2015 Grocery Challenge

[dancinmama]

Jul 17, 2015 18:11:20 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Dancin, I would love to find coffee at that price.  How do you store yours?

I am soooo thankful to have a GO.  Even if a REALLY good sale aligned with a REALLY good coupon, I doubt I could get it at $.97/bag and I certainly wouldn't be able to stockpile (30) bags with all the retailer/manufacturer restrictions that are imposed these days even if I had the coupons (which I don't).

I Googled the manufacturer.  They happened to have a list of FAQs and one of them was how to store the coffee.  They recommend folding over any excess packaging, securing with a rubber band, and storing in a cool, dry place so that's what I'll do. 

[marvholly]

dancin

I also have stored coffee quite well in the freezer.

Dagnabit! Did a quick 2 stop, 3 item grocery run on Sun. Somewhere, somhow my ENTIRE shopping list went MIA. It will take considerable time online just to recreate the various stores weekly specials. The watchout for good deals/needs list is forever GONE. I only had to hit 4 sites; I did not have to recheck 3 places-2 because I had been there, 1 because I still had some old notes and 1 because I remembered NOT wanting anything.

I did hit 1 good unexpected deal. Store had 1 pkg of ground turkey reduced to 1.99 – usually $4/more. Also a coupon I had for 0.50 off an item actually scanned for $1 off.  ?

[dancinmama]

Jul 20, 2015 6:01:52 GMT -5 marvholly said:

dancin

I also have stored coffee quite well in the freezer.

I used to do that too, but I have read that any moisture from storing coffee in the refrigerator/freezer can suck flavor from the product.

[dancinmama]

Here's what I decided to do with the coffee.  I have gallon sized Ziploc vacuum seal bags.  I got them when they first came out and the manufacturer offered high valued coupons for them.  As Walmart was the only store that carried them, I had to pay OOP but I knew it would be the cheapest that I would ever be able to get them.  Can't remember what I ended up paying now, but at the time I knew it was a lot cheaper than buying another vacuum sealer (ours died) and the film to go with it (which is not re-usable like the Ziploc bags).

After vacuum sealing (3) packages to each gallon sized bag, I have them stored in a cool, dry place.  I will use all the other coffee up that I have in my stockpile and then start using the Eight O'Clock.  I am sure that when I open the bags, the coffee will be fresh as a daisy.

[FreeSalsa]

I get the ads for Sunland and the prices look great but it is also quite out of the way for me, especially on a Saturday.  

[marvholly]

The produce market near my daughter that I like opened their new store near me today. NOTHING on the grand opening ad was a great deal or something I wanted or needed. Does NOT bode well for the future if a Grand Opening ad is bad/uninteresting/overpriced.

This store would be a special trip since it is NOT on my regular travel route.  Guess I will just keep watching their ads & hit them if they ever have 3 or more items I want.

[dancinmama]

Well, I checked the Ziploc vacuum bags that I used to seal the coffee today just to make sure they all held their seal because I suspected that one was defective...and it was.  I called the number on the box (purchased probably 3 years ago) to report the defective bag.  They are sending me a "personalized coupon" for a free box of bags.  YEAH!!

I also purchased a package of Snack Pak tapioca and one of the cups was pure liquid with no tapioca.  I called ConAgra and they are sending me some cents off coupons.  Luckily I happen to have a Safeway rain check for (10) packages @ $.78/pkg. so I will be able to use the coupons when I redeem the rain check in October.

Redeeming these will probably be the most couponing I've done in over 2 years!!

[marvholly]

This is a deal? Was just on Groupon. Local ‘spa’ is offering one mani/pedi for $32. EVERY small independent nail place in my area prices mani/pedis at $30-35 depending on day. Local nail tech school is $20-23. A bunch have been sold. NONE to me.

My fav fruit/veg market had leg quarterws for 0.55/lb this week.  I did skip them.

