Keep sending in those questions – we love to answer them! Just remember if we didn’t get to your question this week…we will do our best to cover it another week!! As always a big thanks to my buddy Christy over at Haphazardly Hobbying who gives me so much help getting the questions answered.
Remember–there is a tab at the top of the site called “Q & A” where I organize the questions and answers from this feature so that it can serve as a quick reference!
Here are this week’s questions:
- When an item that you need to stockpile goes on sale, about how many of that item do you purchase?
- What’s the best reaction you’ve had from a cashier?
- Have you found that you eat healthier since you do your couponing or do you eat more processed, prepared foods?
- What do you think about keeping a stockpile in the garage? Is it safe?
- If you file your inserts whole, how do you know what is in your stock of coupons?
- Michelle, I am so impressed with your budgeting skills. Where can I get more info on how you budget?
- Can I use a manufacturer’s coupon for a free item and stack it with a publix coupon for $1.50 off that item?
- How do I calculate sales tax for my shopping trip?
- How many coupons can I use with a particular deal?
- Have you noticed that your Publix is not allowing more coupons than items recently?
And here are the answers!
- Olenka from the comments wants to know: When an item that you need to stockpile goes on sale, about how many of that item do you purchase?
- April from the comments wants to know: What’s the best reaction you’ve had from a cashier? Do you have cashiers you prefer? I have 2 cashiers I truly prefer because they are so great about my coupons, and I love how much fun they have seeing what I save!
- Mary from the comments wants to know: Have you found that you eat healthier since you do your couponing, or do you eat more processed, prepared foods? I feel like if we’re not careful, all this extra food in our pantries could be bad for us!! Sometimes it seems hard to find the healthier food on sale.
- Elizabeth from the comments wants to know: How do you feel about keeping a stockpile in the garage? I know that some things, like paper products and laundry soap might be OK, but it’s summertime, in Florida, meaning HOT and SUPER HUMID. I’m not sure it’s safe for canned goods or plastic containers to get so hot or boxed food getting invaded by those lovely, native palmetto bugs! I just don’t have enough room in the house and would love to utilize the garage.
- Stephanie from the comments wants to know: I was thinking about starting to file my inserts whole like you and Christy do, but I’m wondering what you do if you come across a clearance or unadvertised item that wasn’t on your list. Do you just know what you have by memory?
- Gayla from the comments wants to know: Michelle, I am so impressed with your budgeting skills. Where can I get more info on how you budget? I’d love to learn from the master. 🙂
- Amy wants to know: Can I use a manufacturer’s coupon for a free item and stack it with a publix coupon for $1.50 off that item?
- Holly wants to know: I love your Publix Excel Spreadsheet and I use it for my shopping trip! I am on a strict budget (even with coupons) and I like to know my total before I go into the store, so my question is about how to calculate sales tax. Do I calculate sales tax on the total before coupons or after coupons?
- Lindy wants to know: I was wondering how many coupons you could use with certain deals/coupons. For example, if Gatorade is 10/$10, and I have a hangtag coupon for 5 free wyb 10 AND 10 $.50/1 coupons, can I use all 11 coupons on 15 items?
- Tracy wants to know: Have you noticed that your Publix is not allowing more coupons than items lately? I often have more coupons than items since my store is great about accepting competitor coupons. In the past, the cashier would call the manager over and they’d put in a code to accept the last few coupons. However, during the last two visits the computer has “scanned” the coupons, but it doesn’t come off the total. Two visits ago I didn’t notice it until I got home, so when I went today I wanted to make sure to watch when I checked out. I put 3 Publix coupons at the end since they specifically name the coupon, but only 1 rang up even though she entered all 3! There was a line after me and my 2yo was having a melt down, so I didn’t ask about it. However, I just wanted to know if you had heard/seen anything like this in other stores.
