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. Can you add coupon matchups to the booklets listed under the booklets tab?
  2. Is there a limit as far as how many coupons can be used in a single transaction?
  3. When purchasing a Yellow or Green Advantage Buy deal, (2/$4 or 10/$10), do you have to purchase the quantities specified to get the deal?
  4. What does the phrase “With true BOGO” mean?
  5. Are there any ways to increase my chances of winning all the sweepstakes that you post about?
  6. You have mentioned sending expired coupons to military bases in the past. How do you do this? Where can you send the coupons? What are the rules?
  7. How do I save the most on non-food items like laundry detergent, feminine products, etc?
  8. How do you get over a ‘coupon slump’?
  9. How do BOGO coupons work if you’re in an area that doesn’t have true BOGO?
  10. Do you have any tips on how to save money
    for a big event like a birthday party? Where can I find supplies, food, favors, etc on the cheap?

And here are the answers!

  1. Bonnie wants to know: Can you add coupon matchups to the booklets listed under the booklets tab?

    2. I will try my best to do the matchups from now on…I have done them on some 😉  It will depend on how much I have on my plate at that moment!  Running three sites and still doing all of my to do’s while running my boys around to all their activities make for a very full day so sometimes I can’t do everything that I want to do. I promise I will try!!

  2. Amy wants to know: Is there a limit as far as how many coupons can be used in a single transaction?

    3. Michelle: Publix does not limit the number of coupons that can be used per transaction.  After a $50 coupon threshold has been reached, a manager override will be necessary for any additional coupons to be accepted.  I was told a while back that the threshold had been changed to $100 but I am not positive about that one!  Also, Publix registers require that the number of coupons and items purchased be equivalent.  If you have more coupons than items, a manger override will be required (or you can use fillers to avoid the need for the override).
    Christy: I know there are some stores that will sometimes restrict the number of competitor coupons you can use in a single transaction, and I’ve also heard that some stores are more strict about enforcing the ‘number of items to number of coupons’ ratio that Michelle mentions above. However, I’ve never had a problem with either of these issues at any of my local stores.

  3. Jayme wants to know: When purchasing a Yellow or Green Advantage Buy deal, (2/$4 or 10/$10), do you have to purchase the quantities specified to get the deal?

    4. You can purchase only one item and get the sale price!  So during a 10/$10 sale you can just buy one item and pay $1.

  4. Tiffany wants to know: What does the phrase “with true BOGO” mean?

    5. Michelle: True BOGO refers to areas where you must purchase two items in order to get the deal (buy one get one free).  Here in Georgia we have half price BOGO !  I do not have to buy two items to get the sale price.  My items scan at half price!
    Christy: In most (if not all) parts of Florida we have “true” BOGO – if Publix advertises a BOGO sale we pay full price for one item and get the second item for free..so if you only put one item in your care you miss out on a freebie! True BOGO can make for some AWESOME deals if you have the right coupons – for example, I was able to score two FREE containers of blue cheese this week because there was a BOGO sale and I had a B1G1 blue cheese coupon. Sadly, those who don’t have true BOGO would have to pay half price for one item in order to get the other item for free.

  5. Heather wants to know: I just recently started entering sweepstakes contests online. Can you please give tips on how to increase your chances of winning? Also, are there any security tips on how to protect your identity and how to tell if you get a phone call or email from a fake sweepstakes contest saying you’ve won something?

    6. Michelle: Consistency is key!! Your odds of winning increase the more you enter.
    If you really want to win you will need to give correct info so you will need to be sure that you are only giving that info to reputible companies!!  I don’t use my primary email address for sweepstakes and signups…but I do use an email that I check!  If I win I want to know about it 🙂  As far as how to tell if they are legit–that is a good question!  You are going to have to go with your gut.  I would not recommend giving personal info to a site that seems questionable!  If you are contacted by a company telling you that you have won something and you fear that something is not right do some research and get as much info as you can BEFORE you give them any very personal info!!
    Christy: Since I keep a running list of sweepstakes over at my site, I spend a LOT of time reading official rules for various sweeps and contests and I completely second what Michelle says above. You want to walk a careful line with sweeps; you should protect your information as best you can but you also need to give out your correct info so that if you win you’ll be able to claim your prize (many sweeps often have stipulations in their rules that they have to be able to reach you within a specific time period – sometimes only a few days – or they’ll award your prize to someone else). I, too, would suggest using a secondary (or even a dedicated) email address to enter sweeps, but make sure you check that email at least every other day. If you get a phone call or letter saying you’ve won something, the first thing you want to do is find out which sweepstakes it is that you’ve won. If you remember entering it, you should be fine – but you should NEVER have to give out your social security number, bank account information, etc, before you can claim your prize!
    As far as increasing your chances of winning – enter as often as you can and do whatever you can to get extra entries (send invitations to enter to friends, etc) into the bigger sweeps. I generally suggest that you focus mostly on the sweepstakes that have prizes you really WANT to win – I’d MUCH rather spend my time entering to win that $5,200 in Publix gift cards than jump through hoops to win an autographed Camp Rock soundtrack :), but maybe you have a 12 year old daughter or niece that LOVES Camp Rock – everyone’s priorities will be different.

