Publix is my FAVORITE grocery store! I will admit that with ALL of the sales, coupons, and BOGO’s, it can be a little overwhelming. I was a little overwhelmed when I first started really shopping there; however, after a couple of trips and seeing all the savings I could get, I was hooked.
It wasn’t until I started this blog that I realized that a lot of people didn’t know about all of the savings and perks you can get by shopping at Publix. So, here are are my secrets to saving big at Publix.
15 Ways to Save at Publix:
1. Know when your Publix store runs its weekly ad.
Publix stores are divided into regions. Depending on which region your local Publix store falls under will depend on when the weekly ad runs. It will either run from Wednesday to Tuesday or Thursday to Wednesday. Holidays are a bit different and those weeks will normally have a 10 day ad instead of a 7.
2. The sooner you can see the weeks’ match-ups, the better you are.
Frugal Finds During Naptime normally publishes the Publix weekly ad on Mondays, which gives you a couple days to get your deals together before they start. This gives you the upper hand because you can go ahead and print your coupons for the freebies and/or money makers or really hot deals.
3. Find out your store’s coupon policy.
Depending on which region you are in will depend on if your store doubles coupons, which stores Publix will accept coupons from, and if your store is a “true BOGO” store.
- If your store does double coupons, it will be coupons up to $0.50 (which will double to $1.00) unless the verbiage “do not double” is on the coupon.
- Find out from the customer service desk which stores they consider a “competitor”. Publix will accept coupons from these stores. My local Publix accepts Target as a competitor, which is AWESOME because Target comes out with those awesome coupons for meat, produce, and more!
- If your store is a “true BOGO” store, this means that when an item is on sale for Buy One Get One Free, you must purchase TWO to get that deal. My local Publix is NOT a true BOGO store. This means that when Cheerios are Buy One Get One Free at $3.49, I can purchase ONE box and pay $1.75 (or half price). There are advantages and disadvantages to both. You can ask at the customer service desk and they can let you know. Knowing this will help you be able to plan your trips in advance and how many coupons you will need for each item.
4. Stack the savings with the in-store flyers.
Every two to three weeks, Publix has TWO flyers that come out one for grocery items and one for health/beauty items. These flyers are full of deals and Publix store coupons to stack WITH the weekly ad. When you stack these together, you can normally snag some great deals. Just remember to be patient though. If there is a store coupon, that item will eventually be on sale.
5. Look for additional store coupons.
While you’re shopping in Publix, if you see a display with Publix coupons on them, go ahead and grab a couple of each. These items will eventually go on sale, and it’s better to have them for when that item does go on sale so you can save more, than not have them at all. These coupons will normally be at the front of the store on a display or behind the customer service desk on a display.
6. Sign up for the baby club.
If you have a little one, be sure to sign up for the baby club. You get coupons every three months to help you save money on your little one. The coupons change with the age of your child. As your child grows, you will see more coupons for snacks, produce, and milk and less coupons for formula. You can stack these store coupons with manufacture coupons to save extra money.
7. Get a Upromise card from the customer service desk and upload ecoupons to it.
Upromise works JUST like SavingStar, only it’s only for Publix. The money you save from the ecoupons can be designated to saving for college for your child, paying off student loans, or it can go to a savings account. You can add the ecoupons to your card here.
Just remember to give your green Upromise card to the cashier before your groceries are scanned. The deposit should show up in your account within twenty-four hours to forty-eight hours.
8. So you got your coupons ready early, made your list, and went to the store only to see the hot deal you wanted was sold out. Now what do you do?
If that happens, go to customer service and ask for a rain check on that particular item. The new limit is 8 of a particular sale item. By getting a rain check, you are guaranteed to get that sale price on that particular product within thirty days.
If you still are not able to get that sale item within thirty days, you can go back to customer service and ask for another rain check. They will gladly extend it for another thirty days.
9. Get a FREE cookie AND balloon for your child every time you go to Publix.
My kids LOVE getting a free cookie and balloon every time they go to Publix. It’s the highlight of their day and oftentimes, it helps me get through Publix with LESS fussing and fighting between the two of them. ????
Bonus Tip: The Publix Bakery has a “cookie card”. Every time your child gets a free cookie, show the Publix employee the card. They will stamp or initial it. Once it is full, your child can turn it in to win the “cookie of the month” which is normally a cookie cake.
Related: 7 Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store Without Using Coupons
10. Acknowledge Kind Employees.
Publix has some of the BEST and sweetest people that work for them. I really think that they are good at “putting the right people in the right places”. If one of them goes above and beyond for you, call or email corporate and let them know. Publix Headquarters celebrates “wins” like this. They pass it down to the store manager and will buy that employee lunch. I don’t know about you, but with all of the negativity in the world, I love hearing that Publix celebrates when their employees go above and beyond.
11. Know the “Publix Promise”.
If there is a price or tag on a shelf with an item, and it doesn’t ring up as the same, Publix will give it to you for FREE! Now, you do have to let them know that there is a difference (and it has to be legit). If they check and it is Publix’s mistake, they will give you that item for free.
Normally this happens when they have just marked down items, and the clearance item still rings up at regular price. I’ve also seen it happen at the open of business on a Wednesday or Thursday when the new ad starts, and the old prices are still up from the previous week’s ad.
12. Use Digital Coupons.
Publix has digital coupons. These are ALL manufacture coupons (unless otherwise specified), so they cannot be used with another manufacture coupon for the same item. With digital coupons, you will need to create an account on Publix’s website, then you can “clip” them and save them to your account. When you get to checkout, you can type in your phone number and the digital coupons will come off if you’ve purchased the correct items.
The only thing about digital coupons is that there is only one allowed per account (unless there is an additional coupon on the site). Even though there is only one allowed per account, it still allows you to save money on that item. You can see all of the digital coupons available here.
13. Use the Publix app to stay organized.
Publix, like many other companies, has their own app. Their app allows you to make your shopping list, save digital coupons to your account, request a refill on your prescription, and more.
14. Publix takes expired coupons.
Now, Publix will not take a coupon that expired three weeks ago, but they will take a coupon that has just expired. Most Publix stores accept coupons that have been expired within a week or less.
If you have a rain check with a Publix coupon that goes with the deal and it has expired, most Publix stores will accept those coupons as well. To help with this, I always let the store associate know I have Publix coupons to go with an item they are writing me a rain check for. They will ask for the coupons and staple it with the rain check so that there are no questions asked when I redeem it. It does take an extra step or two to do this; however, it saves time and money in the long run.
15. Publix will pay you if the coupon exceeds the cost of the item.
Many stores will not allow overage, which is when you have more value in coupons than you do products. Publix does. Publix will even give you cash back if you do not use the overage to pay for other groceries.
Overage usually happens when you stack a BOGO sale with a store or competitor coupon AND manufacture coupon. Make sure you print your coupons right away for money makers at Publix so you can snag your overages.
Now that you know the secrets to saving big at Publix, why don’t you give it a try?
Want to save even more money? Check out how to save at these stores:
- 5 Walmart Savings Hacks You Need to Know
- 12 Money Saving Secrets to Shopping at Target
- The Beginner’s Guide to Shopping at Walgreens
