Happy Wednesday to all! Hey gals - just a quick post to say YES deals can still be found and groceries CAN be obtained for a reasonable price. The catch? You have to really look and pay attention - you have to know the best day to check your store - and you HAVE to shop clearance and sales!!!!
Some of you are sooooo fortunate to have discount groceries or Amish/Mennonite stores that you can shop at. I am envious of that. I have to just watch for bargains at regular grocery stores.
Now, I have many, many various stores in my area - so if I can't find something at one, there is always another venue to check. That is an advantage of living in a big city.
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I just recently became able to use digital coupons. My store card was so old, that the computer at the store wouldn't recognize it to load those special bargains. I used the card for in store deals and for gas - but no GREAT digital sales. I got myself a new card! Now I am all modernized and using the computer to help me get deals!!! LOL!!
I ran to the store on Tuesday - as it was the last days of the deals I loaded on card last week - I didn't go last week. I got my specials deals and walked around - and I found that Tuesday is a wonderful day at my local store for clearance!!!!!! I never go to the store on Monday - I figure stock will be obviously low just after a weekend. I don't go on weekends either. Too many people and lack of supplies, do to so many people shopping.
Tuesday worked! I totally goofed in not taking pictures before I put everything away. Sorry.
I did the best I have in ages. I do not do regular coupons anymore - except for maybe the odd cat food or hair dye coupon. Years ago, I used to get some fantastic hauls - not so much lately.
This is why I so excited.
I got 2 packs of cherry tomatoes, 5 lbs. potatoes, broccoli, several bell peppers, 6 lbs. oranges, 6 huge Portabella mushrooms, and 2 lbs. of organic carrots.
Three types of meat - 2 big packs of chicken tenders, 2 lbs. sausage and 5 packs of sliced ham. I was fortunate on the meat - usually the markdown meat looks nasty, and it isn't cheap anymore!
I got seasonings and pure extracts, 3 4-packs of Dannon yogurt, 3 jars of olives, a huge bottle of Palmolive dish soap, 3 huge bags of snacks, bread and buns.
I did get milk at regular price, and eggs. The eggs were organic brown eggs and were cheaper than regular eggs. I also got a new high efficiency furnace filter (not cheap). I also treated myself to a 12 pack of soda pop. I hardly ever do that - it will last a long while (just a treat).
All this - for $72 out of pocket. (about $37 dollars - last 4 items). My savings on clearance and marked down was approx. $62!!!!!! I really scored.
It can be done. I pretty much walked the perimeter of the store - produce, meat, dairy and then the clearance section. I didn't stray too far off course.
I went in for the digital coupon items - saw great clearance and got myself meat for the freezer and fresh produce to enjoy and eat and to chop and freeze. YES - I added to my long term pantry as well as short term enjoyment!
I know it gets very discouraging today. Prices are up, some stock is low. Seriously, be mindful of the day you go to the store. Weekends and Mondays should be off the list!!! Stock will be much lower on those days.
Tuesday they are generally stocking shelves for the upcoming sales and there is a lot of markdowns from the week before.
Walk the perimeter and look for deals and clearance.
You CAN still find deals and stock that pantry and freezer. Pay attention and be very mindful of buying REAL food and ingredients.
DO you have any money saving tips for the grocery?
You did great! It is a great feeling to get the deals! We will be shopping a discount store tomorrow that we don't get to very often but we will be in that area. I am hoping for some great deals. My money saving tip is to know what you already have. How many times have I gotten home after buying six of something to find I already have a dozen on the shelf just because I did not check? Too many times!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get tons of great deals. I try to know my stock - but some things it is just fine with me to have a lot of extras of. Like tomato products - I use them in so much just can't have too many.
DeleteGreat tip!
We have a Kroger affiliate here in southern IN. We stop in after church Sunday morning and pick up the digital deals. But with it being midmorning, I can almost always score on marked down produce. This past Sunday I got Roma tomatoes, lemons, and three bagged salads drastically reduced. So, check your area and ask the manager when they mark things down. We have senior discount day Tuesday with 5%off so if I'm in town...which is ten miles away...I stop in but don't make a special trip with the price of gas. Cheryl, you did great! Just goes to show...where there's a will, there is a way. Used to hear that a lot growing up. Need to think of that and trust Gods provisions. I consider your blog to be part of that! Thank you! Enjoy our beautiful IN weather...so gorgeous indeed!
ReplyDeleteGood deals you got. None of our area stores give senior discounts anymore. Kroger stopped it a long while back.
DeleteYES, always check with the managers on mark down days - good tip!
I thought I did pretty good. God always provides - sometimes we just need to be patient!!! AND LISTEN!
It is lovely indeed. Just came in to cool off - if is a hot one for a change.
Thank you!