Christy: This really depends on the item, how low my levels are, how much we use in 3 to 4 months, how well it will keep, and how much space I have to store it. For example, I’m (gasp!) completely out of coffee creamer, so next time it goes on sale (my stock up prices for this are >$.50/pint and >$1/32 oz, in case you were wondering), I’ll buy 4 32 oz containers (or 8 16 oz containers), because I know that’s about as much as I can fit in the bottom of my fridge. (Which reminds me: I need to experiment with freezing liquid creamer.) However, if there’s a deal on 100% juice (>$1/1) when we’re low, I’ll buy 12+, because it keeps well, we go through it quickly, and I can always find a spot for it.
Michelle: I also go by inventory and then by usage. For non-perishables I will get as many as I can store! If paper towels were super cheap or free I would buy as many as possible. It is all about consumption…I buy based on what we use!
Christy: My favorite reaction from a cashier (which I’ve gotten a number of times now) is the double-take when they tell me my total and/or how much I’ve saved – it’s just so much fun! And I definitely have my favorite cashiers at each store – the ones that know me know that I’m really careful about their coupon rules, so they’re much less likely to act like I’m trying to steal the store out from under them (which is, unfortunately, something I’m familiar with as well). My absolute favorite cashier is a younger guy who always tries to guess my total after coupons before he rings it all up 🙂 – good cashiers make the checkout process so much more fun!
Michelle: Honestly –I have the best store ever!! I know most of the people at my store and love to shop there. I don’t get any of the big reactions anymore but just the fact that I can go to my store and everyone is so kind to me and the boys just affirms why I Heart Publix so 😀
Christy: We’ve talked a little about this HERE, but this question is a good one for me because my husband and I have really been making an effort to eat a lot healthier, and while it can be easier and cheaper to eat processed foods, it’s certainly not impossible to save a lot of money on healthy things. My strategy at this point is to use overage deals (which my store allows) and $X/$XX competitor coupons to reduce my totals on produce, meats, and more expensive healthy items. If the overage deals are for items we won’t use, I donate them to the local food bank on my way home from the store. I also make it a priorty to spend as little as possible on staples like grains, oils, dairy, etc. In the end, my percentages might not be quite as good as some, but I’m happy with what I’m bringing home!
Michelle: This is probably one of the questions I get the most. I honestly don’t think that couponing need dictate cooking style. If you made a habit of serving processed & prepared foods prior to using coupons then it is likely you will serve it as a couponer. I always remind people that just because there is a coupon for an item that doesn’t mean you have to use it! There are coupons for just about anything you can think of–healthy items and not so healthy items. A good couponer shops so that he/she uses coupons to bring home groceries and still stay within budget!
I get a fair amount of emails asking about my grocery list each week and why I don’t purchase all the super deals and other hot deals that I might list. It is really simple–I only buy what I need and what we will eat! Remember that you can use coupons to cut cost in other areas so that you have more money to spend on items that may be more expensive. I think finding that balance is what can make or break a budget!
Christy: I often wonder about this too, especially since part of my stockpile (mostly canned goods) is in an un-airconditioned hallway at the back of my house. Commenters? What do you know about food safety in higher temperatures?
Michelle: You know I have never even given this a thought. I did a little digging and most things I read recommended a location with a cool stable temperature that is dry as a storage location. You might want to look for a location where the temperature remains consistent to ensure it is safe for consumption.
Christy: I always worried about this too, but I’ve found that it’s not as big a problem as I assumed it would be. When I file my inserts every week, I take a little while and flip through past weeks, clipping anything that’s expired for my military envelope. I find that this helps me to keep a good idea of the coupons I do have without requiring all that time for sorting and filing!
Michelle: I will be honest…I do miss some deals BUT not enough to make me go back to clipping!! Every once in a while I see an item where I know there is a coupon and I have to pass up the deal. My free time is very limited and the last thing I want to do is spend it clipping inserts. Missing a deal every now and again is a trade off I am willing to accept!!
