This register review post comes from my Publix and Bi-Lo shopping trips on July 10, 2012.

Though that week did not stock my freezer, I snagged some fantastic deals spending a total of $7.07 for 15 items. 🙂

The listed deals within this post are not currently available. Please do not run out to your local Publix and Bi-Lo as these deals will not work. But, like previous Register Review posts, these same savings strategies stacked together yield deep discounts.

Publix

6 – Barilla pasta, 13.25-16 oz.

$1.45 each, on sale buy one, get one free ($0.72-$0.73 each)

Paid – $0.73, $0.72, $0.73, $0.72,$0.73, and $0.72

1 – Kraft Miracle Whip, 30 oz.

$4.89, on sale by one, get one free ($2.45 each)

Paid – $2.45

Subtotal: $6.80

Tax: $0

Total: $6.80

Without using coupons and purchasing buy one, get one free items, I purchased $13.56 worth of groceries for $6.80 for a savings of 45.7%. My goal is 50% savings, and this trip was really close.

In using time wisely, you can save without coupons by concentrating on the buy one, get one free sales. Though this trip was good, I stepped up my savings at Bi-Lo.

Bi-Lo

8 – Chi Chi’s Burrito Tortillas, 8-20 count

$2.09, on sale buy one, get one free ($1.04 each)

Used 8 manufacturer’s coupons for $.50 off which doubled to $1.00 off each

Paid – $0.04, $0.04, $0.04, $0.04, $0.04, $0.04, $0.04, and $.04

Total: $0.32

Tax: $0

Bag Credit: $0.05

Total: $0.27

By combining manufacturer coupons (that double) with buy one, get one free deals, I purchased $16.67 in merchandise for $0.27 which is a 98.3% savings. Yeah! I made my 50% savings goal.

My total for these two transactions resulted in purchasing $30.23 for $7.07 which is a savings of 76.6%. The best part was that I stayed within my $80 per week food budget and saved money for future deals.

Whether you use coupons or just concentrate on the buy one, get one free sales, you can feed your family without paying full price. Now, one cannot live on flour tortilla shells, Miracle Whip, and pasta. But with a fully-stocked freezer and pantry, you can choose to only purchase the big deals of the week.

As this register review comes to close, I would love to hear how you are saving money while feeding your family and using time wisely. Happy savings!

Question: What is your favorite savings strategy?

Time to check one or more receipts for savings strategies and combinations to feed our families while spending less and saving more.

For earlier editions of the Register Review, please click on these links for more examples:

• February 7, 2012
• February 21, 2012
• March 26, 2012
• April 3, 2012

In this edition, I will share my three shopping trips for the week.

In keeping our grocery budget to $80 per week, this week’s shopping trips totaled $75.44, but I will need to get another gallon of milk later in the week.

Publix

2 – Oscar Mayer Beef Franks

$5.19 each, on sale buy one, get one free

Paid – $2.60 and $2.59

2 – Domino Premium Pure Cane Sugar, 5 lb.

$3.19, on sale $2.99

Used Publix coupon for $1 off 2

Paid – $2.49 and $2.49

2 – Publix Soft Drinks, 2-liter – Root Beer and Cream Soda

$1.49, on sale 2 for $1

Paid – $.50 and $.50

8 – Kraft American Singles, 12 oz.

$3.29, on sale 2 for $4

Paid – $2, $2, $2, $2, $2, $2, $2, and $2

4 – Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner, 22 or 24 oz.

$3.49, on sale 2 for $5

Used 2 manufacturer coupons for $2 off 2

Paid – $1.50, $1.50, $1.50, and $1.50

Subtotal: $33.17

Tax: $.60

Total: $33.77

In using 3 coupons and purchasing buy one, get one free items and sale items, I purchased $61.01 worth of groceries for $33.77 which is a savings of 45.6%. My goal is 50% savings, but Kraft Singles for $2 per package is a stock up price for me. This shopping trip restocked my cheese and cleaning supplies while staying within our food budget.

Bi-Lo

2 – Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, 14 oz.

$4.59, on sale 2 for $5

Used 2 manufacturer’s coupons for $.55 off which doubled to $1.10 off each

Paid – $1.40 and $1.40

2 – Mayfield Ice Cream, 48 oz. – butter pecan and double chocolate chip

$5.99, on sale buy one, get one free for $2.99

Used 2 manufacturer’s coupons for $1 off

Paid – $1.99 and $1.99

Ball Park Hot Dog Buns, 8 ct.

