Coupon Question and Answer: Best of I Heart Publix 3/13
March 13, 2013
We’ve been answering questions for Ask I Heart Publix for over two years now, and we’ve definitely found that some questions keep popping up as new couponers write in. So every month we’re going to feature a “Best Of” Ask I Heart Publix, where we post some of our favorite questions and answers from past weeks, months, and years.
Don’t worry….we’ll still be answering the new questions you guys send in, too, so keep sending in those questions! Just remember if we didn’t get to your question this week…we will do our best to cover it another week!!
Don’t forget to look under the “About” tab where you can find the questions and answers from past weeks!
Here are this week’s “Best of” questions:
- I never know when to buy coupons…do you wait until you see the good deals?
- What is the absolute best strategy for using free product coupons if you live in half price BOGO land?
- Do you have any advice on how to balance couponing with a (VERY) busy schedule?
- What are your stockpile “rules”?
- If you activate a Upromise coupon on your card, can you get the contribution more than once, or is it once per item?
And here are the answers!
1.Courtney wants to know: I have only been couponing for a few months and I’ve just now started getting really awesome deals and I’m wanting to start my stockpile. I have thought about using a couponing service but never know when to buy coupons. Do you wait until you see the good deals? How early can you preview the Publix weekly ad to know what coupons you might want multiples of? Any advice would be helpful on purchasing coupons!
Christy: Michelle posts the weekly ad on Monday morning, so I always make a point of checking the ad on Monday for any great coupons I will need to purchase. If there’s anything I need, I always order on Monday so that I can be relatively sure that I’ll receive my coupons in time. However, there have been a few times this year that I’ve ordered coupons without a corresponding sale. When I know I will definitely use a high-value coupon, I scoop those up as soon as I can!
Michelle: I always check the insert preview each week and if there is a high value coupon (that I know I will use) I will order those in hopes of a sale. Otherwise I wait for the preview to order/trade my coupons.
2. Lisa wants to know: What is the absolute best strategy for using free product q’s if you live in half price BOGO land? As I see it, the only reason to wait for a sale would be to reduce tax. Any other thoughts?
Christy: I live in the land of true BOGO, so Michelle is definitely the expert in this area…the only thing I can think of that would make a free coupon better is if there was a store coupon you could stack with it. For example, if you had a free coupon for a Pepsi 12 pk, and a Yellow Advantage Buy flyer came out with a Publix coupon for ‘Free Pretzels wyb Pepsi 12 pk,” then you could double up on the freebies.
Michelle: I usually save my coupons to use to get my total up when using a $5 off $50 (& the like) Otherwise there is really no strategy when using them. I don’t think the coupon will reduce your tax. The only time that happens is when you use store coupons (I think?!!)
3. Brandy wants to know: I recently went back to work full-time last month. I gave myself some time to adjust to the new routine, but I’m still have trouble keeping up with my couponing and getting to the stores for the deals in addition to my “normal” household schedule, time with the kiddo, homework, dance classes, etc. Any advice on how to stay on top of my couponing? (Accessing the internet at work to see what deals are available is a major no-no).
Christy: This is something that I think we all struggle with from time to time…sometimes life gets busy and couponing has to take a backseat to everything else.
If I only had an hour to put into couponing every week, I’d spend that hour on the Super Deals post and the Happy Report. That’s where I usually find the absolute best deals – and at least if you can keep up with those great deals it will keep your totals lower during your adjustment period! Commenters, do you have any other suggestions for Brandy?
Michelle: Oh Brandy, I wish I had some words of magic but I think all of use have this same issue! I see so many deals day to day that I can’t keep up with what sale is where and what week!! Usually, each night I check my sites and print any coupons that I think I will use, grab any online deals that I want and call it a day. Then, I typically stay up late the night before I shop making my list and organizing my coupons. I do what I can do.
Sometimes I miss the deals but I don’t stress–THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ANOTHER DEAL! I have learned to prioritize and do the best that I can. I have yet to go to bed thinking…wow, I did everything that needed to be done today! I am happy if I make a dent in my to do list.
