Good Deals at Publix

If you are planning to stop by Publix this weekend here are a few "extra good" deals my sister and I found last night.  We did some serious damage to this store and left with three buggies full for $260!  Afterward we headed to Winn-Dixie for some BOGO meat deals and the Special K cereal deal.  We spent $85 there. 

All of this should feed 11 people over the next 15 days plus we stocked up on cereal, juice, and frozen food to last awhile.  All told it should equal about $2 per day for each person in our families.

Good Deals:
1.  In-ad coupon:  Buy 2 Ocean Spray Grapefruit Juice Drinks and get a free 5 pound bag of Ruby Red Grapefruit.
Ocean Spray Juice is on sale for $2 each.
Use  2 Competitor Coupons from Walgreens Monthly coupon booklet for $1 off any Ocean Spray Juice.
Final Cost $2 for 2 Juices and a bag of grapefruit
Value: $10.35



2.  Jennie-O Turkey Bacon unadvertised BOGO @  $2.79
In front of the bacon there is a blinkie coupon for $.55 off 1.
Use 2 coupons and pay just $.85 for each pack.




3.  Kraft Singles on sale for $2 each pack.
Print these coupons for
$1 off produce when you buy Kraft Singles and
$1 off Publix Produce when you buy Kraft Singles
Use a Walgreen Competitor coupon for $1 off when you buy 2 Kraft Singles
I bought a loaf of Publix Sandwich bread $1.29 and one large onion for $.78
Final Cost for all 4 products:  $3.07




For more weekly Publix deals head to iheartpublix.com!

Groupon Daily Deals for Jacksonville and Gainesville

Do you Groupon?  If not, you should!  It's really easy!

Groupon negotiates huge discounts—usually 50-90% off—with popular businesses. We send the deals to thousands of subscribers in our free daily email, and we send the businesses a ton of new customers. That's the Groupon magic.

Today's deal for Jacksonville is $40 worth of food from The Corner Bistro for $20.
Today's deal for Gainesville is $20 worth of Cuban Food for $10 at Virtually Cuban.

To take advantage of the deals, simply click and sign up for Groupon's daily email.  Select the city you wnat to view at the top toolbar.  Select the number of Groupons you want (each deal has a different limited quantity) and pay with your debit or credit account!  Then you can print your Groupon for use.

Today I'm taking advantage of the Cuban Food deal.  My husband and I love to eat it but I can't cook Cuban very well so for $10 we can have a date night and some great food!

New Coupons to Print at coupons.com

Coupons.com has added some new coupons to print

$3.00 OFF 1 Multipack of BOOST Nutritional Drink
$3.00 OFF 1 WONKA Exceptionals Assorted Chocolate Tin Heart
$2.00 OFF 1 WONKA Exceptionals Assorted Chocolate Heart Box
$1.50 OFF 1 Wanchai Ferry Frozen Entree
$1.00 OFF any 1lb of LAND O LAKES Deli Cheese
$1.00 OFF 1 POLLY-O Mozzarella or Ricotta Cheese
$1.00 OFF 2 Refrigerated JELL-O Gelatin, Pudding or Mousse
$1.00 OFF 2 Penn Maid Cottage Cheese
$0.75 OFF 1 Loaf Of Roman Meal Bread
$0.55 OFF 1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
$0.50 OFF 2 Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
$4.00 OFF 1 FocusFactor
$3.00 OFF 1 Flex-a-Min Product
$2.00 OFF 1 RID Product
$2.00 OFF 1 AmLactin Moisturizing Body Lotion
$2.00 OFF 2 Reach Toothbrushes
$1.00 OFF 1 REACH Dental Floss
$4.00 OFF 1 Glade Automatic Spray Starter Kit
$3.00 OFF 1 Scrubbing Bubble Power Sprayer Starter Kit
$1.50 OFF 1 Glade Automatic Spray Refill
$1.00 OFF 1 Tilex Mold and Mildew
$1.00 OFF 1 Spot Shot
$1.00 OFF 24 cans of Fancy Feast
Buy Two Get One FREE Cesar Bistro
Buy One Get One FREE Greenies Dental Chew

Consumer Math: What is an acceptable food budget?



Since before the beginning of the new year I have been thinking, no obsessing over what is an acceptable food budget for our family.  We have now been a family of 8 for a little over 3 months.  We have a mommy, a daddy, two teenage girls, 1 preteen boy, 2 preteen girls, a preschooler and a dog. 

The US Department of Agriculture says that on a "thrifty plan" should expect to spend around $1200 per month.  That figure was determined by the 2009 chart and I know prices have risen since then.  Umm, that's a second mortgage people!  And there is no way on two teacher salaries we can afford that!

Most people have no idea what they spend on food per month but I would guess from talking with people and teaching couponing classes that the average family spends about as much on food as they do their house payment.  The reason more people aren't appalled by the amount they spend on food is because they don't have to write out one check per month for it.  A quick trip to the grocery store here, run into Walmart there, McDonalds drive-thru once or twice per week. . . it all adds up to big money.

I would like to aim for half of the USDA recommendation or $600 per month.  Just figuring $1 per meal for 8 people for 30 days equals $720 so $600 is going to be quite a challenge.  I don't know if I can do it but I'm going to try.

Here's what I'm counting:
grocery shopping
fast food
dining out
health and beauty products
paper products
dog food and treats

Here's what I'm not counting as "spending" money:
Gift cards I'm given or earn through rebates or rewards
Extra Care Bucks spent at CVS
Register Rewards spent at Walgreens
Birthday Parties or other parties since it is part of that specific budget

I hope to update my spending totals each week and then monthly to see how close I can get to the $600 mark!