$2.49, on sale buy one, get one free for $1.24

Used manufacturer’s coupon for $.55 off which doubled to $1.10 off

Paid – $.24

2 – Ground chuck value pack, $2.49 lb.

$13.74 for 3.41 lb. and $13.33 for 3.26 lb., on sale

Paid – $8.59 and $8.12

4 – Nabisco Teddy Grahams, 8-10 oz.

$3.19, on sale $2.50

Used 2 manufacturer’s coupons for $1 off 2

Used Bi-Lo e-coupon for $.51 off 1

Paid – $1.87, $1.87, $1.87, and $1.88

Southern Home Chewy Granola Bars, 10 ct.

$2.19, on sale for $2

Used Bi-Lo e-coupon for $.51 off 1

Paid – $1.49

2 – Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna, 5 oz.

$1.05, on sale for $.89

Used Bi-Lo e-coupon for $.30 off 1

Paid – $.74 and $.74

Southern Home Decaffeinated Tea Bags, 48 ct.

$5.39, on sale for $4.99

Paid – $4.99

Total: $39.18

Tax: $0

Bag Credit: $.15

Total: $39.03

By combining manufacturer coupons, e-coupons, buy one, get one free deals, and sales, I purchased $73.36 in merchandise for $39.03 which is a 46.7% savings. Still not up to 50%, but I have hamburger, tea bags, and snacks to last at least a week. 🙂

Rite Aid

3 dozen eggs

$1.49, on sale for $.88 each

Paid: $.88, $.88, and $.88

Total: $2.64 – no tax

My total for the week came to $75.44: Publix – $33.77, Bi-Lo – $39.03, and Rite Aid – $2.64. I still have a little wiggle room for another gallon of milk. Though I do not use cash when I shop, I keep a running total from my grocery list and calculating as I go to stay within our $80 per week budget.

This system works for me. Hoping that by sharing these examples, you can see that savings are possible with and without coupons. In using time wisely, I aim to save 50% or more on each shopping trip.

Though I could have purchase items with deeper discounts, I chose to purchase items that fit my family’s needs. Just knowing that I stayed within our budget and did not pay full price is reward enough for me. Happy savings!

Question: What deep discount did you find this week? 

Though I often share my deep savings trips, I do not always save 80% or more at the grocery store. Some weeks, I stock up on items we need even if the item is not buy one, get one free. Sometimes sales prices are the best you can find.

My goal is to know what a good price is by using my pricing list, to stock up when those items are 50% or more off the regular price, and stay within our $80 per week grocery budget.

The shopping trip I will share with you was a great trip with a 54.9% savings. Every time I save 50% or more at the grocery store, I get excited.

On this Publix shopping trip, I used buy one, get one free deals, sales, store coupons, and manufacturer coupons to get $109 worth of groceries for $49.09.

Buy One, Get One Free

The buy one, get one free offers I purchased were:

2 – Rosetto Tortellini, 19-25 oz., at $4.19 ($2.10 for the first and $2.09 for the second)

4 – French’s French Fried Cheddar Onions, 6 oz., at $3.79 ($1.90 for the first and third and $1.89 for the second and fourth)

2 – Ragu Pasta Sauce, 16-24 oz., at $2.19 ($1.09 for the first and $1.10 for the second)

2 – Mountain Dew, 2 liters, at $1.66 ($.83 each)

Sale Prices

2 – L’Oreal Healthy Look Crème Hair color, $4.99 each

8 – Kraft American Singles, 12 oz., $2

13 – Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables, 7.5-28.8 oz., 50% off

1 – Jif Peanut Butter, 17.3 oz., $3.59

Store Coupons

Used a $.75 Publix coupon for Jif from the yellow advantage flyer

Manufacturer Coupons

Used 1 – $.50/1 French’s French Fried Onions (which doubled)

Used 1 – $.50/1 Ragu product (which doubled)

Used 2 – $2 off L’Oreal hair color product

Used 6 – $.50/2 Birds Eye Steamfresh varieties (which doubled)

Combining the Savings

At checkout, I presented the cashier with my two loyalty cards which she scanned. Then she scanned all the items, and my subtotal was $109 before sale prices and coupons. Next, the fun begins as my children and I watch the screen to see the savings increase while the total decreases.