4. Krystal wants to know: When do you consider your stockpile for a certain item,”full”? Right now it seems like I have too much cereal, just enough of each type of condiment, and I am almost out of pasta. My kids will eat the frozen breakfast items as fast as I can buy them, so that area is fine.
I am finally starting to catch on to the cycles- for example, my first week couponing was a sale for 8 O’Clock Coffee, and I got a few bags. A few weeks ago, it went on sale again, so I bought 15 bags: enough to last me 3 months until it goes BOGO again. I had a great coupon combination for the cheap Olay bar soap and secret deodorant- but adding that to the Dove deal in the green flyer, gave me too many! I didn’t realize they expire so soon. I have 5 or 6 boxes of Glad garbage bags, but I know that’s something we will always use up, and they dont expire.
When do you consider your stockpile of a certain item so full, that you pass up a sale/coupon combination? Would you get it anyway if it was free? What are your rules? I don’t want to be the couponer who buys things JUST because it is a good deal!
Christy: I think that the longer you coupon the better you will get at managing your stockpile, but I also think that we all struggle with this sometimes. I’ve been doing this for a year and a half now and I still mess up from time to time! What I do now is try to take an inventory about every 4 to 6 weeks. I think I’ve mentioned before that I keep a Sharpie on the fridge and I write the month & year of expiration on anything I buy as it comes into the house, which makes my inventory MUCH easier. If I have more of something than I will use before it expires, I donate it to my local food bank..I want SOMEONE to be able to use it before it’s too late!
Michelle: You will be able to tell more as you go. I still find that I am always having to re-evaluate and inventory. Sometimes I stock up only to find that my family gets tired of a specific product. Other times I think I have enough to last me until the next sale and the boys go through double what I anticipate. I do my best to keep up but I make mistakes occasionally.
For items that do not expire that I know we will use (paper towels, trash bags, toilet paper, aluminum foil, ziplocs, etc) I buy when they are at my “buy it now” price! I don’t care if I have 20 boxes of trash bags…if I can get them for $1 per box I will get a few boxes. You have to look at what you will use before they expire and also consider what you can store.
For the items where there are pretty frequent deals (toothpaste, soap, deodorant, etc…) I just make sure I have a 3 month supply and then only buy when my stock is low.
5. Susie wants to know: If you activate a Upromise coupon on your card, can you get the contribution more than once, or is it once per item?
In the past all Upromise coupons have been available for a single use (with the exception of coupons that give you a percentage back….those are clearly marked and you can get a deposit every time you purchase those specific products). There are also some just-introduced “One or Many” offers that allow you to earn a deposit when you purchase a certain dollar amount of a certain product.
Joining Upromise is a great way to earn money with very little effort. Remember you do not have to have a child to participate.
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.
I used to be able to stack the Winn Dixie and Publix gas card coupons but last weekend I was told the coupon policy changed and this is no longer allowed. I was buying $100 in groceries and $100 in gas cards and was going to use (3) $5/30 Winn Dixie and (2) Publix $10 off gas cards when you buy $50. I ended up just using (2) Publix $10 off gas cards.
Anyone have any input?
Yes the policy changed so now to use both you have to spend a minimum of $80. So you would have had to spend $160 to use two of each. I ended up just using the Publix gas card deal as well.
I was informed of the same thing this morning at check out. After speaking with customer service, they did give me a refund for the amount of the Winn Dixie coupons but told me that was only because I wasn’t told on previous trips. The woman at customer service also told me that I could not separate the transactions into $30 increments (even though the coupon DOES limit one per transaction). She advised me to call corporate and see if we can get the policy changed since most people have been using these coupons for so long. I spoke with a very understanding woman at corporate and that encouraged me. Maybe more people calling will help! Their number is 1-863-668-1188. Hope this helps!
