Ch-ch-ch-changes

Over the last couple of months, things have changed in my coupon world.  My dear, sweet husband has been telling me since the beginning of my coupon journey that one day my all-time favorite coupon blogger was going to stop doing what she does so well. 

And then it happened.

Since then, I've had to re-learn what I already knew about coupons from a new perspective.  In the interim, God provided an opportunity for me to teach coupon basics to a great group of women through my church.  Because of this, I've decided to share with you all {I would say "ya'll", but it looks funny when I type it and the computer puts that squiggly red line under it} my shopping list in hopes that you can see exactly what I plan to buy, what coupons I plan to use and then hopefully, what I actually end up purchasing along with how much I spent and how much I saved.  In a nutshell, real-life examples.

So, that's my plan.  I truly hope you find it helpful and I really appreciate and look forward to your feedback!!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Publix RULES!

I had an AWESOME time shopping at Publix this morning!  Not only are they always the most friendly and clean store in the neighborhood, their prices are just THE BEST!

I filled up my cart again today with over $150 worth of groceries.  I am thrilled to say that I only spent $58.69, and saved $114.18!!!!

God is good, all the time!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Great Deal for Everyone!

Use this LINK to get Enjoy The City books at a huge discount!!  Each of these books contains FOUR $5 off $30 Winn Dixie coupons.  Check your store's coupon policy - you might be able to use these coupons at Publix!!  There are also LOTS of other great coupons in the books.  Here's how it breaks down:

• One book (Four $5 off $30 coupons) - $12 - saving $8 even if you don't use any other coupons in the book!
• Three books (Twelve $5 off $30 coupons) - $30 - saving $30 with no other coupons used!!
• Five books (Twenty $5 off $30 coupons) - $40 - saving $60 with Winn Dixie coupons alone!!

Go HERE to get your book for Jacksonville area or Orlando area!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Restocking the Pantry

Very recently, we've had two large families in need of supplies from our church's pantry.  In an effort to restock, I'd like to give an example of how far a dollar can go.  Actually, about $70.  A few of the items in the first picture were donated by a very gracious lady here in town.    

Most everything else was purchased at Publix, CVS and Target over the past 10 days.  Here is the tally:

• 23 canned goods
• 4 bottles of lotion
• 6 "Huge" rolls of paper towels
• 24 double rolls of toilet paper
• 4 bars of soap
• 3 body wash
• 2 shampoo
• bread crumbs
• 2 jars of peanut butter
• 1 box of popcorn
• 1 bottle of olive oil
• 5 boxes of pasta
• 3 boxes of cereal
• 2 cans of cooked chicken
• 2 large bottles of pasta sauce
• 2 air freshener sprays
• 1 package of pantiliners
• and a reusable shopping bag

What about you:  how far can you stretch $70?

ChristinaLynn }i{

Have I Told You How Much I LOVE Publix?

I really do!  It is so refreshing to be able to go into the store and have a plan, use my coupons and come out with a cart FULL of groceries for less than $75 each and every week!

Today, I was able to purchase $215.51 worth of groceries for $73.61.  Can you believe that? 

My big savings this week was on some Listerene purchases.  I was able to get 2 bottles of Listerene, 1 Liter size, that also had a 16 oz bottle attached for $0.50 each!  Very amazing! 

Another great deal was the Lunchables.  I was able to purchase three of the sandwich ones (without drink) for $0.50 each. 

Glade plug in refills (twin packs) were also a great deal this week, I was able to purchase 2 twin packs for $1.99 each.  These are normally around $5.50 each, so great savings! 

And my last super deal was the Frito Lay classic variety pack.  This pack contains 22 bags of single-serve size chips in various flavors.  The regular price is about $9, but I was able to get them on sale, with a manufacturer and competitor coupon for only $4.49!  That's about $0.20 each bag!  Great for school lunches coming up!

So, if I pair a lunchable sandwich with a bag of chips and one of the Honest Kids juice pouches I got for FREE, I have a lunch for $0.70!  WOW!

All thanks for Frugal Fun and Fortune and I Heart Publix.  Matching up coupons to sale items is the way to go!  If you haven't checked them out yet, what are you waiting for?

