Low-country store deals

Kingsford brand original charcoal is on sale this week for 6.99 for 16.6 lb (that’s about 42 cents a pound)--thats less than Walmart’s price (16.6 lbs at W was 8.48 --about 51 cents a lb).  A 16.6 lb bag has about 320-330 briquettes (yes I counted!--as I divvied it up into 50 briquette portions to seal into mylar bags).

Please note:  Sam’s price for  2-20 lb bags is 16.68--about 42 cents a lb

Sales items I will try to post here:  

--items that are good for 72 hour kits (like water and crackers)  

--home storage items (canned goods, shelf-stable items)

--Grocery/regular items (meats under $3/lb, produce under $2/lb, breads under $1.75, cereals under $2.50/box), 

--other good or great deals to stock up on.  

If/when shopping at Sams, compare price per unit/item of sale items to get the best deal--I go to Sams after I’ve already made note of the sales at other stores so I can be sure to get the best deal--sometimes Sams is still cheaper than the sale price, other times the sale price or generic brand prices at other stores are cheaper.  If however, I know I can’t use or have space in my fridge/freezer for a 117 oz jar of pickles or something, I will buy the smaller jars at regular stores when they are on sale--even if the price per unit is a few cents more.

See below for more grocery shopping tips and tricks!

Kroger:  sales started on Sunday, runs till Saturday, customer card needed for deals.  Kroger’s sales on certain items often run for weeks at a time, look at the tag for sales dates listed to determine when a sale will end.  Kroger also often has many items on sale that are not listed in the sales ad.

B10/S5= Buy  of these 10 items save $5--price listed is when buy 10.

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable	Kroger 32 pk water 3.77
Tyson chicken breast .99/lb	tomatoes .99/lb	Miracle Whip B10/S5 2.49
Kroger ground chuck 2.69/lb		Kraft salad dressing B10/S5 1.49
Bar S franks 10/10		Prego B10/S5 1.49	Dairy
Jimmy Dean sausage 2/5		Kraft BBQ sauce B10/S5  .49	Kroger 16 oz cheese 2.99
Hygeine/Other		Rice/Pasta Roni 10/10
Kingsford 16.6 lb 6.99		Spaghetti-Os 10/10
		Kroger canned chicken 10/10
		Del Monte cannd fruit B10/S5 .88
		Pace salsa B10/S5 1.49
	Breads/crackers		Frozen
	Kroger buns/bread 10/10

Publix:  sales run Thursday to Wednesday.  No customer card needed.  Price in () is price shown as regular price.  Publix often has the “Publix Brand challenge” where when you buy a name brand product, you get the Publix brand free-so kind of like a buy one get one free deal.

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable	Shelf-stable
	grapes 1.69/lb	DH cake mix B1G1 (2.05)
	cantaloupe B1G1 (3.29)	Hamburger Helper B1G1 (1.99)
		Newman’s own sauce B1G1 2.79
Hygeine/Other		Nabisco Grahams B1G1 (4.35)
Clorox bleach 2/4	Frozen	Velveeta B1G1 (4.55)	Dairy
	Old Orchard Juice B1G1 (1.99)		Smart Balance B1G1 (3.59)
			Friendship sour cream B1G1 (2.29)
			Breads/snacks
			Lenders bagels B1G1 (2.27)

Piggly Wiggly:  sales run Wednesday to Tuesday, customer card needed for deals.

Sorry, the website wouldn't load today, so I was unable to get the deals for PW.

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable	Dairy
			Breads
		Frozen

Bi-Lo:  sales run Wednesday to Tuesday, customer card needed for deals.  Bi-Lo gives bag credit when you use your own bags--so you eventually pay off those fabric bags if using them at Bi-Lo--be sure to ask for bag credit if it isn’t automatically added--if using self-checkout it has to be added by the cashier before you begin scanning items.

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable
center cut pork chops 2.99/lb	10 lb russets 2.99	Ragu 1.49
	baby carrots B1G1 (1.99)	Chef Boyardee 10/10
		Healthy Choice soup B1G1 (2.39)
		SH tomatoes with chilis B1G1	Hygeine/Other
	Breads	SH ketchup .88	TopCare pain relief B1G1
			Suave shampoo .88
	Sara Lee B1G1 (2.99)	SH cereal B1G1 (2.49)
			Dairy

Food Lion:  sales run Wednesday to Tuesday, customer card needed for deals

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable	Frozen
thighs/drumsticks .99/lb	peaches 1.29/lb	Chef Boyardee 10/10
center cut pork chops 2.99/lb	granny smith 3 lb 2.79
pork chops 1.99/lb	Roma tomatoes 1.29/lb		Dairy
Breads	onions .89/lb		Blue bonnet 4 quart. .88
	pears 1.39/lb
			Hygeine/Other

Grocery Shopping Tips:

--Go with a list.  I prefer to organize my list by category since most stores arrange  items by category.  See a post on grocery lists here.  Below is a blank example of a simple category list:

Meat	Produce	Shelf-stable	Dairy
			Hygeine/Other
Breads	Frozen

Possible categories:  meat, dairy, produce, frozen, breads, cereals, hygiene, paper products, canned goods, baking/seasonings, condiments, deli/bakery, non-food, snacks.  Use whatever works best for you.

