Plus Pads, 22-pk, 2/$6 ($4 RR wyb 2)
-$1/1 from 4/3 P&G (Pay $4/2)
Final Price FREE/2

Colgate Total Advanced or Gum Defense Toothpaste, 4-oz or 360 Clean or Total Toothbrush, 2/$6 ($4 RR wyb 2)
-$1/1 from April All You Toothpaste (Pay $4/2)
-$1/1 from April All You 360 Toothbrush (Pay $4/2)
Final Price FREE/2

Goody Ouchless Hair Accessories, $3.00 ($3 RR)
Final Price FREE

NasoGel Drip Free Gel Spray, 1-oz, $4.99 ($4.99 RR)
Final Price FREE

Reach Total Care Floss, 30-yds or Toothbrush, $2.99 ($2 RR)
-$1/1 from 4/17 SmartSource (Pay $1.99/1)
-$1/1 from 10/10 RedPlum (Pay $1.99/1)
Final Price FREE

TRUE2Go Blood Glucose Monitor, $9.99 ($9.99 MIR in box)
Final Price FREE

STOCK UP ON TUTTOROSSO CANNED TOMATOES AND KRAFT CHEESE

If you didn't stock up on tomato products from the Italian Days Sale, you might want to grab a few of these while they are on BOGO from Publix. I happend to notice today the blinkie was still in front of these tomatoes today at the Cobblestone store. Use this blinkie with the current BOGO sale and pay only $.44 for a LARGE can of diced, crushed tomatoes. This is a stock up price. Buy them now at this price.

Tuttorosso Tomatoes Tomatoes on sale BOGO $1.87 for 2
(use $1/2 blinkie to pay $.44 per can)

Also, Kraft Shredded Cheese is on sale 3 for $5 this week. Use two $1 blinkies found right in front of the cheese and pay only $.67 each. While I was standing there pulling a few blinkies at the Cobblestone store, a lady came up and picked up 2 pkgs. of cheese. I mentioned to her that there was a coupon there to bring it down to $.67 each and she never even noticed the blinkie machine with coupons! Thanks Amber to mention about the cheese!

Speaking of blinkies...I have to pass this along. While at Walmart today I noticed the everyday price of Philadelphia Cooking Creme (my new bff for quick dinners) was $2.48. Period. No sales, just $2.48 EVERYDAY. When they went on sale at Publix a few weeks back they were $2.00 each and there was a blinkie in front of them for $1.50 off. We paid $.50 for this awesome stuff, not $.98 if you used the coupon at walmart with their everyday price. Did you ever notice there are no blinkies in Walmart? That is because they are not allowed to put them in there! What's wrong Walmart? Don't you want us to save???

FLIP FOR PRODUCE $3 OFF $6 PURCHASE

I have received a couple comments that you were not able to get the $3 off $6 FLIP. Go here to the link to print it. For those of you new to couponing, I was able to use this coupon successfully at Walmart today as a competitor coupon! Just another bit of info that I noticed...the produce at Walmart looked terrible!! I mean the lettuce didn't look fresh and by golly, their prices are not that great either!! The corn this week at Publix is $.33 each and it is $.50 at Walmart. Granted the pineapple was $.99 cheaper but for $.99 more I can get it peeled and cored at Publix this week. They had cut off the head of the pineapple at Walmart making it difficult to select one. I was always taught to pull the "leaves" at the top of the pineapple. If they come out easy, it is ripe. They cut them all off! I just had to play eenie, meenie, minie, mo and pick two!!

WALMART 4/15/11 - FREE KLEENEX!