GOOD work, Cheryl!! Not a lot of deals to be found in this remote area. At Safeway, hubby and I registered serious sticker shock on all meat prices, and we weren't the only ones: shoppers browsed and walked away from the meat cases. I did get a boneless pork roast for 3.99 per pound that will feed the 3 of us most of the week. Produce was priced high, too, including potatoes. We didn't need dairy. And be careful of packaged things like hot dogs, which were 10 ounces instead of a pound!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest grocery savings tip--in addition to yours and Lana's and Linda's--stretch everything as far as you can. There's a local, tiny market that sells bundles of mixed meats for $50-100, depending on amount purchased. My goal is to buy the $50 bundle on delivery day and see how many meals can be made from that. I feel for young families and fixed-income retirees living here right now.
--Elise
Thank you. There are not usually good deals to be found around here either. I worked the clearance and manager markdowns to the hilt. I would not have bought even half of those items if it had not been clearance.
DeleteI have seen those kinds of meat packages in the past and they seemed to be pretty good deals. I look forward to hearing about what you thought.
Great tip!!!! Yes, stretch things out - use less meat. Add fillers. Eat less - heaven knows we could all stand to!
So happy summer is about here and fresh things will abound!
Just eating one ingredient foods will save you money. Potatoes, rice, onions, garlic, one ingredient foods that you put together in a pot like our ancestors did. Now you can buy a mix or a can of something. But if you need carrots, peel and chop up a carrot. Put the peels in the compost. I love finding a good deal at the grocer. You go girl.
ReplyDeleteYou are very right. It doesn't have to be all complicated to be good or filling.
DeleteI haven't had a good deal like yesterday in a looooong while. It felt nice.
Thanks for the tip!!!
Absolutely! I have said all along that it is the convenience foods that are going up the most because people just don't want to put in the time and effort to cook! We paid $4.99 for ten pounds of potatoes yesterday but the possibilities for meals are endless with that expenditure. (I am not sure I have ever paid that much for potatoes at Aldi.)
DeleteLana that is hefty - but like you said there are a lot of dinners and options in that 10 lbs. Not much you can buy for less than .50/lb. today. We just need to stick with real food and fix it! Not all the garbage that normally gets bought.
DeleteI will add that for the meat department, I find better choices and the freshest in the markdown area first thing in the morning. Seems the stores in my area move things to markdown first thing in the morning. I always check the store or stores between 7 or 8 am. I will generally walk the whole store just checking, sometimes things are just put on clearance or managers special where they sit. I will admit I do this as habit as I don't go out very often. I get some walking in, see other humans and have found some great deals.
ReplyDeleteI did run to my neighborhood Walmart for bread and milk a little while ago. Milk is up to $4.09 a gallon here. When I left the store there was a young couple out front. Man, pregnant wife, man holding a baby under a year old. The woman holding a sign, we are having a hard time, can you help. They were clean, in appearance and clothing. The baby looked well. They did not appear to be hungry. I have helped many that have been in trouble but I could tell they were in trouble. I do not give cash, that was they wanted. I have purchased bread, peanut butter, bologna (milk if there was a child) and gave that to them as I left the store. The thing that got to me, it did not appear they were going hungry. It was right before 5pm. Why were the adults both there when one of them could be working or earning money some other way then panhandling. I guess it bothers me because all my life my husband and I worked hard. We did not live above our means, if money was tight, we worked our way around it. Some young people these days do not want to accept the reality of watching what you spend, planning economic meals, saving for hard times. Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.
I am sure all stores do their markdowns different. Glad you know when yours is. WOW 4.09 a gallon for milk. I paid 3.29 and thought that was high.
DeleteI totally understand what you mean about the young couple. You would think that maybe one could work - and maybe one does (3rd shift or something). I do not give cash either. I had a family member who was always in some mess - and would call to borrow money. They called it borrow - but that means pay back - which they didn't. So next time they called, I told her to get ready as we were going to the store. I bought FOOD - no junk for the kids. Wasn't going to hand out cash again. Funny, she never asked again after that!!
We worked hard too for what we had. If we couldn't afford it - we didn't det/do it. I would have done any job to pay my bills. Add did in the past.
It does get aggravating. I understand 100%
There's a very large (somewhat local) grocery store near me. Every day they put out clearance on grocery items and produce. I don't go on the weekends--too many people lol. Usually, I find mid morning around10 is about when it all is getting put out. Sometimes there isn't much but mostly I manage to find some good deals. This past Monday I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to go even though I rarely go on Monday. I filled my cart and only spent $35. Mostly I buy their clearance produce but occasionally they have a few loss leaders like 15 pounds of potatoes for $1.99 (that was 2 months ago--my son-in-law's jaw dropped when I told him these huge baking potatoes were that cheap). The weird thing was no one was grabbing them up! This past Monday I got salad bags/kits that retail for around $4.99 for 25-49 cents. I think I got 6 or 8 I split with my daughter. I got 2 bags of butternut squash "noodles" for 66 cents and I'll make soup out of those. Five bags of carrots 2 of which were organic for 33 cents a piece. I've already dehydrated most of them and gave some fresh to my daughter. On the grocery side I got cookies mixes, cupcakes mixes, soup mixes for 49-69 cents each. Big boxes of crackers for my grandson (he loves crackers!) for 99 cents. Fancy jar of jam and a large jar of peanut butter both 89 cents each. I kept the jam and gave my daughter the pb. lol..
