Stockpiling Bread

I never buy bread unless it's BOGO. I stock up and freeze it. Whenever I need a new loaf, I just take one out of the freezer and sit it on the counter. Within a few hours it's as good as new. If I can't wait a few hours, I just toast it.

Skeptical about freezing your bread? I've always been a bit of a freezer snob. I just don't typically like the way food tastes after it's been frozen. However, my mother persuaded me to give it a try, and after that I was convinced. I've never paid full price for bread again! Mom always knows best.

Another way to get the most of the BOGO bread sales is to request rainchecks. If you see that any particular variety of the bread is out of stock, go to the customer service desk and ask for a raincheck. That way, you can access the sale price at a future date.

Trying to find the healthiest bread?

• Look for 100% whole wheat flour as the first ingredient.
  
• Don't get fooled by the use of the term "wheat" on the front of the package - check the ingredients to be sure.
• Avoid high-fructose corn syrup.
• Avoid sugar if it's near the top of the list of ingredients.
• Avoid enriched flour or any flour that's not whole grain.

FREE Bottle of Organic Tea

Click HERE for a FREE bottle of Steaz zero-calorie sparkling green tea. The drinks are brewed fresh with sustainably-sourced, fair trade organic green tea and sweetened with stevia. They contain no sugar or artificial sweeteners.

I've never tried Steaz, but it sounds good! Thanks Organic Deals & Coupons.

Whole Wheat Pasta for 5 Cents at Publix

I got 6 boxes of Mueller's Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta at Publix this week for 5 cents a box! Mueller's is BOGO (buy one get one free) at Publix until Wednesday, November 4. The Angel Hair variety is $1.19 per box. If you combine that with two 55-cents-off coupons, that brings the price to 5 cents a box.

Click HERE for the 55-cents-off coupon. You can print this coupon multiple times. You can also click HERE for a less valuable $1-off 3 coupon.

Click HERE for the complete blog post on the Publix specials ending Wednesday, November 4.

Publix Specials - October 29 to November 4

It's a pretty decent week for sales at Publix. Lots of BOGOs (buy one get one free).

I only spent $77.65 and saved $47.20.

I'm pretty happy about that, considering that my weekly grocery bill had been lingering around $200 before I really got serious about using coupons. Of course, it's great to save money, but it's also a lot of fun! It's been motivating and inspiring to share tips and success stories with my friends and family. Anyone else want to share their savings for this week?

Here are the best deals I found. Check out the 5 cents for pasta!!

• Mueller's Whole Grain Pasta is BOGO. Click HERE for a 55-cents-off coupon. Click HERE for $1-off 3 coupon. I got 6 boxes for 5 cents each!!
• Arnold 100% Whole Grain Bread is BOGO. Click HERE for tips on stockpiling bread.
• Bryers Ice Cream is BOGO. There was also a coupon in the Sunday paper sometime in October.
• Near East Couscous is BOGO. Click HERE for a $1-off 2 coupon. They have several whole grain varieties. I got 2 boxes at 60 cents each.
• Kozy Shack Pudding is BOGO. Unlike the other top brands, Kozy Shack has no trans fat (hydrogenated oil) or high-fructose corn syrup. There was a a coupon in the Sunday paper sometime in October.
• Green Giant Frozen Vegetables is BOGO. Click HERE for coupons.
• Sweet Potatoes are 79 cents a pound
• Corn on the Cob is 8 for $2
• Stoneyfield Farms Yogurt - I scored another 4 points with their rewards program!
• Greenwise Organic Milk is on sale for $4.99 a gallon. This is always a big deal for me, because I buy 3 to 4 gallons a week. It's a HUGE portion of my grocery bill. Any tips for saving on organic milk?
  

Don't forget that you can use two coupons on the BOGO items (one for each item). You can usually print the internet coupons at least two times. Online coupons sometimes disappear without warning (especially the high-value ones), so if you see one you like go ahead and print it.

Also, don't forget to use your Discover card to get 5% cash back on groceries (through December). Make sure you sign up for the program first. Click HERE for more information.

Click HERE to view the Publix weekly ad.

Ebates

If you don't already know about Ebates let me give you the quick and dirty....

Ebates is a reward program that will give you cash back for online purchases. The next time you are considering buying something online, consider going to the Ebates website first to see if they are offering any special discounts and cash back incentives. If you navigate to the vendor site from the Ebates site, you may be able to earn some cash back.

Only a small percentage of my purchases are made online, but I've managed to earn more than $12 over the past couple weeks through Ebates (I bought some Crocs and a Restaurant.com gift certificate). All I have to do is say the word, and they will mail me a check or deposit the money in a pay pal account.

Sign up on Ebates now and earn $5 to get you started.

There are a number of reward programs out there as well that will give you cash back for online purchases, but Ebates is the only one I've had any success with so far.

What online rewards programs have you used? I'd like to hear about your experiences.