Gayla you are too cute…budgeting is really very simple. It is a bit easier if you can take some time to track your spending. If you are able to understand what you are averaging in specific areas it will be easier to determine what to set aside or what areas might need modification. There are a million books and websites devoted to how to set up a budget. I am an online person so I do everything online. I like to be able to have a visual of my spending by category as well as how well I am meeting my short term and long term goals. Programs like Quicken or Microsoft Money are great as are free online programs like Mint.
It is very eye opening to examine your monthly spending. If you are trying to reduce spending you need to know your baseline. I record every penny that I spend so I can determine where all of my money goes each month! I highly recommend tracking your spending as it is critical to know where your money is going each month if you are looking to save or shift money to a different budget category. After all you have to know what you are spending to determine what areas can be cut or modified. I will see if I can work on a post detailing budget ideas!
Christy: This will depend on your store – mine won’t allow me to use another coupon on a free item, but if your customer service desk says it’s ok, then go for it!
Sales tax is calculated based on your total BEFORE manufacturer coupons, which can make a big difference in your total out of pocket price. I *think* store coupons reduce your taxable amount but I am not positive. Maybe there is someone out there who can give us the scoop.
I know different things have different tax rates and I just can’t keep up so I do not bother attempting to calculate sales tax! If you know you will be cutting it close you might just estimate using the highest tax rate and that way there will not be any surprises at the register!!
Christy: This will, as usual, depend on your store, but the way I understand it, you should be able to use all 11 coupons – the 10 $.50/1 attach to those 10 items, and the hangtag attaches to the 5 free items. I’m sure other people will see this differently, which is why it’s always such a good idea to check with your customer service desk if you’re unsure.
Michelle: I agree that the $.50/1 attach to the ten you are buying and the free coupon attach to the other five that you are getting because you bought the required amount. As Christy said–when in doubt…ask your store!
Christy: I haven’t noticed a change at any of my local stores, so you might want to ask your store manager if they’ve made any policy changes lately. If not, you’ll be able to tell your cashier that you’ve spoken to him/her about it if they give you any sort of trouble.
Michelle: Tracy I feel your pain as checkout can be crazy with kids in tow!! I have not heard anything and had to have a manager over-ride for my last 4 coupons on Monday as well. When I saw this question I had to go look at my receipt and I was happy to see that all of my coupons were listed. I know this will be one of those easier said than done statements…but–if possible try to watch for this issue as it will be easier to find the issue while the cashier/manager is entering the coupons. It could be that an incorrect key is being pressed?? If anyone else has had this issue –leave a comment and let us know your findings!!
I hope our answers to these questions were helpful! Make sure you ‘tune in’ next week for even more Q&A with I Heart Publix. If you have a question you’d like to see answered, email me at contactiheartpublix@gmail.com.
Christy, you can freeze coffee creamer.. if you are talking about flavored creamer as in international delights (or any brand like that). I do it all the time especially with the limited edition flavors. You can freeze it and then defrost it, give it a shake and it taste perfect!
Woohoo! I see a LOT more creamer in my future :). Thanks, Bethany!
I recently tried freezing organic half and half and it seperated. NOT GOOD!!! Not sure why I didn’t try one before I froze them all, but I wasted 2 full containers of it. =(
at my Publix (nashville,tn) they have to call the manager to override the “more coupons than items”. they told me that for example you have 11 coupons and 10 items, the extra coupon will not scan. Lately have have been given the cashier the coupons in stacks: store coupons, internet coupons, coupons from the sunday paper and free items coupons. In this way it makes it easier to check if the cashier scans all the coupons.
also to make it easier, if I have more coupons than items, I try to buy little amounts of “fillers”, like 1 banana, or divide my greenbeans purchase in 2 bags (so 2 items), and so on. in this way I try to avoid the manager coming to the register and the looks from the shoppers behind me.+ I shop with 2 children under 2, so check out might be already hectic as it is:)
I do the same thing – always have fillers when using more coupons than items. My automatic go-tos for fillers are ramen noodles and individual size chips/cheetos, or single item produce (such as a bananna or cucumber). Unless you go over 50 coupons total & remember to use fillers, there shouldn’t be any problems 🙂
I usually do the same thing unless I have a lot more coupons than items, it’s just easier and takes less time.
