Publix: Ran in, ran out
I went to Publix today to take advantage of their "Running Out? Run In." deal: Buy $30 in participating products, get a $5 Publix gift card via rebate.
But I didn't just run in and grab the items; I made a plan. I never just run in to Publix; you'd spend too much!
But a few unexpected things occurred when I went to the store.
First of all, on a good note, I found a display with Publix store coupons for the promotion. Only one coupon matched the items I planned to get: a $1 off two Charmin. But I was only planning to buy one Charmin.
I also had been hoping to buy four Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, priced at $1 and use 50¢ off coupons from the 11/20 Smartsource insert. But it turns out that those coupons are for the Grands! cinnamon rolls, which are not part of the deal!
So I decided to forget the cinnamon rolls (who needs 'em, anyway) and buy another 6-pack of Charmin. I knew that there were 25¢ off Charmin coupons from the P&G insert at home, but I wasn't going to run home and back just to save a quarter.
I also planned to buy 4 boxes of Multigrain Cheerios, but the store only had 3 in stock. Luckily, they were willing to substitute a box of regular Cheerios and still take the Multigrain Cheerios coupon.
And lastly, there were a couple of mistakes at checkout: One $1.00 coupon did not come off. And I gave a $5 off $50 Doris Italian Market coupon from Recyclebank to the cashier, but it was inputted as $2.00. Unfortunately I did not catch either error until I wrote this blog post. Not sure how I should handle these - what do you think I should do?
So here's what I got!
2 Charmin 6 pack @ $3.99 = $7.98
- $1.00/1 Charmin coupon (P&G Have You Tried This Yet? mailer)
- $1.00/2 Charmin or Bounty Publix coupon (available in-store)
(also available: $1/1 Charmin Ultra Soft or Ultra Strong Mega Roll via Upromise Deposit)
= $5.98 for two, or $2.99 each
($1.00/1 Charmin coupon not rung up)
2 Multigrain Peanut Butter Cheerios @ $2.50 = $5.00
- 2 $1.00 off Multigrain Peanut Butter Cheerios printable
= $3.00 for two, or $1.50 each
4 Multigrain Cheerios @ $2.50 = $10.00
- 4 $0.75/1 Cheerios, Multi-Grain Cereal printable
(or try $0.75/1 Cheerios - Multigrain via Cellfire if available)
= $7.00 for four, or $1.75 each
12 Yoplait yogurt, 6 oz @ 60¢ = $7.20
- 2 $0.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt Cups, exp. 3/31/12 (GM 02/05/12)
- $1/10 Yoplait Yogurt Cups, exp. 2/25/12 (Publix, Running Out? Run In. Flyer)
= $5.40 for twelve, or 45¢ each
2 Monterey refrigerated pasta @ BOGO $3.99
- 2 $1/1 Monterey Pasta or Sauce printable
= $1.99 for two, or $1.00 each
1 Goodnites @ $19.99
- $2/1 GoodNites Underwear printable
- $3/1 GoodNites Publix in-ad coupon
= $14.99
- $5 off $50 Doris Italian Market Recyclebank coupon (rung up as $2.00)
Total product before coupons: $54.16
(qualifies for two $50 gas cards for $40 each)
Total product eligible for Running Out? Run In. promotion: $30.18
(qualifies for $5 mail-in rebate Publix gift card)
Total product after coupons: $37.36
Tax: $1.68
Total product after tax: $39.04
Pay $19.19 with Flexible Savings Account card (Goodnites for $19.99, minus manufacturer's $2.00 off coupon, plus $1.20 tax) - not counted toward grocery budget
Total out of pocket from grocery budget: $19.85
Total saved compared to Publix full prices: $55.21
I hope you found this post to be helpful! If you'd like to learn more about frugal living, couponing, freebies, and deals, please subscribe to the Frugal Follies newsletter, become a fan on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.
6 comments:
The customer service is really good at the Publix I go to, I'm sure if you just tell them what happened and bring your reciept they'll refund you the few bucks. You don't have to make a special trip about it, just go the next time you run into Publix. :)
Yes, Monica is right, this happen to me one time Only it was the whole $5.00 that was missed. I was thinking I have no proof of the coupon because they have it. So the next time I was in I mention it to the Manager who happened to be ringing me out and he ran into the office and came out with the coupon (must have realized draw was over) gave me back the coupon to use. Amazing customer service! Thanks for sharing your shopping trip!
The customer service at Publixs is exceptional simply tell them what happened take your two .25 off charmin coupons with you they will likely give the the $3.00 for the Recyclebank coupon that only rang as two and the two .25 coupon for the toliet paper take your receipt and your Charmin coupons they will take care of you the next time you are in. If your not going back this week call them tomorrow and let them know what happened they will make a note of it for the next time your in the store.
You may want to check out the clearance sale on Goodnights at CVS. They're 50 to 75% off certain packages. Add your coupon, and I think you'll get a much better cost for the quanitity.
This is off topic, but I am so excited to find a site that does Publix matchups from the Palm beach Miami area.
do you do complete matchups? and what day do you typically have the new ad posted?
Wow that was really nice of them to give you back the coupon! I noticed a couple weeks ago that they ran a bogo q wrong, but I didn't pay close enough attention so I figured it was my loss. I have never went back about a coupon because I am not sure how they would know. Regardless nice trip for less than twenty bucks!!
Post a Comment