I made my first trip to Wal-Mart since they changed their coupon policy. I didn't know what to expect so before I started I asked the cashier if he knew of their new coupon policy. He said yes, but what he really meant was NO!! I only bought a few items (some of the other deals I wanted Walmart did not carry) so I could go through a test trip. I have not shopped at Walmart in so long that it gave me the heebe jeebies going in there!! I just feel so fortunate that we as couponers can get better deals at Publix 98% of the time. I would post a picture of what I bought today but it seems my camera cord sprouted legs and walked off (and I am positive my 18 year old daughter had nothing to do with it)! This is what I bought today at Walmart:

18 boxes of Kleenex (used $2/2 Publix Q to get all for FREE + $.03 overage per box)
2 Fresh Pineapples (used $3 off $6 FLIP to get all the produce for $3)
4 Ears of Corn
1 Banana
1 lb. Farmers Ham (this is the only thing I truly miss at walmart!)
1 box U-Kotex Tampons

My farmers ham was $5.86 and I did not have any coupons for that. Since I was in there I had to buy it! It is the ONLY thing I miss there. If you haven't tried it you must! It tastes like ham off the bone and is much cheaper than Tavern Ham at Publix. I was able to use my Publix coupons to get all the kleenex for FREE. All I had to do was pay the tax on them which was $1.28. Now I am no math whiz, but if you do the math I paid less for the ham and tax than the total on my bill! I threw the banana in there to bring my produce total up to $6.20 so I could use the FLIP for $3 off $6. The only glich in my transactions is that they would not stack a MQ and PQ together for the Kotex Tampons. I just had them use the $2 and put the other $1 MQ back into my pocket. I was, however, happily able to use my CVS $5/25 coupon.

Will I go back to shopping at Walmart? The answer is a big fat NO!!! Will I go there for selective deals with my competitor coupons that I cannot stack at Publix...Yes! But I guarantee those shopping trips will be far and few between!!

Have any of you tried shopping there with their new policy? Let me know what your experience is like! Go here to view their new policy

P.S. I guess you can see I found the cord to the camera!

NEW COUPON CLASS SCHEDULED!

A new St. Augustine Savers Coupon Workshop has been scheduled!! The next class will be on April 25th at 6:30 pm. The class will be held at Lighthouse Interiors which has moved to 900 Anastasia Blvd., just south of Gypsy Cab in the Lighthouse Plaza. If you contacted me about the class previously, please call again and reserve your seat! The class will be about 2 hours long and will go over grocery and drugstore purchases.

CHEAP RICOTTA CHEESE

Looking for something to make using all that FREE MUELLER'S pasta you bought last week? How about some baked macaroni with ricotta cheese? Sorrento Ricotta cheese is on sale for $2.50 Use the $1/1 from the 4/10 SS and stack with the $1 Publix coupon from the Back to School or Bountiful Savings yellow adv. flyer and get a 32 oz. container for $.50!! You can freeze this also if you can't use it by the expiration date. Remember, not all publix stores will take an expired publix coupon. Check with your store to see if they do!

CHEAP MAYONNAISE, FREE CRACKERS AND COKE DEAL

Check your boxes for a coupon sheet with Publix coupons that was out from mid February to the end of the month. It has Great Breakfasts, Great Lunches, Great Dinners and Desserts on one side in yellow. The other side of the flyer has publix coupons. Use the $1.50/1 Hellmans Mayonnaise coupon to get the following deal:

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, 30 oz, BOGO $5.37
-$0.75/1 Hellman’s 4/17 RP Insert
-$1/2 Hellmann’s AND Vlasic Product All You Mar 2011 (exp 6/30/2011)
-$1/2 Hellmann’s or Best Foods Mayonnaises TARGET Target.com (exp 4/30/2011)

Instead of using the $1/2 TQ, use two $1.50/1 PQ's and stack with two $.75/1 MQ's that will be in the 4/17 RP (I hope our region gets them) and pay only $.44 per jar of Mayonnaise!!! That is an awesome deal!!! Stock up now for those summer salads so you won't have to buy it at retail price!

Also look in your binders for a tearpad for FREE Wheat Thins Toasted Chips wyb a 20 pk or 24 pk. of any Coca-Cola product. If you are going to buy Coke anyways, get 2 FREE boxes of crackers using the tearpad and the BOGO sale. You can also stack any of the other coupons available to bring the price of the coke down further. But wait! It doesn't end there. Look in your binders for the tearpad for FREE Publix chips wyb a 20 or 24 pk. of Coke! This is an expired Publix coupon so make sure your store will take this to score this sweet deal! If you want a more practical deal, use the expired Publix q from the Bountiful Savings yellow adv. flyer and save $2 on any Publix meat or Seafood purchase wyb any 20 or 24 pk. of Coke.