I bought 6 gas cards over the weekend. My Publix no longer allows me to use multiple $5 off Winn Dixie coupons in the same order, however I can use one $5.00 Winn Dixie off my $50.00 groceries and one $10.00 Publix off my gas card in one transaction. I have to break my orders down into $50.00 separate trips when I am trying to buy multiple gas cards and when I am doing my regular shopping I break them down into $30.00 trips. This is more work but I have the time and there are 7 Publix’s with in 4 miles of my house! I think it should be allowed because the Publix $10.00 off is a store coupon off an item just like a $1.00 off Publix cheese. If you were to use the cheese coupon you could still use the $ off total order coupon.
i totally agree! i tried to use 1) 5/30 winn dixie as well as 10/50 gas card deal (i had 70.00 groceries ). i was told by the cashier that i would have to spend 80 dollars on groceries to use them both.the manager came over and explained it to me. she said i had to meet the required purchase on each coupon to use them together. i had to ask. well, then if i have a coupon from the manuf for 1.00 off 4 cokes and another store coupon for 1.00 off 4 cokes then i have to buy 8 total. right? her answer was no you can use them both on 4. she said the new policy says we have to do it that way for the dollars off of dollars spent only.
i really need to see this new policy.
I LOVE Publix, but I am not thrilled with the new policies. My biggest complaint is they are beginning a policy before they pass the information to the consummer. My Publix has no written version of this new policy, and no one seems to know exactly what it is, so how can I abide by it if I don’t know what it is? Yesterday they said they are expecting the info April 1st. They should not start a policy before it is written and explained.
Brandy try this to keep on top of your couponing. you need to take time for you so take 15 minutes each day and sit at your computer with the beverage of choice
check out I heart Publix daily deals or whatever and print coupons. Stash in your binder, Make your shopping list on Monday when Michelle posts it. That gives you a week to clip and shop (Monday or Tuesday are great days to shop) If you make a scheduled time to coupon every day you catch the deals and won’t be overwhelmed or miss on the deals you want. Plus once it becomes part of the routine everyone wins!
Krystal pick your “can’t pass it up price” mine is $1.00 or less per package. Check your expiration dates, how much you already have and is it something you would consider donating for that price? If Michelle has a scenerio where I can get it for 50 cents on something I don’t use, I buy it and donate. If I donate a dollar a week I am giving up a can of pop out of the vending machine. (don’t buy out of vending machines but I see the price they want)
I guess it depends which publix you go. I bought 4 gas cards in one transaction and used several winndixie coupons plus 4, 10 off gas plus my other coupons on top of that.
I have a really big stockpile on handsoaps , toothpaste , body wash and shampoo/conditioner . This things that we use everyday and they have very long expiry dates. I don’t stock up on things that go bad quick even if its free unless you give it away.
Brandy – I get up every morning and shower… then 10 minutes on the computer to send coupons to the printer from a quick overview of iheartpublix… I grab the coupons and stash in a folder – I cut them when I have a break – during a conference call, at lunch, at a doctor’s office waiting, etc. In the evening when everyone is asleep I take 20 minutes to file my coupons that I clipped. I make my lists and grab my coupons and stash them in the car. I make a quick run into a publix on my way to work, on the way home, whenever I can fit in a quick run and I stick to the list and have my coupons ready. It takes a lot of organization but only 30 minutes a few times a week.
I do a daily quick print of coupons, checking here and other sites. I have a zipper notebook with front pouch for coupons and put the uncut coupons in the front pouch. There are a couple of TV shows per week I watch and during those I trim, organize and file my coupons. I usually print my grocery list from here soon after it posts and check off coupons as I gather them in a clip for the store. My notebook gets into the car any time I am likely to stop by the store because often there are other items I see that I have coupons on that makes them worthwhile.
Free is not really free because you spend money on ink and paper plus your time. That’s why I only buy the stuff that I don’t have yet and my family needs in everyday life and things that have very long expiry dates or won’t expire. When you’re new to couponing, you want to buy all the good deals and that gets overwhelming . At least that’s what I did when I first started last year.
I still don’t understand why you can’t use the winn dixie coupon with the gas card deal because the 10 off is the gas card and the winn dixie is for the groceries. The 10 off coupon says 10 dollars off gas card if you spend 50 groceries. It did not say 10 off groceries if you spend 50. The way I understand it is the 10 off is for gas card and the winn dixie is for the groceries.
