If you live in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, or Alabama, chances are you’ve shopped at a Publix. Publix is a grocery store chain in the south east United States known for it’s buy one get one free (BOGO) sales, and in some states, for it’s penny item of the week. Penny items are products you get for a penny if you buy a specific item. Their stores also feature store brand items, as well as natural and organic foods under their GreenWise brand. Additionally, Publix offers a pharmacy, floral, balloon and greeting card department, and their Apron’s section where they offer cooking demonstrations along with free samples and ingredients handy to prepare the featured Apron’s meal.
Publix Stores have a logo that reads, “Where Shopping Is a Pleasure”. While it is indeed a pleasure to shop at Publix, with rising grocery prices and an ongoing recession, people are looking for ways to cut their grocery bills. You can save big money at Publix by using a few simple grocery shopping tips that can add up to significant savings over time!
Publix sales from from either Wednesday to the following Tuesday, or Thursday to the following Wednesday depending on what region you live. You can find a copy of their weekly ad by going to their official website: Publix Website. There you can check out the buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) items and plan your shopping list accordingly. The best savings at Publix happen through shopping the BOGOs and combining them with coupons.
After perusing the sales, I highly recommend checking out the website, I Heart Publix. At I Heart Publix, you’ll find a wealth of information. The site owner really takes the guesswork out of saving money at Publix. She gives sneak peaks into upcoming sales, does coupon match-ups, and let’s customers know of in-store coupon booklets available. Once you compile your list according to what’s on sale, what’s on BOGO, and what items have corresponding coupons, you can then compile your coupons and match items on your list.
The biggest grocery savings at Publix come from combining coupons with BOGO (buy one get one) sales. For example, let’s say Pepperidge Farm bread is BOGO this week. The price of one loaf is normally around $4, but with the BOGO sale, you’re getting two loaves for $4, making each loaf $2. Then, suppose there is a coupon out that gives you $0.75 off two loaves. You can use that coupon, making two loaves of bread $3.25 which is an incredible deal for Pepperidge Farm.
Similarly, you can use one manufacturer’s coupon with one store coupon. Publix store coupons are not manufacturer coupons, they are released and honored by Publix. These savings are typically found in Publix savings booklets and fliers located near the entrances of the stores. For example, let’s say Colgate Toothpaste is BOGO this week. Pretend the price is $2.99 for one tube, but with the buy one get one free, two tubes of Colgate are now $2.99. Then, you have a manufacturer’s coupon for $0.75 off two tubes plus a Publix store coupon for $0.50 off one tube. You can use both the Publix store coupon and the manufacturer’s coupon, along with the BOGO sale, making both tubes of Colgate toothpaste a grand total of about $1.75.
Sale cycles typically run every six weeks at grocery stores, and Publix sticks with that approximate cycle. The goal is to buy enough of a particular item to last until the next sale cycle, in approximately six weeks.
As far as getting coupons, your Sunday paper is an excellent source. However, you can also find a ton of printable coupons online from places such as Red Plum, Smart Source, Coupons.com, among others. At I Heart Publix, there is a coupon database which allows you to search for particular coupon or product and it will show you where you can find it, either online or in your recent Sunday paper coupons.
That’s really all there is to saving lots of money at Publix: plan ahead, shop almost exclusively BOGO, use manufactured coupons along with Publix coupons, make a list, shop the sales, and stock up until the next sale (about six weeks).
Happy Shopping!