I file my inserts whole in clear page protectors in my coupon binder. I take out any unnecessary pages that don’t have coupons on them and throw them away; then I put a long, lined sticky note on the front of the insert where I write the date of the insert and list the coupons inside. It takes about 5 minutes to do this which is a lot less time than I used to spend clipping. I even did this with my newest All You magazine: I clipped all of the coupons, then cut out the list of all the coupons at the front of the magazine and put it on top. So now all of my All You coupons are together in a page protector with a complete list on top. I still use the back of my coupon binder for filing internet printables, blinkies and tearpad coupons in baseball card sleeves.
This method has worked great for me so far. It’s easy to find coupons listed on iheartpublix because they are filed by date. Plus, I am able to take my filed inserts into the store with me for unadvertised sales and can quickly scan my lists to see if I have the coupon I need.
I have something similar to this, though I found some of the plastic inserts were not large enough so I switched to using a photo album with 5 x 7 panels in them and that helped me. 🙂
I meant to add, I do clip mine. I keep what I will use in the photo album and then set up the others I won’t as trade items. Expired go into the military envelope which I try to mail out ever 60-90 days so the military families have enough time to use them and still be within the 6 month window.
I do something similar. I put all of the same date booklets together in piles, put a sticky note(s) on the front with the date and a list of coupons inside and file them together in my binder. I carry my binder with me and if I notice an unannounced sale, I pull out the booklets and scan the sticky notes to see if I have a coupon. Especially at Target, this has come in handy many times. They are always reducing random items. Around once a month or so, I go aisle through aisle at Target and just look for markdowns and coupon matchups. I have received a lot of almost free items this way with everything from shampoo, soap, bandaids, and food items.
Regarding a TAX, as far as I know (at my store in Metro Atlanta), tax is applied before the coupons, except;
“Multiplied coupon” (where in the land of double!)
and
“Competitor coupon”.
In your receipt, small “t” sign beside the price means “Food TAX” applicable, “T” sign means non-food TAX applicable. So (negative) tax is applied to coupons (negative amount) with “t” or “T” sign with it (or say, those prices are subtracted before applying TAX.)
So, to calculate Tax, sum up all “T” (include coupon with negative amount) and multiply by your Non-food tax rate (I think 7% for me) that should be your “regular Tax” under your Order total. Sum up all “t” (include coupon with negative amount) and multiply by your food tax rate (3% for me) that should be your “Food Tax”
HTH
Hi – re: Cashier/manager override. At two of my local Publixes they had to do this, but at one other they did not. At the one they did not , it was my best score yet, spending $160 for $370 worth of groceries. That was awesome. The cashier was so friendly, she took all of my competitor coupons and never said a word – I did make sure no one was behind me in that particular line, lol, as I had a huge stack. The lady who did come in behind me was also a couponer and called me her ‘hero.’ 😛
As for what I buy, I generally try to buy healthy snacks and lots of produce/staples and green cleaners/detergents – as you know, this can be expensive so I have to buy strategically sometimes. However, I am content with my totals. I know I won’t get to 80% savings because of my preferences, however I am happy that I get as much as I do for what I spend. I’m not a stickler – I buy Contessa frozen meals and Morningstar and Gardein so I have ready-made stuff in for tough days, and my 12 yo loves Kraft mac n cheese, so I will buy ‘junky’ stuff too.
Btw, the Kashi trail mix soft bake cookies are the bomb! 🙂
6 weeks and still no answer to my question. Maybe I should post it here since comment questions seem to get answered quicker.
