Walgreens Shopping Trip
Transaction #1
1 Neilmed Wound Cleanser – $5 (Buy 1, Get $5 Register Rewards)
Total with tax ($0.36): $5.36, Received $5 Register Rewards
Transaction #2
2 All Laundry Detergent – $2.99 each
Used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 5/11 RedPlum insert
3 M&M Candies – $0.59 each with in-ad coupon
Used Buy 2 Get 1 Free printable
Used $5 Register Rewards from Transaction #1
Total with tax ($0.55): $0.71
Total for both transactions before coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $25.52
Total for both transactions after coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $6.07
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CVS Shopping Trip
3 Purex Laundry Detergents @ $5.99 – On Sale Buy 1 Get 2 Free
Used $3/2 coupon from the 5/4 RedPlum insert
2 Colgate 360 Toothbrushes – $3.49 each (Buy 1, Get $2.50 ECBs)
Used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 4/27 SmartSource insert
1 Wet & Wild Nail Polish – $0.99
Used $1/1 coupon from the 5/4 RedPlum insert
2 Total Home Facial Tissue – $0.88 each (I wanted to use my $10 ECBs and they were out of several other sale items so I bought a few “filler” items to make my total $10. We desperately needed Kleenex so I was happy to get them “free” with my ECBs.)
1 Milky Way – $0.77 (Treat for my hubby!)
Used $10 ECBs from previous shopping trip
Total before coupons, sales and ECBs: $34.21
Total with tax ($0.49) after coupons, sales and ECBs: $1.83, Plus received $5 ECBs (for buying toothbrushes)
If you don’t have $10 ECBs and don’t want to pay that much out of pocket, you can split this shopping trip into 2 transactions. Buy the 2 Colgate Toothbrushes in Transaction #1 and pay $4.98 out of pocket. You will get $5 ECBs for buying the toothbrushes. In Transaction #2, buy the Purex, Nail Polish and Facial Tissue and use the $5 ECBs from Transaction #1 making it all free.
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So, I ventured out to do my first real grocery shopping trip in Tennessee tonight. I had Silas and Kaitlynn in tow and had planned to go to Aldi. However, for some reason, I was thinking ALDI was open until 9 p.m.
I waited to go until later so that we’d miss the crazy traffic. Well, we waited a little too long, because by the time we found the ALDI, it was 8:03 and they were standing at the door locking up.
Gulp. On to Plan B.
Which was, um, non-existent. Yep, I’m all organized like that today!
{Word to the wise: Not having a Plan B is never a good plan for grocery shopping!}
Since we were completely out of some essentials and we have guests coming over to our house all afternoon and evening tomorrow, I knew waiting until tomorrow to go to Aldi wasn’t going to work.
So, I got on my phone and starting searching for nearby grocery stores. I was so excited to locate a Publix nearby.
In fact, I let out a little cry of excitement, “Yay! I’ve never been to Publix before!!”
We trooped in, armed with a list and lots of excitement.
And I started looking at the produce section for the produce deals. I kept looking, and looking, and looking.
In fact, I spent so much time looking, that a kind Publix employee came over and asked what he could help me find. I wanted to say, “The good deals. Can you help me find them? Because I’m having a little trouble locating them.”
But alas, I held my tongue. 
Here’s what I ended up buying:
Publix Shopping Trip
Ground Turkey — $4.49
Ground Sirloin — $6.31
Frozen Veggies — $1.59
Frozen Veggies — $1.25
Frozen Veggies — $1.25
Spaghetti Sauce — $1.39
Parmesan Cheese – $2.79
Milk — $3.59
Carrots — $0.99
Cheddar Cheese — $2.50
Mozzarella Cheese — $5.99
Eggs x 2 — $2.79 each
Romaine Hearts — $3.49
Apples ($1.69/lb.) — $5.51
Bacon — $5.49
Yogurt — $1.50
Supergreens — $3.69
Pepperoni — $3.69
Tax: $4.47
Total with Tax: $66.06
Clearly, I need some help in learning how to find good deals at Publix as these prices are almost all quite a bit more than I’d typically pay. But I price-compared everything and am pretty sure I got the best deal Publix had to offer tonight.
So, help a girl out: how do you get bargains at Publix? Are there certain items you find regularly to be well-priced at Publix? What sites have the best Publix deals match-ups? I welcome all tips and suggestions.
Also, for those of you in Nashville area: What are your favorite grocery stores to shop at? Should I just stick with ALDI?
Thanks so much for your help — I so appreciate it!
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It was 9:30 p.m. on Mother’s Day. And I was tired.
Tired from a very wonderful but very busy weekend of spending time with family and friends. The late nights and early mornings had left me zapped.
Sunday afternoon, I flew back to TN with Kaitlynn and Silas (Jesse had stayed behind to wrap up a few final loose ends in KS and then drove our second car back with Kathrynne). Gratefully, our flights were uneventful and I was so happy to be back in TN.
But then I couldn’t find the car. Jesse had dropped us off at the airport door on Friday morning and then parked the car. He’d taken pictures of where he parked and had written down directions, but there I stood at 10 p.m. with two children, luggage, and no car.
I tried following the directions he gave me, but I ended up going on a wild goose chase all over Long Term Parking (that’s not surprising seeing as I’m not great with directions!).
I called Jesse and he tried to walk me through the directions again, but something was off somewhere and I wasn’t finding anything remotely close to our car, no matter how hard I looked. (Later on, we realized he’d accidentally told me to turn right instead of left at one point — which had completely thrown off the directions!)
Remember what I’d said about choosing joy? Well, um, that wasn’t going so well.
In fact, I was frustrated. It was late. It’d been a long day. My arms were tired from lugging around a heavy suitcase and bag. And everyone’s patience was waning.
Finally, we retraced our steps again, Jesse and I went over the directions with a fine-toothed comb on the phone together, and we figured out the wrong turn I’d taken, and we made it to the car.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but I was still feeling stressed and irritable. I pulled up to the booth to pay for parking and it was as if there were an angel in that booth. I kid you not.
The man in the booth looked at me and must have been able to tell that underneath my smile, there was stress and exhaustion. He looked at me and said so genuinely, “Happy Mother’s Day! It’s been a long day, hasn’t it? You need to make sure to take care of yourself as a mom. I can tell you’re such a good mom.”
He had no idea how I was feeling or how frazzled I felt at the moment, but his words were exactly what I needed to hear. I pulled away from that booth with a much lighter heart and a true smile on my face.
And his simple words reminded me of how much words of encouragement can mean to others. He could have just taken my money and said, “Have a good day!” But he didn’t.
This nameless stranger whom I’ll probably never meet again, took time out of his day to look me in the eye and give heartfelt encouragement.
Let’s never be too busy to stop and encourage others. Even just a simple and short sentence could lift someone’s spirits far beyond what you could ever imagine.
“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.”
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