$50 Worth of Groceries for $11

I haven't talked much about couponing on my blog yet, just because I'm still working on coming up with the best strategy to share it with you.  


Today I went to Publix and bought $50 worth of groceries for $11. 

I've heard many excuses reasons why using coupons isn't for someone.


1. "I don't have the time" Preparing for this shopping trip took me at most....20 minutes. I wrote my list and pulled my coupons. So with 20 minutes work, I saved $40.  Do the math this way, it's like earning $120 an hour. If you're earning anywhere close to this an hour, then okay, couponing might not be for you. But for everyone else, bad reason.


2. "All you can buy is junk." Now, this is all about choices. There are alot of coupons for junk food, but because of the more "green friendly" age that we live in, many companies are seeing the value in sharing coupons for healthier products.  About 90% of what you see here I would consider pretty healthy.  Skip the junk food and concentrate on the healthy food. Also, in the past 2 years I have NOT paid for toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, shampoo, body wash, razors, etc.  This isn't a matter of healthiness, these are common household items. Even if you're just couponing for health and beauty products, it's worth it!


3. "Well, there aren't coupons for the brands I like."  First of all, beggars can't be choosers.  If you're serious about saving money, you'll learn to compromise on some things. About 80% of name brand products go on sale. I have actually found since I have started couponing, that I have been able to buy more expensive products because with a sale and coupon it ends up being cheaper than buying the store brand!  For example, pictured above, I bought the 4-packs of YoPlus yogurt for .25 cents each! They are normally $2.50.  Store brand yogurt would be around $1.50.  I smeared the store brand price and got what I really wanted!


Now you'll see I bought 6 jars of spaghetti sauce, will I eat all of this sauce this week?  I hope not.  I have learned the awesome gift of buying ahead. This spaghetti sauce is our favorite and it is normally $2.69 a jar. With a sale and a coupon, I bought it for .50 cents a jar!  This sauce will probably last us about 6 weeks, so that is 6 weeks that spaghetti sauce does not have to go on my list.  Buying ahead takes a few months of practice, to learn how much you'll use of something and what is really a "stock up" price.  If I can pay less than $1 for a higher end spaghetti sauce, I stock up!


Well, this ended up being longer than anticipated and just think, I haven't even told you HOW to coupon yet!


If you're interested in starting to coupon before I get my act together and start writing about it, here are two sites I recommend!


www.iheartpublix.com Michelle stays on top of ALL of the deals at Publix in an awesome way!  She posts each Publix weekly ad and underneath each product she lists any applicable coupons.  She has done all of the work for me, all I have to do is look at the ad and write my list!


www.moneysavingmom.com Crystal has a fantastic website with all various kinds of deals and coupon match ups. I really like how she does her CVS lists.


If you have any questions before I expound further, feel free to leave questions in a comment.