How do you determine when to use a FREE coupon? Is there a stategy?
What do you mean? If it’s free, wouldn’t you just use it whenever you want/need it?
Shanna,
from my personal experience, the best thing to do with a free product coupon is to hold onto it and watch the sales. If it is for a product that goes on sale BOGO, like poptarts, pepsi, apple juice, etcetera, then hold onto it and wait for a bogo sale. If you hold onto it until a week before the coupons expiration, and you still haven’t found a BOGO sale, then you can just go in and use it. Doing it with a BOGO sale is better and worth the wait, because you will get two for free, rather than only one. Also pay attention to whether there is a maximum value on the coupon. If it is for toilet paper and the toilet paper in question is 10.99 regular price, but the max value on the coupon is 8.00, you’ll want to wait until the toilet paper goes on sale for 8.99, and then you’ll only pay 2.00.
Unless you’re in the regions without true BOGOs. If something is BOGO and it rings up half price, then the cashier can take off the price you pay for it (half price), in which case you’re not really coming out any better than just buying the product at full price and using the free coupon. Now, sometimes you get lucky though and will have a cashier just take off the value on the coupon (i.e. free-value up to $3.99) which on a BOGO item would make it have overage if you’re only getting one or if you’re getting two, make them both free. Also, free item coupons are good at drug stores if the item has ECB’s attached to them or RR, essentially making it a money maker. I hope this makes sense. There are other scenarios that would make using a free product coupon more beneficial than just getting the product free, but I don’t have time to type them all up. Still, knowing all of this, when I receive free product coupons, I just use them when I get them because it’s a lot of work trying to wait and watch for a good time to use one little coupon. The item is already free so why not just get it.
Shanna,
from my personal experience, the best thing to do with a free product coupon is to hold onto it and watch the sales. If it is for a product that goes on sale BOGO, like poptarts, pepsi, apple juice, etcetera, then hold onto it and wait for a bogo sale. If you hold onto it until a week before the coupons expiration, and you still haven’t found a BOGO sale, then you can just go in and use it. Doing it with a BOGO sale is better and worth the wait, because you will get two for free, rather than only one. Also pay attention to whether there is a maximum value on the coupon. If it is for toilet paper and the toilet paper in question is 10.99 regular price, but the max value on the coupon is 8.00, you’ll want to wait until the toilet paper goes on sale for 8.99, and then you’ll only pay 2.00.
2 weeks ago, I wanted to take Neutrogena Clinical “Try Me Free” deal. The regular price was $39.99. The week I purchased, it was $31.99 (20% off). This $8 difference makes $0.56 in tax ($8×0.07).
From the store stand point, the store will have more benefit when you use it for a regular price than for a sales price.
I understand Floridian do not have to pay tax for foods.
So, use it when it is on sale if you are paying tax for it. If not, use it for a regular price.
Hey Shanna
Sorry we must have missed it…the email inbox can be massive and things can get lost (very easily)
I will get it up next week as I think there are a couple of options!! 🙂
🙂
Storing your stockpile of canned & jarred foods should be fine in a garage or other area with no AC. These are usually processed at a high temperature anyway, and most grocery items are trucked to the stores in non-refrigerated trailers, sometimes the warehouses don’t even have A/C. Summer heat isn’t an issue unless it’s something that will melt or an item that obviously needs refrigeration. I have found that some products that are creamy/oily (mayo, salad dressings) will separate if they freeze. It doesn’t make them unsafe to eat, but changes the texture and is pretty yucky.
I hold on to “FREE” items as long as possible. I usually wait to see if it will score me some ECB’s, RR, or +UP’s. When it gets close to the expiration date I will use it, if I have had not luck getting the extras!
On the free q’s I try to wait until the item goes on sale BOGO so I can get 2 free. I’m in the true BOGO area. For instance, if you have the free poptarts q from the recent promo, you will get 2 free with each coupon starting tomorrow.
