Coupon 101

I shop at Publix for no more then $100.00 per week to feed a family of 6. I buy meat, fruit, and anything I have a coupon for.

The idea of couponing is NOT to by only what you need, but to also STOCKPILE. I have enough non-nonperishable food to last for 3 months. When I buy anything *NEW* I rotate the stock to move out what I had bought earlier. I can have 5 boxes of Colgate toothpaste under the sink, 25 cans of vegetables at all times, enough cereal to feed the kids for weeks and anything else I can keep.

I get the Sunday paper only. I mark the front cover immediately with the date I received it. I DO NOT CUT COUPONS OUT! It's a major time saver to leave it intact. I then go to the Publix.com web site and go to the BOGO section. There, if you click on the item you want, you can compile a list right on the computer. You can even mark the "quantity" you need. Then I go back to the main part of the flier and I mark all the items I want from there. I also mark things I know I have coupons for.

When you are ready to print the list, go ahead and do so. I then go back to the list and mark next to the item if I have a Manufactures Coupon and/or a Store Coupon. Publix will allow you to use one of each coupon on one item. Example: right now Prevacid is $10.89 at my Publix. The Publix Store coupon is for $5.00 and there is a Manufactures coupon out there for $6.00 off, making it .89 cents. That is a FABULOUS deal.

To find additional coupons you can also go to Smartsource.com, RedPlum.com and Coupon.com. I print quite a bit from all of those on things I know I'll use pretty quickly. Also, always keep your eyes open as you shop in Publix. They have coupon booklets all the time and tearpads as well as "Blinkies." You can and will also see "unadvertised" BOGO specials from time to time.

Another thing, is you sometimes should to wait to use a coupon for the BEST deal. If you know something should be going BOGO soon, I would wait until the last possible chance to use it. You'll get used to what rotates and when. Save a hard copy of the Publix sale flier and you'll see the pattern.

Couponing is fun and can be addicting. Each week as you get better you will challenge yourself to beat the weeks total before that and so on. I am having a blast with my Pastor's wife seeing who can do better. We help each other with coupons and deals along the way.

Good Luck and Happy Couponing!!!