Publix: The milk deal almost went sour

 

Hi readers!  I strive to have my Publix shopping post up on Thursday by 2 pm.  Please bookmark the Frugal Follies Publix Deals page by right-clicking that link and then choosing "Bookmark This Link" so that you can check out my deals as soon as they are posted!

This week at Publix, I was very excited about the free milk deal. Get six participating products listed in the weekly ad or on a flyer in the store, and you get a free gallon of milk. With milk costing $3.65 per gallon in my area, this was a great deal!

Consulting the weekly ad and my coupon database, I decided to buy:

• 2 boxes of Chex cereal (with this $1.00 off 2 General Mills Big G cereals coupon)
• 2 bottles of Herbal Essences shampoo (with the $3/2 Herbal Essences or Aussie Product, exp. 9/30/12 (RP 08/05/12) coupon)
• 2 Charmin bathroom tissues (with two $0.25/1 Charmin Product, exp. 9/30/12 (P&G 08/26/12) coupons and one $1/2 Charmin or Charmin Basic, exp. 9/30/12 (Publix, Running Out? Run In) coupon).

When I got to the store, I picked up a flyer with the products to purchase for the sale.  I picked out my items and went to the cash register.  I was in a long line when a new register opened and the cashier called me over.

Now, I absolutely love the cashiers at my Publix - they're always great with the coupons, regardless of how many I have.  Except this one cashier.  She seems to check every one as if I'm trying to steal from the store, and she has a bad attitude about it.  I avoid her as much as I can, but this time it was unavoidable.

I showed her the flyer and told her that I wanted to make sure that I got the free milk.  She said, "Which items did you get?"

"Two Chex cereals, two Herbal Essences shampoos, and two Charmins."

"Well, the Charmin isn't on this list."

"But it's in the ad."

"I'll have to call a manager."

The cashier started ringing up the purchases, and one of the managers happened came over to bag my groceries.  The cashier showed him the problem, and he said, "If it's in the ad, take it."

The milk, as it turned out, was not automatically discounted.  The cashier had to figure out how to do it manually.  But I did get my free milk!

So if you plan to use the Charmin as part of the free milk deal, be sure that it is accepted and that you do, indeed, get the free milk.

Otherwise, this was a fun shopping week.  I got four Keebler Cinnamon Roll cookies for 30¢ per bag by combining 4 $0.70 off 1 Keebler Cinnamon Roll Cookies coupons with 4 $0.75/1 Keebler Cookie Pack, exp. 9/23/12 (RP 07/29/12 #2, Target) coupons.  Yes, that coupon was from July.  It pays to keep your coupons organized!

And I was able to use the Kleenex coupon that Walgreens refused to take a few weeks ago.  I'm glad I held onto it!

I was also able to get Cheerios, ice cream, and sweet potatoes at a great price!

For some of these deals, I used Target and Whole Foods store coupons.  Be sure to check if those stores are considered competitors to your Publix store before using those coupons.

Here's what I got this week:

2 Chex cereal @ $1.99 = $3.98
-  $1.00 off 2 General Mills Big G cereals printable coupon
= $2.98 for two, or $1.49 each

4 Keebler Cinnamon Roll cookies @ BOGO $3.49 = $6.98
- 4 $0.70 off 1 Keebler Cinnamon Roll Cookies printable coupon
- 4 $0.75/1 Keebler Cookie Pack, exp. 9/23/12 (RP 07/29/12 #2, Target)
= $1.18 for four, or 30¢ each

2 Cheerios cereal @ BOGO $4.55
- $1.10/2 Cheerios Cereal printable (also available: $1.00 off 2 boxes of Cheerios cereals)
= $3.45 for two, or $1.73 each

4 Ben & Jerry's ice cream @ BOGO $4.79 =  $9.58
- 2 $2/2 Ben & Jerry's or Starbucks Product, exp. 10/4/12 (Publix Best Meals Happen At Home, September Email)
=  $5.58 for four, or $1.40 each

2 Alexia sweet potato puffs @ BOGO $3.79
- $0.55/1 Alexia Frozen Item, exp. 10/28/12 (SS 09/16/12 R) (I only had one coupon, but you can use two)
- $1/2 Alexia Sweet Potato Item (Whole Foods)
=  $2.24 for two, or $1.12 each

2 Charmin 6-pack @ $3.99 = $7.98
- 2 $0.25/1 Charmin Product, exp. 9/30/12 (P&G 08/26/12)
- $1/2 Charmin or Charmin Basic, exp. 9/30/12 (Publix, Running Out? Run In) coupon)
=  $6.48 for two, or $3.24 each

2 Herbal Essences shampoo @ $2.49 = $4.98
- $3/2 Herbal Essences or Aussie Product, exp. 9/30/12 (RP 08/05/12)
= $1.98 for two, or 99¢ each

4 Kleenex tissues @ $1.25 = $5.00
- $0.50/3 Kleenex Product, exp. 9/23/12 (SS 08/12/12)
- 2 $1/2 Kleenex Product Publix coupn (One Stop. One Store. booklet)
= $2.50 for four, or 63¢ each

1 gallon milk @ $3.65
- Free milk when you buy 6 participating items
= FREE

- $5 off $50 Publix coupon

Tax: $1.66

Total out of pocket: $22.20
Total saved compared to Publix full prices: $57.53

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