The cashier began scanning the coupons and then waiting for the computer to double all the coupons $.50 or less. At the conclusion, I owed $49.09, which was a 54.9% savings. With these savings, I stocked up on cheese and frozen vegetables.

During the week of this shopping trip, I also spent $7.34 at Bi-lo and $22.31 at Aldi. My total for the week was $78.53 within our $80 per week budget. Woo hoo!

Though some weeks I am under budget and other weeks I am over budget, I know going into the week how much I can spend to stay on track for the month. In working through the Money Saving Mom’s Budget assignments, I keep track of our expenses which makes staying within our budget possible.

In using time wisely, I make out my grocery list, match coupons, shop my list, and review each trip. As you combine strategies, you, too, will see regular discounts of 50% or more on your grocery bill. Happy savings!

Question: What items do you buy in multiples?

When I started delving into saving more than $2-$5 from coupons at the grocery store, I learned from both the explanation and examples.

Having explained how to get the deep savings, this Register Review feature seeks to show how to see these results week after week.

The first Register Review showcased a Bi-Lo transaction. For this second Register Review, I chose a Publix shopping trip from February 21, 2012.

Last week, I shared how Not All Locations Operate in the Same League. That post stemmed from this shopping trip. After leaving the store that would not honor the coupons that expired during the sales’ week, I went to my favorite Publix location to buy these 9 items for $2.03.

Rain Check

During a previous week’s sale, Mueller’s pasta was on a buy one, get one free sale. Since my Publix sold all their spaghetti noodles during that week, I requested a rain check for 8 boxes. I then kept my coupons in my Publix envelope until the store restocked.

NOTE: Publix rain checks in my area expire one month after issuance. Of course, if the store is still out of the product, the customer service representative will extend the date on the rain check. Check to see if your store’s rain checks expire.

For this transaction, I purchased 8 boxes of Mueller’s spaghetti noodles. Using this rain check, the first 4 boxes cost $0.72 each and the last 4 boxes cost $0.71 each.

Manufacturer Coupons

Coupons for $1 off 2 boxes of Mueller’s pasta were in a Sunday newspaper insert. Having acquired extra inserts, I had 4 coupons to use for this visit. With my Publix store’s coupon policy, I was able to use these coupons on the last day of the sales’ week paired with the rain check.

Besides the Mueller’s coupons, I also used a $.50 off coupon from a Sunday newspaper insert for the Wish Bone dressing. With Publix doubling manufacture coupons up to $.50, I received $1 off the bottle of salad dressing.

Buy One, Get One Free

The Wish Bone dressing was on a buy one, get one free sale that week. I only had one manufacturer coupon and did not need extra bottles of salad dressing, so I bought one bottle at a 50% savings.

My Publix does not require the customer to buy both items to get the buy one, get one free discount. When an item is buy one, get one free, then each bottle is half off the listed price.

The Wish Bone dressing scanned for $1.31, which was $1.30 worth of savings or 50% off.

Combining these Strategies

When I checked out, I followed these steps:

1. Allowed cashier to scan both of my loyalty cards

• UPromise – Scholarship program
• Publix Partners – Donates proceeds to our school based on the amount spent on my purchases. (Every bit helps!)

2. Gave the cashier the rain check for the Mueller’s pasta, which he used immediately

3. Watched the cashier scan the 9 items

8 Mueller’s pasta

1 Wish Bone dressing

Subtotal: $7.03

4. Redeemed Manufacturer Coupons

Used four $1 off Mueller’s coupons, which deducted $4

Used one $.50 off Wish Bone dressing coupon, which doubled and took off $1

Total: $2.03

By shopping at the most coupon-friendly Publix and combining a rain check, manufacturer coupons, and buy one, get one free sales, I spent $2.03 for $14.05 of merchandise, which was an 85.5% savings.

Though my family will not survive on 8 boxes of pasta alone, I stocked up on a great sale. After comparing prices, I usually get our staples from Aldi spending about $40 every 2 or 3 weeks to replenish our stock.

This feature will continue as I remember to take pictures of my savings before putting them all away. 🙂 If you are seeing great discounts at 20% or more off the retail price, then consider writing a guest post for Using Time Wisely. I would be honored to publish your savings. Keep practicing because you, too, can see these deep discounts. Happy savings!

Question: What stores in your area double coupons?