Seriously Saving at Publix / Rethink Saving

My first couponing trip to Publix

The best thing about couponing at Publix is that if you want, you don't have to use coupons!  Yes you read right.  First off let me tell you how awesome I think Publix is.  Pretty much every employee is paid to smile and tell you hello.  They love to help, will give your kids cookies, coloring books, crayons AND will willingly take your groceries to your car for you!  So, how do you coupon at Publix without using coupons?  Well the goal is saving money on your shopping trips, using coupons or not.  So, with this in mind you can save 50% on over 40 items at Publix each week.  They have tons of BOGOs that change out every Wednesday or Thursday (yes midweek) depending on where you live.  By taking advantage of BOGOs you can easily save 50% on your grocery bill and that sounds pretty good if you ask me.  If you can manage to use coupons WITH these BOGO (Buy One Get One) free deals, you'll start to see some pretty mean savings.  You may even feel like you are legalling robbing the store.  

Now what about when what you want/need isn't on sale or a BOGO... Let's discuss shopping habits.  When I used to grocery shop, I would plan a couple recipes, make a list and go in the store and buy the items I had listed plus thought I would save money by buying additional things on sale.  Well I would end up spending more than what I intended and unpack my scrawny purchases wondering how I came home with so little and spent so much stinking money.

Then I started watching Extreme Couponers and Extreme Cheapskates and realized those people had the right idea but too fantastic in their implementation.  Uh ain't nobody got time for that.  From them however, I learned the lost art of stockpiling

Many, many moons ago, families would stockpile goods to last them for extended periods because travel was difficult and often they made their own food and grocery items.  Well now we have plenty of conveniences and are conditioned to buy things when we WANT them not when they are ON SALE.  Buying things when we want them costs so much more money.  Couponing and focusing on sales means you buy things that your family WILL USE, primarily when it is on a good sale and ideally when you have a coupon for it.  Example, if cook pasta twice a week and buy it when I WANT it, 3 out of the 4 weeks I will probably pay full price or buy store brands to save money.  However if I buy 4 boxes when they are on BOGO and try to use coupons with this sale to "stockpile" it, then I just saved a ton of money.  Think of it as paying it forward.     

So what do I stockpile... when it's on sale AND ideally when I have a matching coupon, I stockpile pasta, rice, canned beans/veggies/fruit, cereal, oatmeal, almond milk, honey, maple syrup, etc.  Early December spent less than $150 stocking up on these things focusing on sales and adding coupons where I could and these items have lasted me over three months.  Imagined if I bought these things weekly...   

Weekly I buy maybe two packs of meat (when I get a deep freezer I will start stocking meat), fresh fruits and veggies and a couple small items to pull from my stockpile to make spaghetti, chili, easy tacos, meat and two sides, etc.  Honestly, it makes things super easy because I always have the basics to make a quick meal and most of the time, I don't have the time to be creative in the kitchen anyway.  

Now what about coupons.... well now that I have changed my mindset about grocery shopping I use coupons to buy things when I don't need them.  Yes I buy things I don't need... at the time of purchase that is.  Couponing should make sense, if your family absolutely won't use it and its not going to be a super cheap donation item, that means it is not worth buying and will be taking up space where you could be saving money on things your family needs.  A key to successful couponing is deciphering things you will use and buying them ideally when they are on sale.  Buying things when you don't need them yet, will require storage and organization... think crazy people on TLC with stores in their basement/garage.

Couponingg will take time.  Be patient, start small.  Focus on sales, BOGOs.  I'll post cheap and free items and hopefully explain how to get them without making it complicated.  If you want to coupon, just start.  Make it a hobby and see what happens.  :)