  6. Julia wants to know: You have mentioned sending your expired coupons to military bases in the past. How do you do this? Where can you send the coupons? What are the rules?

    7. Christy: I have an answer to this only because the fabulous Sonya clued me in to a great program a couple months ago after I mentioned here in Ask I Heart Publix that I was looking for a way to donate my expired coupons to military families. She suggested that I look into the Overseas Coupon Program and I’ve had a great experience with them so far. Basically you sign up to ‘adopt’ a base and send them your expired coupons. I really love that it’s so self service – you can pretty much do everything on your own timeline. Since expired coupons are generally only accepted for a couple months past the expiration date, you want to make sure you purge your coupon stash and send them out regularly!

  7. R. Grant wants to know: I’ve just started couponing and have seen a significant decrease in the amount we spend on food. But what I’m super-excited about learning is how to save on non-food items like laundry detergent, feminine products, etc. How do I accomplish this goal?

    8. Michelle: While you can get some pretty good deals at Publix on non-food items, the best way to get really good deals on these items is to play the drugstore games!!  CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens all have incentive programs that when worked correctly can result in super cheap and often free items!  You will have to head over to my other site I Heart Saving Money for those deals.  I can usually score all of my toiletries, paper products, health and beauty items for next to nothing at the drugstores.  It takes a little time to learn the process for each store, but once you understand the rules you can roll your “drugstore money” into new deals each week and score big time!!

  8. Cathy wants to know: I have been couponing for almost a year. For a while I was getting better and saving more and working out the bugs. Now I average 60% savings every week. I want to do better!! Do you have any tips to get me over this slump?

    9. Michelle: 60% is nothing to sneeze at 🙂  I think if you really want to see a change you are going to have to challenge yourself and really look at ways to cut your bill even more.  I think if you were to challenge yourself to save an additional 10% this week you could do it.  It might be something as simple as modifying your menu!  If I knew that I only had $10 to feed my family for an entire week –I could make it happen. We might have dried beans for more than one meal but I guarantee you we would all eat!  I guess my point is that sometimes all you have to do is anaylyze your current plan and then make a change.  Here are a few things that come to my mind when I think of easy ways to stretch the budget a bit:
    Choose different cuts of meat (rather than have grilled steak at $8/lb–grab a cheaper cut and make beef stroganoff with meat that is $4/lb)
    Go meatless twice per week
    Buy meats that can do double duty–buy a cut that will be a roast one night then the leftover become BBQ sandwiches the next night!
    Look for recipes that only use a few low cost items.  You can make a ham & spinache quiche with only a few ingredients while still covering a good bit of the food groups!
    There are tons more…if you guys have more suggestions leave them in the comments!  Maybe I can do a roundup of ways to cut your budget to help everyone!!
    Christy: You know, Cathy, I’m in just about the same boat as you lately. I, too, have been couponing for about a year, and it seems like I’m always stuck at about 60 or 65% lately! (I’ve been wondering if it’s me or the sales, actually!!) Michelle’s suggestions above are helpful, and I think that the readers will have a bunch of other suggestions for us too. Lord knows I need something – one of the only things that’s been helping, actually, are the drug stores – THERE I can save 80 or 90% and still feel like a supercouponer!! 🙂

  9. Ga wants to know: How do BOGO coupons work if you’re in an area that doesn’t have true BOGO?

    10. If your area rings BOGO at half price and you use a BOGO coupon –you just get one item for free.  Since we only have to buy one item to get the sale price the coupon just covers one half priced item!

  10. Cyndi wants to know: My son’s first birthday party is coming up in a couple of months, and I have realized that I need to start thinking about grabbing some “party foods”, like sodas, chips, etc., over the next several weeks, whenever I see something really cheap, and save them up for the big day! I was wondering if you had any other tips on how to save money for a big event like this… party supplies, food, favors, etc.? I’m fairly new to couponing, but I want to use it to my benefit and throw a budget-friendly party for my sweet little guy!

    11. There are a ton of ways to save some moolah…I am always on the lookout for great deals.  Here is what I scored –some deals may still be valid but I am not postitive:
    –Shindigz has a different deal each day…party items for super cheap (I got plates and a banner for just a few dollars and I can reuse the banner)
    –Shutterfly –I got 15 free thank you cards (using codes SUMMERCARDS & PICKONE)
    –FREE 20 page Large Hardcover Photo Book from Picaboo–just paid $8.99 shipping (valid through 8/31)
    -I made the cake from my stockpile stuff
    -Use Amazon gift cards that I earned from Swagbucks and got Jeb’s gift for FREE!
    -I got clearance favors from Celebrate Express
    -I used a coupon at Office Express to buy card stock and printed my own invitations.
    -We all know that we can score super cheap party snacks & food!
    I chose to have Jeb’s party at a jumpy place…I budgeted for way ahead of time it so it did not impact my weekly budget.  Had I had the party at my house I bet I could have done EVERYTHING for under $25.  I tried to be aware of the deals and grabbed things when they were on sale and I planned ahead.  I think planning is the best way to have a party on a budget!!

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.