STEWART'S PRODUCE WEEKLY DEALS

Stewart's Produce weekly ad is up. If you missed the boneless, skinless chicken breasts as Publix this last week, stop and get some at Stewart's. The green peppers are a stock-up price also. I think I am going to buy some and freeze them. Although I am not a fan of iceburg lettuce, 2 heads for $1.00 is a killer deal also!

Fresh, never frozen Boneless Chicken Breasts
5 lbs. or more, $1.99 lb.

Fresh Matanzas River Littleneck Clams, $3.00/dozen

Boneless NY Strip Steaks, $6.99 lb.

California Iceberg Lettuce, 2 heads for $1.00

Florida Large Green Bell Peppers, 4 for $1.00,

Datil Pepper Plants, $1.50 each

HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH DEAL AT W.D.

Hidden Valley Rancy Dry Dip or Dressing is BOGO this week at Winn Dixie. Normally they are $1.99 each so I load up on the BOGO sale. We use a lot of this when we make Taco Soup (which my husband loves). We usually make a triple recipe so I use three of these at a time! Look in your binders to see if you have the tearpad for a FREE 16 oz. store brand sour cream wyb three HV dip mixes. Buy 6 and get 2 sour cream for FREE OR buy 12 and get 4 sour cream for FREE. I actually need sour cream at my house so this deal comes at a perfect time!

USING COUPONS

All of us at some point likely had skepticism about using coupons. In the beginning when you hear that someone spent $3 on $75 worth of groceries, you’re bound to wonder “Is this really possible?”. Its hard to grasp and difficult to think that a normal person can use a coupon and get a wonderful deal. Well, I am here to tell you it CAN be done!

Most people think store brands are cheaper than brand names with a coupon. The truth is, in most cases, you can get a better deal with a coupon and a brand name over a store brand. The key is to combining that coupon with a sale rather than just taking your coupon to Wal-Mart right off the bat or using that coupon on a full-price item. Not only will you pay less, but you will also get a name brand product!

Now that we have brought up the subject of Wal-Mart, let's chat a bit. As we all know Wal-Mart has changed it's coupon policy, but I don't think any of their employees know about it yet! When you venture into Wal-Mart and try to use a coupon (or better yet a competitor coupon), and the cashier tells you that they cannot accept competitor coupons, politely tell them they CAN accept a competitor coupon. If you still have a problem, PLEASE ask to see a manager! Wal-Mart has over 250 employees and probably two of them know about their coupon policy. It will benefit all of us if you have a problem to bring it to the attention of management so they can properly train their staff. The more we show them us couponers are not going to go away and we would appreciate a trained staff, the better it will be for all of us!

Wal-Mart announced it is bringing back thousands of products that were dumped from stores, they say they are ready to roll up their sleeves to win the lowest-price battle with their rivals. “We’re bringing back products and brands [our customers] want,” said Mac Naughton.

After alienating customers by culling too many products from shelves, Wal-Mart is bringing the variety back by adding 8,500 items to stores.

From now on, if customers find a lower advertised price, Wal-Mart promises to match that price at the register in all stores without requiring shoppers to bring in a competitor’s ad as proof.

FLIP $3 OFF $6 BAKERY

A new FLIP is up for $3 off any $6 purchase in the Bakery. I personally like the produce coupon better but Potato Rolls were on my list for next week anyway. They will be on sale for $1.99. I plan on buying 2 packages and a Tomato Onion Foccasia and will pay $3.47 for all three things, less than the 2 pkgs. of rolls I was going to buy anyway. Gotta love those FLIPS!!

