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 to get 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:

  1. How many coupons or what other coupons can I use with ‘conditional’ coupons?
  2. How do I get a great deal on baby food?
  3. How do you keep from going over budget when something is such a good deal and at its rock bottom price?
  4. Is it worth trying to purchase entire booklets and if so where do I purchase them?
  5. When you watch the Rite Aid videos do you receive a manufacturer’s coupon or a store coupon?
  6. If you do purchase whole inserts from a clipping service how do you know which “region” of coupons you are getting?
  7. If I have a $5 off $50 publix coupon, does my total need to be $50 after all other coupons?
  8. Why is is lately that what is posted on Monday’s Sneak Peak, does not match what my store has on sale?
  9. Can I print as many $5/$25 Save-a-Lot coupons as I need and use them on each shopping trip until it expires, or is this coupon fraud?
  10. Is there any way you could give us Thanksgiving/Christmas/baking price points?

And here are the answers!

  1. Ashley wants to know: How many coupons or what other coupons can I use with these ‘conditional’ coupons?
    -B1G3 free(up to $2.31) three cups any variety Yoplait Yogurt when you buy one box Natural Valley Granola Bar
    -$3 off fresh Fruit wyb any 3 Kashi Product     Please help as I have several dfferent kinds of these coupons and don’t know when or how to use them.

    2. I think it is easiest to write it out…
    Yoplait Yogurt–B3G1 coupon attaches to this one –no other coupons can be used.
    Yoplait Yogurt–B3G1 coupon attaches to this one –no other coupons can be used.
    Yoplait Yogurt–B3G1 coupon attaches to this one –no other coupons can be used.
    NV Granola Bars –another coupon can be used
    For the $3 off fresh fruit wyb coupon …it attaches to the fresh fruit so no other coupons can be used on it. You can still use coupons on the Kashi products.
    You need to look at what the coupon is attached to and go from there.  You can still use coupons on items that are qualifiers.

  2. Cyndi wants to know: How do I get a great deal on baby food? I am not finding any coupons in the paper. All I’ve come up with is to stock up during a Publix sale…but it’s never a fantastic deal.

    3. Michelle: There are coupons but they are hit or miss.  Baby food is a tough one.  There are the occasional deals and when you see that you definitely want to stock up.  I have seen Gerber sales and Earth’s Best BOGO recently.
    Christy: There are a few items I buy – heartburn meds for my husband, premium coffee – that are rarely a GREAT deal even with stacked coupons. I’ve just reconciled myself to paying higher prices for those items, so when the so-so deal comes along, I still stock up!

  3. Mandy wants to know: How do you keep from going over budget when something is such a good deal and at its rock bottom price? I generally like to keep my grocery bill between $50-$60 but as the holidays approach and I keep seeing all of these items that I normally wouldn’t buy in bulk at such low prices I just can’t resist! Just curious to see how you guys handle staying on a budget when things are at such great prices.

    4. Michelle:  My budget is flexible so that I can spend more or less week to week as needed.  I give myself a yearly budget for that reason.  When there is a deal so good, I don’t have to feel guilty about stocking up. When there is a really good deal on things that we will definitely use I make a point to get as much as we will use.
    When I first started couponing I had a separate budget with money that I set aside for excess or stockpile needs. If you are just starting out and still building your stockpile you might consider adding $5 per week to that budget for those can’t pass up deals!
    Christy: I think it’s gotten easier for me to pass up some deals because now that I’ve been stockpiling for over a year I have a better understanding of how much we will use and in what time frame. When I first started out I overbought on some items – getting 6 or 8 when we would only be able to reasonably use 4 or 6 before the expiration date – and throwing out items that are expired was, for me, the antidote to the “but it’s so CHEAP!” syndrome.
    If you REALLY have a hard time passing up the deals, though, you might want to look and see if there’s a food bank in your immediate area. When I see fantastic deals and I know we won’t use or don’t need that item, I’ll purchase it and drop it off at the food bank on my way home. It costs me pennies to do this, but it’s really satisfying – you get all the great deals AND you help someone else put food on the table!

  4. katb wants to know: There are so many great booklets out right now but of course there are NO booklets of any kind to be found in either of my local Publix stores. Is it worth trying to purchase these books and if so where do I purchase them?