ChristinaLynn }i{

Want the Good News or the Bad News First?

Let's start with the bad news so we have something to look forward to! 

Bad News:  I went over my grocery budget this week, but especially over for this half of the month!  By about $40.  Yikes!  In my mind, I can justify it because we used up most of our stock piles before vacation, then used some of our grocery budget last month towards "vacation eating out."  So, now we are building up our stock piles again.  That is probably the hardest part about couponing, building up your supplies. 

Good News:  I saved over $100 at Publix today!!  Mostly due to store sales, but I was able to accumulate over $30 in coupons.  Very good effort today!!

Tell me about your savings, leave a comment below!

ChristinaLynn }i{

What Can You Buy With $27 At Publix?

Quite a bit if you don't mind spending 30 minutes to an hour preparing and stick to the list!

Actually, it only cost me $19.34 OOP (out of pocket) due to $7 in ECB (extra care bucks) from CVS.  Twenty-two items for an average of $0.88 each!  And a total savings of 76%!!  Here's the run down:

• Kleenex Cottonelle Toilet Paper - 12 roll pkg
• 4 Oscar Meyer Beef Bologna
• 2 Jose Ole Taquito
• 2 Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats
• 2 Kraft chunk cheese
• 2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 4 A-1 sauce
• 2 Vigo yellow rice (rain check from last week)
• 1/4 watermelon

The websites I use to make this possible:  http://www.frugalfunfortune.com and http://www.iheartpublix.com

Share your savings!!



ChristinaLynn }i{

Publix is Great!

Today at Publix I spent $53.10 for $139.60 worth of groceries, for a savings of 62%!  Yeah!  Here's what I purchased

• 16 Yoplait Yogurt
• Brawny Paper Towels 8 roll
• Kleenex Cottonelle toilet paper 12 roll
• 4 Publix frozen Steam in Bag vegetables
• 2 Hillshire Farms sliced lunchmeat
• 5+ lbs Sirloin Tip Roast
• 2 single roll Chips Ahoy
• 4 boxes Mueller's pasta
• Bananas
• 2 Fast Fixin's Chicken Tenders
• 2 Prego sauce
• Publix chocolate syrup
• Dove shampoo
• Dove styling spray
• 2 Oreo Cakesters
• 2 Taco Bell dinners
• 4 boxes Kellogg's cereal
• 2 Lance snack cracker 8 pks
• Pop tarts

 More to come from my CVS and Walgreen's trips.  Feel free to share your savings!

ChristinaLynn }i{

This Week's Savings

Some great sales this week!  I'll be sending two posts to show everything.  Here's the first:

Publix:  spent $61.79 - saved $79.85 - Savings 56%

• Glad Plug In Warmer
• 2 Glade Plug In Refills
• Publix Qt Freezer bags
• 1 gallon Milk
• 2 Nabisco graham crackers
• 2 Renu contact solution
• 2 Barilla pasta
• 2 Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds (LOVE these!!)
• 2 Publix bagged salad
• Dannon Danimals 6 pk*
• Bag of Golden Delicious Apples
• 1 Digiorno 200 cal pizza
• Red Creamer potatoes
• 4 Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake cookies
• 3 Nectarines
• 1 Bird's Eye Steamfresh Meal for Two
• 2 Yoplait Yo Plus yogurt 4 pk
• 2 Hebrew National hot dogs
• 2 pkgs Perdue Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (just over 2.5 lbs)
• 2 Jimmy Dean Breakfast biscuits

ChristinaLynn }i{

This Week's Groceries

This was an interesting shopping week.  I wasn't too impressed with the Publix sales this week, nor too much with CVS.  Surprisingly, I found myself in a Winn-Dixie store picking up a great bargain:  for about $14 I was able to purchase 2 Red Baron pizzas, Tostino's pizza rolls (10 ct), a Dole Iceberg salad kit, 1.5 qt Breyers Ice Cream and a 2-liter Pepsi!  Wow, right?  I also picked up some chicken breasts and pork chops (enough for about 7-8 meals) that were both B1G1 for about $20.  I picked up a few other things to bring my total to $50 before coupons so that I could benefit by the fuel perks program, so I will receive $0.05 off per gallon on my next fuel purchase!  I can tell that they are trying, but of course, their customer service does not compare to Publix!