PUBLIX 4/11/11, SPENT $37.21, SAVED 73%

I really contemplated not going to the store this week because I really didn't NEED anything but a few deals drew me in! I couldn't let the Mueller's Pasta pass buy especially when they were going to pay me $.61 per deal to take it out of the store! I thought I needed Kosher Salt but found a box in my pantry when I got home. I usually store it on the first shelf and it got moved down to the third so I missed it!! We were getting low on Strawberry Preserves so I utilized my raincheck and $1/2 coupons. I also used my raincheck on the Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats. The bonus was the Phildelphia Cooking Creme which was FREE when I bought 3 packages of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast using the peelie and the blinkie! This is what I bought:

3 pkgs. Ore-Ida French Fries (used Yell Adv Flyer Q)
2 Great Grains Cereal
1 Kosher salt
10 Mueller's Pasta
3 Boneless Chicken Breast
Bananas
Bag of Navel Oranges
2 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
4 Strawberry Preserves
6 Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meat
Cantelope
McCormick Salad Supreme
Tomato Onion Foccacia (bakery)
Sunchips
2-4 pk. Starkist Tuna
2 Crest TP
Shake-N-Bake
3 Phil. Cooking Creme
1 Dentyne Gum

I have not spent $37 in quite a while. In fact, the last time I spent this much on one shopping trip was back on January 4th. I did buy $11.42 worth of chicken and have my lunchmeat for awhile! I will post the pic later in the evening!

FREE PHILADELPHIA COOKING CREME WYB CHICKEN

I found an unexpected deal today when I went to Publix. There were peelies on the chicken for "Save $1.50 on chicken wyb Philadelphia Cooking Creme". In front of the Philadelphia Cooking Creme there is a blinkie for $1.50 off 1. If you are going to buy the chicken anyways (this is a stock-up price), use both coupons and get the Philadelphia Cooking Creme for FREE. Have you tried this stuff yet? It is awesome and I think it would make peas taste good! (I hate peas!!) I have only tried the original and Garlic but I have heard the Italian Herb is wonderful. In fact, I haven't heard anything bad about it! Use this opportunity to get it free and work it into a meal using your free pasta and stock-up price chicken. Your family will love it!

MUELLER'S $1 PASTA COUPON LINK

Don't forget to go here and sign up for the Muellers Pasta e-mail list and they will reward you with a $1 printable coupon. This will be sent to you through an e-mail. If you have done this already, simply give another e-mail address and you will be able to print it again! Make sure to use it this week when Mueller's Pasta is BOGO. The coupon does say "Limit 1 per customer" but you are able to print multiple coupons.

MORE FREE ORE-IDA POTATOES

In the yellow adv. flyer the sale is B2G1 Ore-Ida Potatoes. If you have the Toss for Cash Q, you can buy 2 and get 2 FREE using this expired Publix q. Remember, not all stores will allow you do to this. Ask at your customer service desk. Make one of those bags of potatoes Steam-n-Mash and use the $2 off grayv wyb Steam-n-Mash and throw a bottle of gravy in the deal. I sure wish I had room in my freezer for this. I still have 6 bags left from the last sale. I am going to try and make room for the Banquet chicken and give that a try. It's not something I'd normally purchase, but I'll try it for FREE.

UPDATE: I didn't realize the yellow adv. flyer had a coupon for this deal. That means you can't stack another coupon with it. I still bought them because I didn't have any french fries and it makes for a fast dinner on the nights I work!

FREE MILK WYB 3 FROSTED MINI WHEATS

If your store will accept an expired Publix coupon, use the Breakfast Favorites Yellow Adv. Flyer and use the coupon for a FREE gallon of milk wyb 3 Frosted Mini Wheats. When you use this coupon with 4 $1/1 MQ's, you will get 4 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk for $3, less than the price of a gallon of milk!

You can take this deal one step further and buy two bags of Pepperidge Farm Cookies BOGO this week for $3.49. In my binder I have two $.50 MQ's and a peelie for $1.00 on milk wyb one PF cookie. When I use the mq's and the $1.00 peelie, I will get the cookies for $.75 per bag. I love that I am getting another dollar off my milk which I am buying anyway with the cereal deal!