ReplyDeleteI also gave my daughter a salad kit that was 25 cents and a box of organic white cheddar mac n cheese that I got for 99 cents. She had that for dinner and her husband was like you need to shop at that store! lol...
Sometimes I score on canned goods. I no longer by dented cans since my daughter who is a chef pointed out that microscopic pin pricks in the dent could spoil the food. I bought them for years with no adverse effects but I decided to respect her thoughts on that.
I did get some other stuff too but no meat. I used to get on clearance meat there but that has been rare now. But another store I rarely shop at I recently discovered puts out clearance meat (30-50% off) every day around 9-10 am. Sometimes the % off is on a sale price. I don't buy my husband beef too often though he likes it. But a couple of weeks ago I was able to get $28 worth of steaks for $11. That is his "treat". I try to stop in there every couple weeks.
I've convinced my husband that I need a freezer and this weekend we're going to measure the space in the garage and then see what we can find. He knows that there's been times I've passed on deals because I didn't have the freezer space.
I enjoy bargain hunting not just for me and my husband but to share with others. I tell my (grown) children to check with me if they need something! We have to help each other!
~margaret
My goodness, what wonderful deal prices you got. I thought I found deals - yours are crazy good, You do well at that store.
DeleteThat is super nice to help out the kids as well. I bey your hubby loved the steaks - not something I really buy. Never did much - but being alone it isn't something I desire very often.
YAY on getting a freezer. That will enable you more freedom to get those deals. I think you and your hubby will be pleased!
You did really well. Lately I am lucky if I manage to save $20.00 when I do sales shopping only.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I understand. This was a first for me in ages. I was surprised it could still be done.
DeleteYou got some great deals! I often do cruise the whole store because I find things marked down and not moved. There is a store that has buggies in the back filled with sale items. For about three months they had mustard. The warehouse was full and the store kept putting it out. Several stores have sale racks, too. I work all the deals I can into shopping trips. Some days, there are none or only a few. Other days, I find lots. We have to use all the tricks in the book to save a few cents, don't we?
ReplyDeleteMy store has a clearance section, then a clearance bakery rack. Meat has a section. Produce has a section. Sometimes there are deals spread through the store as well. I try to stay in the outer area and then hit that clearance rack.
DeleteI agree sometimes you find nothing. It sure is hit or miss.
Indeed we all look for ways to save where we can!
I checked the new online flyers last night and loaded my new Loyalty Point offers this morning - but there are also in-store offers hat aren't listed so I always do a walk around to check things out and there is always something that is a good deal.
ReplyDeleteI find Tuesdays or sometimes Sunday afternoon (I stop by after church) are the good days for reduced meat - it is usually 50% off but is marked to cook or freeze that day - not a problem.
I don't usually hit the clearance racks for produce - right now I can afford to pay so leave it for others - or for bread/cakes etc. as that one is too tempting and I'm trying to limit carbs but a friend often heads to a local bakery at closing time when they mark almost everything down - so yes, if you pay attention, there are still deals to be found.
Also - the two big pharmacy chains here often sell food - usually marked up much higher than the grocery store next door - but - often with really good deals on specific items each week. I now always check them out - it's surprising what you can find at times.
I find that I can usually get good deals on onions, carrots and potatoes throughout the year but for other produce it pays to eat what's in season.
50% off on meat is wonderful. Even the nasty looking stuff doesn't get marked down much here. I often hear folks say that they still can't afford the meat after markdown - I agree at times, depending on what it is!
DeleteYou bring up a good point - look at different kinds of places as well. There are lots of places that sell food of some sort - it sure can pay to keep your eyes open and be flexible.
Buying seasonal is smart.
Happy to report the $3.99 per pound pork roast made FIVE meals this week! The 1st two were basic roast, potatoes & veggies. Then came a pot of pork, spinach and tortellini soup using diced, cooked ends of the pork, the saved, fat skimmed pan drippings, a package of tortellini and frozen spinach. Finally, a delicious pot of pork, veggie and ramen noodle soup with 3 eggs added at the end to poach (traditional style). My son was excited to learn how to stretch the meat with little time or effort. I talked him through prep of the soups; an excellent way to extend meats nutritionally while saving money. --Elise
ReplyDeleteWonderful!!! You did fantastic and taught a great lesson to your son as well. Good job mom!!! The meals sound delish!
DeleteI have used those digital coupons for a while but you really need to watch at check out to make sure they come off. I always ask the clerk to subtotal first to make sure they have been applied. I can see it was added in the app but sometimes it doesn’t come off at the store.
ReplyDeleteThanks, a great tip. I watch the checkout panel pretty close - but I will make sure to keep a good eye open!!!
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