Wednesday Weekly Shopping: Competitor coupons rock!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wednesday Weekly Shopping: Competitor coupons rock!

I invite you to link up to your best grocery deals below!

For the first time, I tried using competitor store coupons at my grocery store. I had never tried this before, though it is a staple of most of the folks who get tons of groceries for almost nothing. (And I admire you, and envy you just a smidge.) So, I went to a Publix which is right next to a SuperTarget, figuring if any store considered Target a competitor, they would.

Before using the coupons, I asked at the customer service desk. This was a smart move... I was told that in my area Publix generally considers Winn-Dixie and Albertson's a competitor. Which makes no sense, since Albertson's is no longer in the area, and Winn-Dixie does not issue store coupons. I asked about Target, and they aske me how much the coupons were for. When I said 75 cents, the customer service person agreed to accept it, and initialed the coupons.

So, my use of them was successful. I had shied away from using them before, but I will definitely use competitor store coupons in the future!

I also used a strategy I've talked about before to lower my Publix bill by $10. I speak about it here: Using Coupons and a Flexible Savings Account to Save on Groceries. I went to Publix three times, using the Publix calendar coupons each time. How did I forget about those? November's coupon is $3 off a purchase of $30, and December's is $5 off $50. How great is that?

I also bought milk at CVS and BJ's (which I joined recently), vegetables at Western Beef (can't find the receipt, but I remember the amount), and Target, where I got oatmeal with the $2 off coupons, 99 cent eggs, and 10 cheese items using Target printables and the $5 off 5 Kraft coupons. I am going to miss those!

Overall, I spent $61.67 for items worth $124.83, or a 51% savings.

See all my shopping here.

Check out the following to see how others shopped this week!

How did your shopping go this week? What bargains did you get? Please leave a link to your blog post about your weekly shopping. Please link up directly to your post, not to the blog itself. I'd appreciate it if you put a link to Wednesday Weekly Shopping in your post as well. If you don't have a blog, please leave a comment!

6 comments:

Cheryl @ Simply Shoeboxes, November 3, 2010 at 1:48 PM: I have heard great things about Publix. None here. Great job--so glad you finally took the plunge, you will no doubt be saving much more now.
Ashley, November 6, 2010 at 10:19 AM: thanks for link up!
Coupon Teacher, November 6, 2010 at 10:20 AM: I wish I had a Publix! Great thinking!
Amber, November 6, 2010 at 11:49 AM: I am too a little jealous by those who can use competitor coupons at their grocer. We have Kroger as our main grocery store and you can get some great deals there but I would love to have some more shopping options. :)

Amber @ SiMoneysavers.com
Rebecca @ A Dash of Thyme, November 7, 2010 at 9:57 PM: I love the new feature of internet coupon links, and of course you did fabulous as always! :) Thanks for the link up!!
Rebecca
J Rodney, November 12, 2010 at 7:24 PM: We actually still have an Albertson close by, but I have not been there for years. The Publix I went to today does not accept Target, but my regular one does because it is right next to Target. They just started accepting them, when Target expanded their grocery section in the fall...YEAH! It really is awesome, and it is saving me a lot.

I'm signed up for the Baby Club, and they sometimes send out $5 off coupons. This week I got a bunch of coupons not from the baby club, but I guess because I have the card, and there were several of those $5 off! Another Yeah!!!

The Publix stores in my area are really bad at putting out coupon booklets, so I try to go at as many as I can to find them.

BTW ALDI is open!!! I have not been able to shop there yet, but they sent me a box with groceries yesterday on their opening day. Did you get to go yet?

I now have 2 Aldi giveaways up, and I actually featured one of your comments. Okay, I think this became more of a letter than a comment...I'm just so excited about having found another South Florida frugalista:)

Thank you for participating in last week’s Weekly Savings Linky, I hope you will link up again at the Weekly Savings Linky @ Frugality Is Free , it’s a great place to connect with other frugalistas. Tweet about the Weekly Savings Linky or post the button for a chance to become the Top Frugalista!