Publix

My sister is an expert on all things frugal.  She is the queen of deals and of getting a lot for a little.  It is really rather impressive.  Several months ago she informed me about the great deals you could get at Publix.  Publix does a weekly ad that includes lots of Buy 1 Get 1 Free options, which can make the things you buy already very cheap and even cheaper if you have a coupon.  She told me about all of things things she got for less than a dollar and even some things that she got for free.  I was skeptical at first because I have always seen Publix as the fancier, more expensive store (and it is if you don't shop the deals), but I have been testing this out and she is right.  Below is a picture of what I bought yesterday (not pictured is a 12 pack of double roll toilet paper).  I got all of this for $23.00. 

2 boxes of cereal (1 giant sized)
2 boxes of whole wheat pasta
1 box cake mix
1 box of margarine
4 bag of Nestle Chocolate chips
1 bag of Kraft Cheese
1 can of Progresso soup
1 large can of Lysol Wipes
1 pack 12 double roll toilet paper

All of these items are things I buy anyway and all of them were buy 1 get 1. You get the buy 1 get 1 price even if you only buy 1 of each thing.  The best deal I got yesterday was with coupons.  The pasta was buy one get one and I had a $1 off coupon when you buy 2, so I got both boxes of pasta for a total of .23 cents. .23 cents!!!!!! That is crazy! 

Normally, the chocolate chips would have cost me half of the total price of all I got.  I saved nearly $20 on items I buy all of the time.  The key for me, is not buying other things at Publix.  I check the ad each week and only buy things that are on sale and that I use.  I am not one of those people who go all out and dig in the trash for coupons and that sort of thing.  I actually put very little effort into this and I am still able to save a ton of money.  So thanks to my sister I have become a convert and between the Farmers Market and Publix, I am saving a ton of money on groceries.