Publix: Mistakes & Mistakes

Last week, Publix had an extra-long sales week, but I still waited until the last possible day to shop.

And I made a bunch of mistakes. I planned my trip, cut out coupons, and made a list. Then I picked up everything on my list, calculated the pre-coupon amount, and found I was a few dollars under $50 - I needed to be at $50 so that I could use my $10 off $50 Whole Foods coupon and get two $50 gas cards for $40 each. So I checked the discount carts - usually there are no good deals there, but this time I found some cocoa and chocolate syrup that was 50% off. So I got $3 worth to take my total over $50.

One of the items I bought was M&Ms. The large bags were BOGO, and with a $1 off 2 Target coupon, they seemed a good deal to get for my daughter's birthday party this weekend.

I went to check out, and everything was going okay. The cashier started running the coupons when she asked, "Did you buy Rice Krispies?"

Oh, shoot. I had forgotten to put the Rice Krispies (as well as the Kashi cereal) on my list. No wonder I was under $50. I took the coupons back, finished the transaction, put my bags in the car, and came back for the cereal.

And what did I find on the Rice Krispies boxes? A peelie coupon for free medium-sized M&M bags when you buy two boxes of Rice Krispies! Ugh! I wouldn't have bought the large bags had I had the coupon, which I would have had if I hadn't forgotten to put the cereal on my shopping list.

So I got the cereal and the free M&Ms. So now I have five bags of M&Ms in the house. Oh, well, it could be worse!

Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

1 Hershey's chocolate syrup @ 95¢

2 Nestle baking cocoa @ 2/$2.69= $2.69

2 Alexia frozen sweet potato products @ 2/$6.00 = $6.00
- 2 $1/1 Alexia Sweet Potato Item printable
- 2 $0.75/1 Alexia Frozen Item, exp. 5/12/12 (Publix, Conagra Savings & Recipes To Freshen Your Menu)
= $2.50 or $1.25 each

2 M&Ms large bag @ BOGO $5.39
- $1/2 M&M's Chocolate Candy Items Target printable
= $4.39 for two, or $2.20 each

2 Kraft Big Slice cheddar cheese @ 2/$2.99 = $2.99

2 Kraft shredded cheese, 16 oz @ 2/$6.99 = $6.99

2 Kraft chunk cheese, 8 oz @ 2/ $3.49 = $3.49

2 Fresh Express lettuce @ BOGO $3.99
- 2 $1 off Publix produce wyb Kraft sliced cheese printable (no longer available)
= $2.99 for two, or $1.50 each

4 bags of Publix bakery rolls @ $1.49 = $5.96
- 4 $1 off Publix bakery bread wyb Kraft shredded or chunk cheese printable
= $1.96 for four, or 49¢ each

12 Voskos yogurt @ $1.00 = $12.00
- 4 $1/3 Voskos yogurt printable
- 4 $1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt or Voskos Crunch, exp. 4/27/12 (Publix Yellow Advantage Flyer )
= $4.00 for twelve, or 33¢ each

- $10 off $50 Whole Foods coupon

Total product: $21.95
Tax: 33¢
Total out of pocket: $22.28
Total saved compared to Publix full prices: $62.55
(also bought two $50 gas cards for $40 each with in-ad coupon)

Transaction #2:

6 Rice Krispies, 12 oz @ BOGO $4.19 = $12.57
- 3 $1/2 Kellogg's Rice Krispies, Rice Krispies Gluten Free, or Cocoa Krispies, exp. 5/13/12 (RP 04/01/12 R)
- 2 $1/3 Kellogg's cereal Target printable
= $7.57 for six, or$1.26 each

1 Kashi cereal @ $2.99
- $2/1 Kashi Product (Recyclebank)
= 99¢

2 M&Ms, medium bag @ $3.97 = $11.91
- 3 Free M&Ms, 9-12.66 oz, wyb 2 Rice Krispies peelie (max value $3.49)
= $1.44 for three, or 48¢ each

Total product: $10.00
Tax: 71¢
Total spent: $10.71
Total saved compared to Publix full prices: $30.04