Dear Frugal Upstate,
I’ve been trying to do better at using my price book since you’ve posted your recent article. But with the price of food going up nearly every week, I’m finding it really hard to know where I’m saving money.
WalMart is raising their prices to be higher than Kroger on many items, and the WalMart items that are lower than Kroger are usually sold out now.
I live in the SE in a town that doesn’t have a no-frills grocery.
Any advice/ideas on how to do a price book when the prices are haywire?
Heather,
Great question, one that I’ve been pondering myself. For me the easiest thing to do is to know what the prices are at Aldi’s and/or Save a Lot (which normally have the cheapest price) and use those for comparison.* Obviously that won’t work for you.
This would be my best guess:
#1-If Walmart (or any other store) is selling out of the sale items, make sure you go to the customer service desk and get a raincheck. A raincheck is a slip of paper that they give you promising that you can buy the sale item at a later date for the same sale price. Some rainchecks have expiration dates-some don’t. So make sure you check and use it accordingly. The great thing about rainchecks is that you can wait until a convenient time for to make a trip and still get that same great “sale” price. Honestly, when I’ve been out of room in my fridge, freezer or pantry I’ve been known to hit a sale on the last day, just HOPING that they are sold out so I can get a rain check and restock once I have more room. And if you wind up buying the item somewhere else in the meantime, oh well, just throw the raincheck out.
#2-Walmart does price matching. Now that may just be “brand to brand”-you might want to inquire exactly how it works. For example, if the Kroger store brand of something is on sale, will Wal Mart match that with their store brand, or does it have to be the exact same brand. Once you are clear on the policy, you can check your sales fliers from other stores and then have Wally World match them-just bring a copy of the flier along. That will simplify your life by keep your traveling down to one store.
#3-If keeping up with the pricebook is too much work with all the price fluctuation, then maybe you could just keep track of the most expensive items, or items that go on the deepest discount. My guess would be that things like meat, dairy, eggs and wheat based products would be the best to track.
What other tips and ideas do you guys out there in bloggy land have on this topic?
*Note: I’ve got to update my own price book because of the rise in costs as well.
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In the northeast, Wegmans has begun listing their prices online for all items, not just the sales. Is there any store in the south doing this? This has saved me quite a few trips because I know that the Wegmans prices are a little higher than most stores. If an advertised sale at another store is way, way below their listed price then I know it is a decent buy even if it is more than I paid three months ago.
Here’s what I do:
- build my menu based on what’s on sale at my grocery stores;
- even plan convenient and snack foods so you can manage how much you’re spending. For example, quiche muffins in the freezer or bags of pre-sliced pepperoni from the dollar store;
- troll grocery stores for meat that’s marked down for the last day of sale; use that same day or freeze immediately for future use–do not leave in the fridge beyond the day of purchase. This is how I’m able to buy ground lamb or lamb chops, veal steaks and other specialty cuts of meat;
- go to the library and review depression-era cookbooks. You’ll be surprised how many inventive and tasty recipes you’ll find!
- implement a meatless meal day, such as spaghetti with marinara and garlic bread, or rice-and-beans;
- learn recipes that utilize dried legumes. They’re high in protein and fiber, and very filling;
- learn about different cuisines. For example, vietnamese pho is delicious, good for you, and uses very little meat. With a little planning and time, you can make a delicious broth, serve with rice or cello noodles (under $2 at walmart) and 1/2 pound thin-sliced meat of choice feeds 4-6;
- we grew up poor, so I know how to use a can of tuna a hundred ways! My favorite is creamed tuna on toast–I actually ate it for dinner tonight. My point is that these kinds of meals are filling, family-friendly and budget-stretching;
- maximize use of food. For example, a rotisserie chicken might feed your family for dinner, then pick any remaining meat for chicken salad, and put the skin, bones & jiggly bits in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer–after a couple or three, you can make great broth from the collected carcasses. Also save extra pieces of veg for use in recipes (carrots, celery, ginger root, fresh herbs, tomatoes, etc);
- reduce the amount of meat in recipes. A pasta sauce that your normally make with one pound of ground beef might work fine with a half pound;
That’s all I can think of for now. My grocery budget is between $50 and $75/week and that includes some organic and specialty foods, all paper products, dog food, cleaning supplies, etc. (It’s just me and my husband for regular meals, but I do feed others on a regular basis.)
Don’t forget mac and cheese. It is a good dinner. Good frugal folk foods are cereals for dinner too, discount meat sandwiches, beans and hot dogs. You can even add sausage to mac and cheese. The Kraft sight has information on that. In some ways it is cheaper to go vegetarian I was told. Good luck.
Hi,
All of the above ideas sound great!
Start your garden! Get lots of tomatoes. These are great to freeze. You may have to wait for the savings but I do not grocery prices going down.
Kroger’s is great if you can get the coupon & then get their store sale! They pay double on coupons up to 50 cents. So you are really bringing the price down.
So many things that you buy can probably be made from scratch. You really are paying for lots of packaging! Double check & make sure you can’t make stuff from what you already have at home.
Reduce your recipes. Do you really need the whole package of spaghetti for 2-3 or will just half of a package do? It is amazing what we eat just because we cook it all.
Start a neighborhood cooking group. You and 3-6 other people make 1 big meal to share between the families 1 time per week. Then everybody divides the meals amongst each family. You take home 4-5 meals & made one big economical meal to share with everybody else.
Now is the time to ask if you really need what you are buying? Double check & make sure it is really a necessity.
Lastly popcorn, popcorn, popcorn!
Wow, great ideas from all of you! Thanks so much. I might have to cut and paste these into an article, as some folks don’t read the comments.
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