Also on the more coupon/items question, I also had trouble last week while buying Energizer batteries. I had 3 coupons for each pack of batteries 1 store, 1 comp, 1 manu. I watched the cashier scan the coupons and the register beeped for a manager override. The store manager said they were not allowed to take so many coupons anymore. However, I called the District Manager and he got it sorted out for me. Seems the Store Manager misread an email about counterfeit coupons 🙂 I went in a couple of days later and they refunded me for the coupons I wasn’t able to use that day. Publix is famous for their customer service, so if you are dissatisfied with someones answer, go over their head.
In Response to the filing the whole inserts: I use the following method (though I know it is not for everyone – it works for me).
Each Sunday, I copy the list of expected coupons into excel. I then compare which coupons I actually get and mark “not in paper” beside the ones I did not and the number of coupons I bought next to the ones I got (based on the number of papers I bought). This usually takes me about 25 min. (depending on the number of inserts). Then I stick them in folders. On Monday when I make my list all I have to do is open excel and click “ctl+f” to search for whatever coupon I need. This way I can know instantly if I have a coupon – even if it is something not on sale. MUCH quicker to me than clipping and I always know if I have a coupon. Since the list also contains expiration dates – I can easily tell if they are expired as well and need cleaning out.
In Response to the filing the whole inserts: I use the following method (though I know it is not for everyone – it works for me).
What did you mean when you said that you file expired coupons in your military envelope?
You can ‘adopt’ an overseas military post/base and send your expired coupons!! They can use them up to 6m expired, but they ask you to only mail up to 2m expired b/c they need time to receive, process, and organize. I am a military wife and have friends overseas and they really appreciate it!!
Can you please let us know how to do this?
In relation to question #10, I have had to have manager overrides on several of my purchases in the last couple of months, and I asked one of the managers about it one time. I don’t know if this is true everywhere, but in my area, the override is required once coupons reach a certain percentage of your total – it had nothing to do with the number of items (I’m in Bham AL). But I’ve had no problems getting the manager to override and then my coupons have always come through 🙂
Store coupons are nt actually considered coupons when it comes to the register, but a discount offered b the store, so when figuring out tax, use this:
total amount of items
minus store coupons
times taxable percent (here in tn, it’s .0925)
=tax
it is what makes the sundown coupon so great on the 2.99 bottles bc the vitamins are ttally free no tax since the coupon covers the entire amount.
The is also true for competitor coupons as well.
The spreadsheet I created has a Column for tax and subtracts the store coupons out to figure the appropriate amount. 🙂
It sounds to me with the override one that what is happening is that the cashier is getting the message on the screen, but doesn’t want to be bothered with getting a manager or doesn’t know what the message means and so just keeps scanning… It will allow them to scan coupons, but it won’t do anything because a message keeps popping up on the screen.
I’ve had many a cashier who thought that the message meant that I tried to use a coupon for something I didn’t have.
If I was that reader, I’d contact the store and ask for the manager, I’m sure the manager will be happy to refund you the money.
Just letting you know that in response to the freezing liquid creamer you absolutely can! I do it every christmas and thanksgiving when the peppermint mocha creamer comes out. (is a year round flavor now) I am not sure how old that post was on your page so you my already have the answer to that. I just started the coupon collecting yesterday so this is my first visit here to this site. I also work at Publix and I have to say that I think this website is great and it is fun to see how much a customer can save with their coupons. I see a lot of moms come in and get $250.00 worth of groceries for under $150.00 all the time.
Has anyone noticed recently that Publix has adapted a more strict coupon policy? Both of the Publix stores I normally go to used to accept Target coupons with out any questions, now neither one will accept them. Has anyone noticed this at their local stores they go to?