The picture above is of my Publix shopping, where I spent $ 38.72 for $105.77 worth of groceries.  For a savings of 63%.  Not bad! 

The best part for me, is that I can tell the fruits of my labor.  I now have my freezers full again from when I began this adventure.  It gives me a feeling that I am well-stocked for my family and not skimping them out of anything.  I am running out of words to express how God is working in our finances! 

It truly is amazing!

Publix Savings This Week

Well, God blesses yet again (as if there was any doubt)!!  Just $0.73 over budget this week, but that was due to taxes, so we'll blame it on the government ;)  And, yes, for those of you with a keen eye, there are a few donuts missing from that box!!  We got hungry :D

• Betty Crocker Brownie Mix - $0.98 each
• General Mills cereal (Cookie Crisp and Chocolate Lucky Charms) - $1 each
• Juicy Juice 64 oz - $1.33 each
• Right Guard deoderant - $0.40 each
• Activia Yogurt - $0.38 per cup
• Egg Beaters  - $0.66 each
• Downy Fabric Softner 105 load (not pictured, forgot it in my car!) - $4.99

All-in-all, a good trip.  I spent $75.73 on $147.62 worth of groceries for a savings of 49%.  Not one of my best shopping trips, but certainly no where near what I was doing before this great couponing adventure began.  Stay tuned for a great TARGET shopping trip as well!

How 'bout you?  How are you doing on your shopping trips? 
I know at least one person who should be able to share (hint, hint)!

More great shopping!

Well, another great shopping experience at Publix today.  Their stores are so clean and their staff is very friendly.  With the great prices, why would you shop anywhere else?

Top notes for today's trip:

• Spent $71.44 out of pocket (oop) and saved $108.27!  Savings of 60%!!
• Betty Crocker Muffin Mix - boxed - $0.80 each!
• Green Giant Canned Vegetables - $0.15 each!
• Progresso Soups - $0.32 each!
• Kraft Chunk Cheese 1-lb - $2.00 each!
• Yoplait Yogurt - $0.38 each!
• Purex 64 load and Purex Complete 3-in-1 sheets (24 pk) - $3.99 for both!!

Feel free to share how God is blessing you financially!

Praise the Lord for His bounty!

Here is "the take" today.  I am again AMAZED at how when you pray for help with your finances God answers in a BIG way!

The total before coupons and advertised savings:  $202.44, the final result:  $67.50!!!

Here's a little to whet your appetite: 

• 
  
  Weight Watchers Smart One frozen items for less than $1 each!
  
  
  
• 
  
  Uncle Ben's Country Inn Rice for about $0.25 per box!!
  
  
  
• 
  
  Quaker Instant Oatmeal 10 pkt boxes less than $1 each!
  
  
  
• 
  
  Dannon Activia Yogurt for about $0.38 each!
  
  
  
• 
  
  Air Wick Freshmates refill for $0.50!
  
  
  
• 
  
  Birds Eye Steamfresh vegetables for $0.69 each!
  
  
  

Remeber to go to http://www.iheartpublix.com/ and http://www.frugalfunandfortune.blogpsot.com/ to find out how to have these amazing results for yourself.

It's a New Year

This year I am inspired and committed to being a good steward of the money God entrusts to me.  I have been working with the websites:  http://www.iheartpublix.com/ and http://frugalfunandfortune.blogspot.com/ to help me learn to utilize rock-bottom pricing and coupon matching and am having some spectacular results.  My trip to Publix last week was $142.67 worth of groceries for $47.77.  This week, not quite as good as we were running out of things like Pop Tart and Cereal Bars that weren't on sale.  So, I was able to purchase $182.63 worth of groceries for $76.79.  See the picture above for all of the items purchased.  Just to give you an idea:  Kelloggs cereals for less than $1 per box, Healthy Choice frozen meals for $0.60 each, Progresso Soups for less than $0.50 each. 

It does take some planning and time, but when you are cutting your grocery bill in half it is well worth it.  Take a look at the websites listed above and find out if you can make better use of God's money!