--Basically the more you can stock up when things are on sale, the less over-time you will be spending on groceries.  Stock up ONLY on things your family will eat and be able to use before the items go bad.

--Know what the prices of products are at your favorite stores, so when you get the ads, you can compare the price.  Compare prices with Sams club, online prices, etc.  Stock up when the sale price is less than the cheapest price elsewhere.

--Write (or type) the prices down so you have them available.  Prices of produce can change quickly, but in general expect price changes every month or two on produce items that are seasonal.  Other products, the prices do change (and sometimes by quite a bit), but usually they stay close to the same price over a period of months.  As you keep a price list--both of regular prices and of sale prices, you’ll be able to see patterns in sales and prices--when things are cheapest, how often things come on sale, etc.  You’ll also be able to get things at the best price.

--Sales ads:  some things are drastically on sale--called “loss leaders”--to get you in the store, other things aren’t necessarily marked down in price, they are simply “for sale” so just because it is in the ad does not mean it is on sale or even a good price.  Remember a bargain is only such if you can and will actually use the item, it still costs money, but less than full-price.

--Meats & produce:  set a per pound price that you are comfortable with paying and find deals that are at or below that price.  Example:  meats $2/lb or less; produce depends on the type, but in general $1.50/lb or less.  For some more examples of produce see this post.

--When produce or other perishable items are on sale for a great price, but you don’t think you’d be able to use all of it before it goes bad--try freezing, dehydrating, or otherwise preserving it; or find another family who would like to share the food and cost, or simply give it to a family or friend who could use it (even for non-perishable items like OTC meds or other things that have expiration dates).

--Cereals, breads:  set a price per unit (box, ounce, loaf) that you are willing to pay and then find the deals that are at or below that price.  Example:  cereal--$2/box or less; loaf of bread--$1.50/loaf or less.  More and more the price of cereal is increasing and so even with buy one get one free deals a box of cereal is  costing more than $2/box, but there are still some deals out there.  And if nothing else at least buying on sale isn’t paying full price.  Even with the sales, a different type of breakfast may actually be cheaper (like oatmeal, pancakes, etc.)

--Menu Shop:  In a previous post I mentioned how to save on grocery bills by making menus, see that post here.  But in general, when making a menu follow these steps:

• First:  what perishables do you have on hand that need to be used
• Second:  what sales are available
• Third:  Food Storage items to rotate into meals
• Fourth:  Special Occasions--birthdays, holidays, potlucks, etc.

--Using coupons?  For some things combining a coupon with the sale price at pharmacies and stores is a great deal.  Buy one get one free sales are a great way to use coupons!  So are stores that offer double coupons:  Kroger and some other stores offer double coupons up to 50 cents.  (ex.  if you have a 50 cent off coupon on a cereal, you get the 50 cents then Kroger takes off another 50 cents automatically--yeah!)  Not always is the product with a coupon the cheapest option, but combined with sales or with double coupon deals, often the price of the brand product is much nearer or even less than the generic brands.

--Online shopping for food storage items:  there are many online resources to buy food storage items.  When shopping around, compare both the cost of the item along with shipping costs because sometimes the product itself may not cost much, but the shipping may be a lot and cancel out any savings compared to another company/website.  Use only those companies and websites you feel safe doing so, either from recommendation or from your own research on the company.  Two companies I have used and been satisfied with both the product(s) and the service and therefore would recommend:  Emergency Essentials (www.beprepared.com) and Honeyville Grain (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/).  They both have reasonable prices and shipping costs (in fact honeyvillegrain has a flat rate shipping fee--very nice!).  Every month, Emergency essentials has group specials that qualify for free shipping in addition to the savings on the product.  Honeyville Grain does periodical sales of 5-20% off an order (plus the flat rate shipping).  It may be worth it to sign up for the free emails/catalog to these companies or other sites so you know when sales are happening.

--non-food items:  follow some of the same rules as above--stock up when on sale, know where the best price for the items you buy is, set a price per item/ounce/lb/load/box (like for laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, cleaning supplies, etc.) you are willing to pay--to realistically do this you will need to know the cheapest price you already have to pay so you can find deals to decrease that amount (this is whether you prefer and use name brand or off brand products, find the cheapest normal (non-sale) price of the brand you would use)

--for fun/hobby items:  save money buy buying on sale or with coupons, or online.  Shop around for the best price.  Watch for these types of items at garage sales, thrift stores, on clearance, or online for new & used.  Be sure to only buy what you can use and will use, what you can fix up if it will need to be, and what you have a designated spot for already.