Michelle, I sent my mom out to do the Chef Boyardee deal with the Target coupons of a dollar off. Sure enough the cashier questioned the coupons and spoke to someone at CS. She told my mom that she could not accept them because they had the same barcode on all of them. Those coupons were copies not original therefore she accepted only one. When my mom told me what happened, I asked her what store she went and she replied the one across the street from Target. That store was really good about accepting Target coupons. I was shocked.
Mine questioned Target qs a few weeks ago, but ultimately took them. I have problems with this one manager who seems to make up her own rules. That is the only time I’ve had trouble.
In response to #4 and #10
#4 I live in Florida and store a LOT of stockpile in my garage. Even though I have a large home, the pantry is small so I bought a Rubbermaid cabinet with doors and store all my canned and boxed goods in there. I have never have had a problem with spoiling or bugs though it may depend on what area you live in. I tend to keep mayo and powder mixes that may clump up due to humidity indoors during the hottest months but I did just use a cake mix that was sitting in the garage and it was fine.
#10 The register at my Publix beeps when I have more coupons but I tell the cashier that it’s due to combining a Publix with a MF, which they allow, so they just call a manager to have them override it. No big deal. Familiarize yourself with the coupon policy so that you know you are playing by the rules. That way you can explain to the cashier why the register is beeping. Oftentimes, they don’t know though I find that Publix cashiers are the best trained in coupon policies.
Re: the last question, that happened to me, and I pointed it out to the casheir. She gave some dumb answer that I know wasn’t true, and I asked since there was no one behind me to ring it up seperately so I coul duse the coupon. Instead of all that, she just did an override herself.
#10 – In the past I would have a manager come and perform an override to allow the usage of the coupons. Lately I will buy enough colored paper bags in the card section so my number of items purchased will match the number of coupons. What’s even better is that there is normally a store coupon near the bags so you really ending up spending less than $1 (and don’t end up dealing with the headache)!
Hi!
No one has commented about the post from Gayle yet so I will! I have wondered when Michelle would talk about certain things being taken from a car budget or entertainment budget(I can’t think of anything of an example for that though)but always wondered how she does it with just one income and still have money to put in every aspect of a budget. Ours is very strapped right now (were trying to make me worse less so I can stay at home more with our daughter…I’d love to one day be able to be a stay at home mom…that’s my dream!…not much to some people but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do!) Anyways…back to topic. We have basics like car payment, mortgage, gas and groceries etc but we barely have any left over for savings, let alone family entertainment or car repairs and such. Michelle I’d love it (and I’m sure other readers would too) if you could explain a bit how your budgets work. I love to hear about different ways people budget and make it work! My husband and I are only 21 and 23 so we don’t have much experience under our belts with money…lol…but I refuse for us to get into a big chunk of debt and I’d love to see how people make there other budgets last longer (like do you use coupons for entertainment stuff too, or what do you do for Christmas time as we always rely on our tiny bonuses for Christmas…so it’s a bit of a tiny Christmas usually)…not complaining though idt just be nice to see how we can cut costs everywhere so we can have more money to use for other more family fun budgets and more for emergency funds and car repairs. I’m sorry, I probably shouldve emailed this as I’m sure this thing is a mini rambling novel now, haha sorry! Thanks for everything you guys do! This site is amazing and the best one I’ve seen for couponing!
I will work on a budget post…it might actually have to be a series of post as budgeting can be a huge topic!!