Hey guys ! I have a question . Where is the best place to buy coupons online ? I never buy any before. Is it worth buying coupons online? I need a site that is reliable and fast. Hope anybody can help me. Thanks !
I buy most of mine off of Ebay. I would use coupon clippers more, but most of the time they don’t stock the really good coupons I’m wanting or they sell out quick. I check this site sometimes http://www.couponbeat.com
Check out http://www.wizclipz.com or http://www.insertinsanity.com. I buy whole inserts as well as clipped coupons. They are very professional & super fast. They are located near Tampa, FL & I live in south Georgia, so I usually get my coupons within 2-3 days.
To Krystal’s question, knowing what you will use in 3 months is a good start to building your stockpile. I will use a deal to try something we don’t normally use and if it is a hit, will give it stockpile space in the future. My rule of thumb is 3 months for things with expiration dates and 6 months for things without expiration dates (or super long expiration dates). My pantry is open shelving in the garage where everything has a place and there is a place for everything. If we use it once a week, I need 12 of a 3 month item and 24 of a 6 month item. One shelf is ‘overflow’ where a deal was too good to pass and I bought more than I normally would. As holes develop in the main shelves, items from overflow get moved in to fill the holes. When there is nothing in overflow to fill them, it is time to start looking for deals on that item. As we change our habits over time, a box needs to be donated before items reach expiration. About once a year I empty and clean the shelves and reset them according to our current useage. I use ‘free’ or ‘money maker’ items we never use to pad a bill to use $5 off $30 Winn Dixie or similar coupons, and these items go directly into the donation box
@Brandy, I’m in the similar boat as yourself. In between running my own online business, postal runs, reorganizing/maintaining my warehouse, household chores, picking kids up from golf practice, helping with kids homeowrk, being a wife, being a trip planner, helping out in the church, making donation runs to various organization, tax preparer and house hunting (whew, I STILL think I left out a lot
) I try to multi-task everything. As I’m typing now, I’m keeping up with the economy on the news, preparing a shopping list for today and separating orders into a separate folder for each transaction, and planning to go to my warehouse and post office all before 3 pm. The bulk of my couponing is done Sunday – Tuesday in stages. One day cut inserts, one day cut all printed coupons, final day put them all in the corresponding binders. While putting them in the binders, I clear out expired qs.
To stay on top of my stockpile, I donate! I limit myself to 4 shelves. If it starts to fill up and I have too much stuff I will give stuff to family members and I frequently donate items to local charities and food banks.
I think this is more of a question than a comment, I see links in the newsletters for specific items, but when I click to go to the coupon source the items isn’t there ANYWHERE, not at the end and not showing as print limit reached either (obviously since I haven’t found it to print it). Leaving the zip-code blank doesn’t help. I was looking for the Voskos coupon referenced as Smart Source 3-3 but could not find it. Typing Voskos coupons in my search engine got me to Ebay where folks were selling this one in lots of 20, how did they find them and get so many?
Publix doesn’t get a rebate for the gas cards. In other words, the $10 loss is offset by the customer spending $50. I’d expect some rewording on the coupon when they do it again. Shell, BP and racetrac isn’t giving the discount.
@Tammi, thank you. I’ll check it out.
In response to Lisa’s question: I, too, live in half price BOGO land, which is really frustrating sometimes. We just got a new Publix next door to our Walmart, so I price match at Walmart to get the truly free deal. For example, this week the Cesar dog food was BOGO for .80 & I had BOGO coupons. At Publix, it would have cost me .40/2, but at Walmart they were both free. It did take forever at checkout, but I was able to get 20 packs of dog food for just .50 tax. My mom’s dogs will be so grateful!
The way I have always read the gas card coupons is $10 off $50 gas card wyb $50 worth of groceries. The $10 is off gas, so I can use total purchase coupons on the rest of my order. My store just recently started accepting multiple $/$$ again after about 6 months of one per customer/transaction (meaning multiple $30 trips per day/week walking out of the store and shopping again). Unless they change the wording, it should work that way. I even used $10/40 target cleaning q in conjunction with gas card deal
can we combine publix manufacture coupon with smart source coupon for the same product
@Brooke , thank you ! I’ll give it a try.