CHEAP FLORIDA TIMES UNION SUNDAY PAPER SPECIAL

Thank you Linda for reminding me about this! I have been meaning to call the Florida Times Union every morning this week but had to run out of the house to go to work and forgot. They are offering a special of $.99 plus tax a week for 26 weeks to receive the Sunday paper. That is a great and inexpensive way to get your second paper!

Just go to www.jacksonville.com/99sunday to sign up!

EXTREME COUPONING ON TOMORROW NIGHT

Get your snacks ready for another great night of TV...
Are you ready for another episode of Extreme Couponing? Ready or not, here it comes...

Back to back episodes will air on TLC tomorrow, April 6th starting at 9/8c for your viewing pleasure. This will surely be entertaining on many levels, so if you are not going to be home for this, make sure you set your Tivo. I don't know about you, but I'm curious to see how they will top the last one.

I think they should rename this series Coupon Hoarders! OMG, please don't put me into this catagory because I bought 30 boxes of kleenex! We really do use a lot of kleenex and I am sooo happy to have them in my stockpile...and I didn't even empty the shelf. There were plenty left for others to get the same deal!

Let's just hope the show doesn't give us couponers a bad name. We are not "Extreme Couponers"...we are smart couponers!!

I AM EXCITED ABOUT GRAPES!

That is pretty sad when you get excited about grapes. Grapes have been consistently $1.69 a lb. at Publix and, in fact, still are starting with next weeks ad on Thursday. You can bet that I will be making a quick stop to Winn Dixie (or Food Lion if that is closer to you) to pick up some green seedless grapes for $.99/lb. FL has the red grapes for $.99/lb. also.

My husband was pretty excited about the $.25 a box price for kleenex and he didn't even complain that I bought 30 boxes! The total came to $7.50 when you do the multiplication but when you see my receipts you can tell I didn't even pay that much for them. After I deducted my WD $5/30, it brought that total down even further. When the cold season hits at my house I will be prepared!

MARY KAY 50% OFF

If you or anyone you know uses Mary Kay makeup, Angela C. is selling the remaining part of her current inventory at a 50% savings! If you are interested, please contact Angela at acarpenter007@yahoo.com and just reference Mary Kay and she will e-mail you a list of what she has in stock.

This is a great buy for any of you who use Mary Kay or want to try it!

HOW DID I MISS THE KLEENEX DEAL??

I don't know how I missed the kleenex deal but that sent me back to the store today to get some! In the Start Your Year Out With Big Savings AND in the Get a Bundle of Savings Booklet, there are $2/2 coupons for kleenex. Both of these coupons are Publix coupons. One is an expired PQ but the Get a Bundle coupon expires 4/30. The kleenex are on sale for $1.25 each. When you buy 2 with the coupon, you will pay $.25 per box!! That is what I call a stock-up price!! I am always reaching for a box of kleenex. I bought four earlier in the week with just MQ's. This shopping trip I bought the following:

1 pkg. Ground Round (used 2 FLIP's and got $6 off my meat!)
2 packages of Pork Chops
2 Thermacare
14 boxes of kleenex

My total was $11.37. My meat alone was $16.08!! After my meat FLIP coupon and my kleenex coupons along with my $5/30, my total was brought down to $11.37

So later on tonight my daughter asked if we could go out and get clippers for her nails. Not just regular clippers, but special "nippers". By this time, I found 6 more coupons for the kleenex! So off we go together and I realize why you don't bring your teenage daughter with you shopping. In the cart goes hair dye, tweezers,3 pkgs of emery board and 2 boxes of cocoa krispies as well as 12 more boxes of kleenex. OMG! I have coupons at home for the cereal and I don't have them with me! OK...I tell myself. I will live. It's OK not to use a coupon every once in a while!!! My total before coupons was $38 and after coupons and the impulse buys by my daughter, my total was $8.39!! Both of these shopping trips I saved 82%