I love mini rambling novels because that’s exactly what I do almost every time I comment. Just to help you out. I used to work, but now I am a stay at home mom. It was my dream too because it was everything to me as well. I wish I could tell you everything we do, but time is limited due to it almost being time to get dinner started, ready for church, etc. We do use coupons for entertainment and shop so frugally for EVERYTHING…we don’t impulse purchase anything anymore (unless it’s in the dollar spot at target in which case I can’t help it especially this time of year when all the teaching goodies are out…i used to teach). And when it comes to family fun stuff, we are lucky in that family always asks us what the kids would like for their birthdays, Christmas, etc. and instead of telling them about toys or such, we’ll ask for a zoo memebership for the year (this would be all 3 kids Christmas gifts from one set of grandparents) or passes to the movies, or the bowling alley, gift card to the child’s favorite restaurant, gift card to Gymboree (so I can shop the big red balloon sales and stock up on CHEAP cute clothes!) etc. This way they get something they love, involves the whole family, makes memories, and doesn’t clutter up the house. And we always get them a toy or two that they really really wanted. Wow, can you imagine how long this would have been if I had gone into all of the things we do for budgeting which I know is what you probably would have preferred, but these are some things that have helped us. And when family asks what you’d like for birthdays and holidays, keep those same things in mind. I asked for a gift card to chick-fil-a for my birthday back in Jan. because I knew this summer the kids and I would be out and about and I would have lots of coupons for chick-fil-a that I could use with it. My MIL gave me a $50 gift card and I have been able to treat the kids and I to one lunch out each week using our coupons and gift card. What a nice summer treat. Oh, last thing. Begin following Dave Ramsey. Buy his book The Total Money Makeover. It’s completely common sense based, but is nice to see it all layed out for you. It can change the way you see your money and inspire you because it has many different stories of people who probably have less than you and now have everything they need and want. Whew. I’m done…clothes need ironing now.
Ln,
Thanks for replying! I know budgeting is a humongous topic…which is why we fail because we’re so busy with work and our daughter that we don’t want to talk about money! haha. But you sound like you know more about being busy than we do! lol That’s a great idea about the passes and gift cards for Christmas…I may have to try that this year because we love taking her places but we live in nowheres-ville so if we do go somewhere we have to pay for admission on top of tons of gas which makes it very hard to go anywhere! I have heard of Dave Ramsey I just get so overwhelmed with my part of our income not being salary that it’s very hard to actually make a budget. That’s why my husband and I are trying to cut back, to kind of be able to control our budget a bit more by expecting what I’m going to get paid instead of it varying week by week…and of course so I can work less and be a mom and a wife first and foremost and not only on my days off and when I get home from work! I will have to check out that book! Thank you so much for replying! I don’t feel like I’m the only one that is stretched out and crazy busy now! lol Thank you!
And Michelle,
I know you are incredibly busy, I have no idea how you do it everyday and not just once or twice a day…you always have new stuff on here. I can’t thank you enough for giving your time to do this for all of us not-so-easily frugal people on here. A few months ago, without this website, I would have been staring at the weekly ad and saying WHAT!? $4.00 for a box of cereal…that’s a bargain! lol Thank you so much!
My favorite reaction from a cashier is when I shop on Senior Day to get my 5% discount. I ask for my senior discount, and she says, “You’re not a Senior!” And I reply, “Wanna see my ID? Please!”
i know the publix at greenbrier and congress in palms springs, fl will NOT allow you to have more coupons [competitor, mq, publix–combined] than items. i had to buy a twix once to get the deal i wanted there…which essentially nullified a coupon! i dont think they get many couponers. 🙁
my typical publix [publix at st. andrews–in front of st. james golf course–in psl, fl] is great with coupons! i ove that store so much, everyones great…everyone in every dept. knows me, my dad, and my baby girl. 🙂 even if i dont go in and my dad does, theyll ask about me and the baby. one of the assistant managers works on the main day we shop and she always just comes over and does the override without the cashier even calling her. 🙂 that being said, the cashiers typically know us, too, and my couponing ways. and tierny at cust. srvc. is always so knowledgable and will actually make notes on my coupons when i ask her something so the cashier knows i asked and that its okay. 🙂
in fact, i love going on my shopping day so much that i take it for granted! i made a trip on saturday a couple times and those cashiers dont know me…i think theyre new hires…and everything took so long for just a few items and they looked at me with wild crazy eyes–a mix between scared and “i cant believe youre making me use all these coupons.” lol. regardless, my store is great! I HEART PUBLIX!!!