Every week on Tuesday or Wednesday I get a mail bundle of the grocery ads from my local stores. They come to everyone for free and if somehow we get missed we can go to the store website and sign up for them.
When the ads come, I take 5 minutes to look through them and write down on my shopping list the store name and the awesome deals I want to buy there. I spend the most time on the front and back pages of the ads, because these are where the loss leaders are posted. Loss leaders are items sold below profit level in hopes to lure people in the store and spend a bunch of money on profitable items. If they have a limit beside the price, you can be sure it’s a loss leader. When I shop for those items, I usually only buy those items, but I also look in the meat and dairy sections for manager specials. These are items that are close to their sale by date and need to be frozen or used up right away. I have purchased meat for $.50 a pound this way to store in my pantry freezer.
When I’m looking for good sales, I keep in the back of my mind the regular prices of these items at Aldi. If I can’t remember, I make my Aldi run on the way to the conventional grocery store and double check the price.
Some weeks the ads aren’t worth getting out for and we just eat from our pantry.
Random Stuff:
- The grocery stores are paid by the brands to feature their products in the ad. The most prominent the item, the more they paid.
- Brand names also pay the store for prime shelf locations (eye level stuff) which makes those items cost more. Look high and low on the shelves for the best values.
- Each store pays around $40,000 per week to put their ad in your home. If it didn’t increase their profits, they wouldn’t do it.
- Brand name items often have a coupon available to match with the sale price. Sometimes this makes the item cost less than the private label, sometimes not. Always do the math. (I rarely mess with coupons.)
- Most families buy a lot more than the sale items, keeping the grocery stores profitable. I’m one of the few exceptions.
- The majority of my shopping list is the DEALS I can get, not a list based on recipes I’m planning for the week. Then I plan meals from the low cost foods I have to work with, sometimes grabbing a special item or fresh produce to bring it all together.
What do you think? Is this the way you’ve been doing it all along?
Yep! This is how we do it. Sometimes I take a kid or two and arm them with a couple of dollars and we specifically go for these items. And typically it is holiday weekends when you find the best deals. Fourth of July is a great weekend to stock up on condiments. Yes, you can buy a jug at Sam’s for a song. But then I have a huge jug to contend with and its on the clock as far as Use Time goes. A 24 oz bottle can sit in my back stock for months and easily slips into the door on my fridge. And ketchup is something we don’t like to run out of in our house.
Spaghetti is another item that we can never have too much of. It is the go to meal at least 3-4 times per month. Especially when my husband cooks. He can, with confidence get this on the table. Spaghetti, sauce and green beans has a special corner in my pantry for such occasions. I never have crinkled noses when I serve spaghetti.
Coupons are hard for me to manage. More power to those who can make it work. I’ve tried countless times to make it work. Knowing the BEST price for an item is key to being successful with stocking your pantry. Adding coupons is just taking it a bit further. It creates more anxiety for me than my spirit can tolerate. I get that it works….it just doesn’t work well for me.
I definitely take a couple of days to sift through the ads and make a list. I fold a piece of scrap paper into quarters (well, actually, my daycare provider gives me a “report” every day, and I use the back of it).
Each quarter is a different store. I look mostly at loss leaders for meats and produce. I do also look at their special sales, like “save $4 on 4”, which usually means good prices on cheese or canned beans or canned tuna.
In the end, I may shop at 4 or 5 stores, or only 1 or 2. I write them all down, plan my menu, and then decide.