PUBLIX 4/3/11, SPENT $3.71, SAVED 97%

Holy Moley! I didn't think this was going to be a good week at Publix...but the Smart Balance Milk and the meat coupons put it over the top! First, I bought my groceries and then bought my meat on a separate transaction. This is what I bought:

10 Smart Balance Milk (used $2Q and exp. PQ for $5 overage
2 Pepperidge Farm Bread
Romaine Lettuce
Bananas
Bag of Navel Oranges (were $4.49)
Cantelope
Fresh Corn
6 V-8 Spicy Vegetable Juice
2 Knorr Mexican Rice
4 Kleenex Tissues
4 Friskies Cat Treats (free plus overage)
2 Febreeze
2 Lysol Pourable Cleaner
1 Frozen Spinach
OptiFree Replenish (was $8.59)
2 Reynolds Foil Heavy Duty (sells for $5.99 each)
10 Uncle Bens Ready Rice (used BOGO RC and 10-$1.00 q's)

I spent $3.71 for all the above items, a savings of 97%. The milk is dated June 2 so I will not have to buy milk until June!!! I also was able to get a raincheck so I can get 10 more for FREE when I use these!

I did the meat in a separate transaction. I have been wanting bone-in pork chops so no better time to buy them when I can get a deal on meat. I bought $24.78 worth of pork chops. I used three FLIPS to get $9 off and then used a $4 competitor coupon and paid $11.78 for $25 worth of meat! Sorry, I forgot to take the picture so I got them out of my freezer to snap the picture. In there are 10 beautiful pork chops! I just love pork!

I also did my CVS run this morning and had ECB's that expired on 3/30. My CVS will take expired q's for a few days past expiration so I waited until this week because the deals were better. I spent $1.75 OOP and got the following:

1 Complete Contact Solution
2 Gum Flossers
2 Body Wash

I then received back $8.99, $4 and $3 back in ECB's! Who says this can't be done?? I will gladly pay $1.75 OOP for the above items that my family uses everyday and then get back another $16 in ECB's to spend on whatever I want in the next 4 weeks!

TIME TO STOCK UP ON BLACK OLIVES

We are an olive eating family. Now I am not saying we open a can of olives and eat them with dinner, but when I make certain things that call for olives, I don't want to pay $2.49 a can. When they go on sale at Walgreens for $.99 each I take that opportunity to stock up on my black olives. Often times I use them as my filler item!

Well, for those of you who like olives or need olives, this is the week to go to Walgreens. They are on sale for $.99 with in-ad q. If you have any of the coupons from the magazines, you will get even a better deal!

Lindsay Olives 5 or 6 oz (limit 3), $.99 (with in-ad coupon)
$1/2 Lindsay Olives Product, exp. 4-30 (Better Homes & Gardens, Feb)
$1/2 Lindsay Olives Product, exp. 4-30-11 (Family Circle, Feb)
$0.55/1 Lindsay Olives Re-Closable, exp. 12-31 (Peelie on Product)
As low as $.44 each!

MAKING YOUR RAINCHECKS WORK FOR YOU

I like to go back to Publix on Wednesday before the sale ad ends. Often they are out of specific items and that is when I get a raincheck. I may not even need that item right now, but I may want it in 3 weeks! For example, I have a raincheck for Progresso Bread Crumbs and Old Orchard Juice that were on BOGO. Coupons.com introduced their new coupons for the month today and guess what...Progresso had a coupon for $1/1 which should make for some pretty cheap bread crumbs when paired with my raincheck. The Old Orchard Juice should also be a good deal with my BOGO raincheck. Publix rainchecks say "Use within 30 days" but I have NEVER had a problem using them after the 30 days. Sometimes it has been as much as 6 months or more and they always accept the raincheck. Make the sale work for you. If it is an item you use and they are out, get a raincheck. Even if there are 4 left on the shelf and I buy the last ones, I go to the customer service desk and get a raincheck!!

But here is my newest favorite deal to use with my raincheck. Last week I got a raincheck for Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meat which was on sale for 2 for $7. I was able to print two $2/1 coupons and will stack with my $.75/1 Target coupons to get the Carving Board Meat for $.75 each!!