Experimental Grocery Shopping

What if I were able to find the cheapest possible price on each item on my grocery list?  This question has been asked by both Jonni McCoy (author of Frugal Families and Miserly Moms) and Amy Dacyczyn, of Tightwad Gazette fame.  Having read their books, I decided it was high time I started implementing their grocery shopping suggestions.

Normally when it's time to shop, I sit down with a paper and pen, think of things we want to eat, write out my meal plan for the week, and then use that meal plan to create my shopping list.  I then take the list and organize it according to where the items are in the store, which enables me to knock out my groceries in about 45 minutes.  Today, I tried something different.  It's nothing new, nothing novel, but it's new to me, and I'd say it worked out pretty well.  I pulled out all the sale papers for the week and circled the items that I normally buy that were on sale.  That's a key phrase.  It doesn't save me money to get a "deal" on something I don't normally purchase because I'm spending money I normally wouldn't.  I then compared the circled sale papers to my price book to make sure they really were sales.  Then I wrote down what I wanted to get and planned my meals around these sales.  So my shopping list was a store-by-store breakdown of what I wanted to buy, and then I made a list at the bottom of the things we needed that weren't in the sale papers.

Today, I actually went to four different stores to get my groceries.  I know that sounds like a waste of time, but it really wasn't.  I finished my shopping excursion in less than two hours, including dropping off a tire for repair and patiently waiting behind a nice couple for 20 minutes because they were new to using food stamps and had made some errors.  I started with Super 1, which had whole chickens on sale for .67/pound.  They're normally .98/lb at Wal-Mart--cha ching!  Tuna was also on sale for .50/can for Chicken of the Sea.  Other stores sometimes have their generic tuna on sale for .67, so this was a steal.  I saw it at that same price a month ago at Super 1, so I'm thinking I should expect a repeat sale next month.  I won't get into all the sales I hit, but I just listend these to give you some examples.  My total at Super 1:  $14.30.

Rehkopf's had potatoes on sale for .77 per 5 pound bag.  Seriously!!  That $2 savings more than paid for my gas for the day, especially since I was driving our diesel-sipping Jetta TDI today.  I opted for .79 per bag for new potatoes instead of the russets.  The green leaf lettuce was also .50 cheaper than Wal-Mart, but it was so wilted that it was only worth it because I know how to revive it (slice off the end of the stem and give it a cold water bath for 30 minutes).  I also bought onions since they were at a great price.  I don't need any at the moment, but I cook with them frequently, so I'll dice them up and put them in the freezer if I think they'll spoil before I need them.  My total at Rehkopf's:  $3.03.

Albertsons had the steal of the day, and I broke my own rule for it.  The steal was $14 for 7 boxes of cereal, plus 3 gallons of milk FREE.  But when I walked in, a salesperson pulled me aside and gave me a coupon that made it $12 instead of $14.  You're not required to get all 3 gallons of milk at once.  When you make your purchase, you can opt for coupons for free milk instead, which is what I did.  I'll keep the coupons on the fridge, ready to grab next time we need a gallon of milk.  Now we don't normally eat much cereal.  We've been eating a lot of oatmeal lately instead, but we'll definitely consume it, and the extra boxes of cereal can be stored under my bed so they're not wasting valuable pantry space.  Also, I know that in two weeks, I have family coming into town for Easter, and my teenage brothers can really put away some cereal!  So I was just thinking ahead.  I made sure to include Rice Krispies in my cereal purchases so that I can make rice krispy treats with any extra cereal.  My total at Albertsons:  $12.67

I rounded out my shopping at Wal-Mart, since I know they generally do have the cheapest prices overall.  I needed some essentials like flour, bananas, eggs, etc.  My total at Wal-Mart:  $34.84.

Will I do this again?  Most definitely.  I'm thinking about trying to get groceries every other week instead of once a week, simply to save time. 

What was missing from my purchases?  Convenience food.  We don't eat a lot of pre-packaged food because it's an added expense and it's really not very healthy.  Our side dishes are usually a salad, a canned or frozen green vegetable, or a starch like corn or potatoes, mashed or baked.  Baby food.  At 15 months, Isabelle mostly eats the same meals we eat, with few exceptions.  I do always keep snacks for her in the house and in my diaper bag, but those are crackers, cheerios, or Goldfish.  There's not much need for the snacky baby food types of things that are on the baby aisle, at least not for her.  Lately she's been picky, but a PB&J or oatmeal will usually work fine for her.  And she drinks water, not juice, so that's an added expense we don't have.  Baby "stuff."  Cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and adorable hand-me-down baby clothes all mean that Isabelle hardly costs us a thing.  I think it's a myth that babies have to be expensive.

What are worthwhile splurges?  Frozen pizza.  I know, I know, I just said we don't do convenience food.  But I do try to keep frozen pizza on hand in case we have something unplanned, like a sick mama or some last minute emergency that prevents me from cooking.  If the $2.50 spent on pizza will prevent us from ordering pizza, eating out, or picking up fast food, then it's worth it.  Organic yogurt for Isabelle.  She's been a picky eater lately, so I splurged on it, since I know she used to love it and lately she won't eat the big tub of strawberry yogurt I bought.  Yogurt has a lot of the vitamins she needs, and I do prefer organic dairy products when possible.  So I'm actually not sure if this is a worthwhile splurge, but we'll see.  I also normally buy organic whole milk for her, but with the sale at Albertsons, I'll only be buying the milk that's covered with the coupon. 

My total of $64.84 isn't truly a week's worth of groceries because I bought many things that will be used throughout the month, and I'll also use meals in my freezer that I prepared weeks ago.  Because I do a lot of freezer cooking, a weekly breakdown just isn't possible.  I also purchased items to make a dish for MOPS on Monday, so there are lots of other variables in my grocery bill.

For people who live in a bigger city, this whole shopping excursion may not be worthwhile, but in a town as small as Texarkana, it's definitely feasible.  Super 1 is "across town" but is only 10 minutes away, and Rehkopf's just required a small detour on the way to Albertsons.  Both Albertsons and Wal-Mart are literally just minutes away, so it won't be a big deal to get my other two gallons of milk when we need them.

Has anyone else tried the salespaper method?  One key element is to never deviate from the list!!  That's where they get you!  Notice, I left Rehkopf's having spent just $3.  If I would've gotten my regular groceries there, I would've spent much more than at Wal-Mart (I know because I checked their prices!). 

What do you find helpful in saving money on groceries?  I'm always looking for new ideas and ready to experiment with something different.  As a wife and mom, groceries are probably the biggest area where I can have a real impact on our budget, for good or for ill, so it's definitely an area where I'm trying to improve.