    5. Christy: If the booklet contains a number of coupons that you know you will use and you definitely can’t find it at your store(s), then it can definitely be worth it to get your hands on some – however, rather than purchase, you really might want to try trading first! There are often people in the forums who have a few extra of a certain booklet and who are looking to trade for other coupons they need.
    If it does come to purchasing, the only place I would know to tell you to look would be eBay – commenters, do you have any other suggestions?
    Michelle:  I always try to trade for booklets if at all possible.  There are a ton of great traders over at the I Heart Publix Forum…definitely check it out!

  5. Steve wants to know: When you watch the Rite Aid Video Values do you receive a manufacturer’s coupon or a store coupon?

    6. Michelle: Technically they are store coupons since they do not begin with a “5” or “9”.  They can’t be used at other stores and are treated as store coupons at Rite Aid (you can view their policy HERE)  If will depend on your store whether they allow you to use them as a competitor coupon.

  6. Em wants to know: If you do purchase whole inserts from a clipping service how do you know which “region” of coupons you are getting? I know that coupon value will vary depending on where you purchase your paper. I normally purchase the AJC and my coupons are (sometimes) pretty high in value, but I also know that a smaller city paper will not have the highest value coupon. So if I do purchase whole inserts from a clipping service am I just taking a gamble?

    7. Michelle: Em, you should ask the clipping service because coupons can vary dramatically!!  Large market areas will typically have more coupons so you want to make sure you are getting papers from the largest metro area that you can!
    Christy: I’ve made the mistake of buying inserts off ebay without checking what was in them first and I REALLY missed out on some good coupons! Definitely ask your seller to provide you with a list of the coupons in the insert(s) or find out what area the inserts come from before you buy.

  7. Liz wants to know: If I have a $5 off $50 publix coupon, does my total need to be $50 after all other coupons?

    8. Michelle: My store requires that my total be $50 before coupons.  I am sure this is one of those things that will vary by store…what was that cute abbreviation that Christy came up with 🙂
    Christy: IDOYS – It Depends On Your Store! 🙂 Just for the record, my store requires that I spend $50 before coupons as well – and just to be safe, I always make sure that the first coupon I hand over is the $5/$50!

  8. Grace wants to know: Why is is lately that what is posted on Monday’s Sneak Peak, does not match what my store has on sale? I can see one or two things here or there, but it’s been more frequent. I’m in East Central Florida, Melbourne to Titusville area. It used to match SO well.

    9. Michelle: Different markets will vary–both in price and products on sale.  There are not typically a ton of deals but there will be some variation.  The sneak peek is to give you a general idea of the sale. You should always confirm the products/prices with your ad.
    Christy: I definitely see some differences in my ad versus Michelle’s Sneak Peak – I’m in Gainesville/North Central Florida – but I haven’t noticed any more differences than usual lately! I wonder why Grace is seeing so many differences? Is there anyone out there in the commenters that has info or theories about this?

  9. Stacie wants to know: When you sign up for Save-a-lot e-mail they send you a $5/$25 Q which my Publix accepts as a competitor. When you print this Q, it pops up your computer’s printer window and you can choose to print it as many times as you want. For coupons like this, is it okay to print it as many times as you want? Specifically on this Q, can I print as many as wanted and use them on each shopping trip until it expires? Does this become coupon fraud?

    10. Michelle: Stacie, I don’t think it is coupon fraud.  You are not doing anything wrong unless the coupon specifically states one print per household (or something to that effect). You may want to talk to your store and ask their opinion on you using them each trip. I am really surprised that so many companies are still putting on pdf coupons!!
    Christy: Same here – I’m always shocked when a company puts out a pdf coupon. However, if the company puts them out in that format, then I assume that they’re letting me assign my own limit, which I’m more than happy to do.

  10. Shanna wants to know: Is there any way you could give us Thanksgiving/Christmas/baking price points? This is my first holiday season couponing so I have NO idea what good deals are.

    11. I can offer up a very rough list; commenters, feel free to add to it in the comments!  These are the prices when I will do a big stock up. Higher prices mean I just get what I need for the moment.
    5 lb. Flour – $1
    5 lb. Sugar (regular) $1
    1 lb. Baking Sugars (brown, confectioner) 50¢
    Crisco sticks – $2
    Large Crisco tubs – $1.50
    Large Baking and cooking oils – $1.50
    Baking morsels – 75¢
    Bagged nuts – $1
    Canned nuts – 25¢
    Vanilla (& other extracts) – $1
    Spices – 50¢ to $2
    Turkey – $.59/lb
    Ham – $1.29/lb
    Stuffing Breadcrumbs – $1.50
    Canned Pumpkin – 50¢

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.