[marvholly]

A new Whole Foods opened in a nearby burb. It is MUCH bigger than the 2 existing stores in that area. I am NOT a fan of Whole Paycheck but a local blogger posted about how BAD the deals are for a grand opening. After my comment about the new produce market having a BAD grand opening ad I can only wonder if the vendors & mfg are just NOT giving the specials they used to for such events.  We are having a BUNCH of store openings as the shuttered Dominicks (Safeway) stores are repurposed.

I will wait a bit for the hype to run down and check out the store to see if there is anything the older stores did not offer that is a decent deal.

[murphath]

We just got back from DS's wedding in San Diego. It was, simply put, a great wedding ceremony. There were tears and laughter with some impromptu things happening. Just wonderful. Our mother/son dance to "Turn Down for What" was a hit and a big surprise for the attendees. Lots of fun. It was especially great to see all our college buddies who still live in that area. Someone threatened to put the video on YouTube but let's hope that doesn't happen.

Just one more wedding to go: our DD1's BFF ties the knot in Sept--no dance production for me at that event, however.

[marvholly]

It is crazy. Gas jumped 0.09/gal at what is usually my cheapest local station. Needless to say I did NOT buy gas when I was near them on Tue. Since they are <1 mi away I will keep checking prices any day I am going out. I can hold off a bit.

I feel like I am spending more, esp on foodstuff. Avg meal cost is closer to $1 bx the 0.67-0.85 I was spending.   However, I looked back at my June, July & Aug 2014 spending ($200-275) and I am actually on track or down for June & July ($215 & 175).

[rubyslippers]

Kroger has a mega sale going on this week and next, plus they have items producing catalinas.  I got 3 jars of Jif, 2 Smuckers ice cream topping, 14 bags frozen Birds Eye vegetables, 4 Speedstick Gear deodorant, 8 bottles of Suave bodywash and 1 Tide for $7.04 and saved $53.64. I used ecoupons, MQ's, catalinas, store coupons and senior discounts to get my price this low, rolling the catalinas. I ended up with another $2.00 catalina.

At Rite Aid I got 2 Crest TP and 2 Oral B TB and used and gained rewards on my card.

Aldi has $.59 celery, $.39 lb. bananas, $.99 red potatoes (5 lbs.), $1.29 asparagus and $1.69 gal. milk.

Our zucchini and tomatoes have started being picked from our garden, but the tomatoes got too much water in June and July and I'll be lucky to get a third of what I got last year. DH planted a few stray tomato plants in a different spot of our yard and we hope they do better there.

[marvholly]

I have 3 Jewel (Albertsons) grocery stores in my area. One north of me. One south & west. Neither of which are on my regular travel routes. The 3rd is near my BIG fruit/veg market. It is convenient but WAAAY smaller than the other 2. It does not have all the choices of many items but I am stuck or have to make a special trip = costs in time & gas. Guess I ca hope for nearly empty shelves & getting a raincheck.

[Blonde Granny]

A little off topic here: We now have commissary privileges and while on a short trip this week we decided to stop at the Ft. Riley, Ks Army base  Goodness how things have changed since 1996, the last time we were shopping.

The Exchange building was an actual mall, complete with large Starbucks and a Popeyes in the food court.  We had quite a few laughs while waking thru there.  Best part is that no sales tax is charged since it's on Federal property.

We then went to the Commissary.....what a huge wonderful grocery store.  We checked the few items for prices that we remembered, and Walmart came out ahead on all of them.

The nearest commissary and exchange is in Little Rock and that is 3 hours away, so we'll likely never go there, but it was a fun day for us to relive some of those old memories. 

[FreeSalsa]

Wow Granny, that is different.  Things are changing all over.

I'm looking forward to the Kroger/Ralphs mega sale this week.  $1.50 for 8 oz. brick cheese (the lowest it gets here) and Nabisco crackers.  Should be $1 or 50c Ziploc bags and containers w/IP and Catalinas.  Glad containers too w/IP.  I just saw another deal for Food Should Taste Good chips for 75c after IP, if we have the same price here.

I got my Kroger $25 GC by using Swagbucks.  I cashed in points for a Visa debit card (online only) and used it to buy a Kroger card on their site.  Usually it's a 100:1 ratio points to $, but now the $25 GCs are only 2200 pts. instead of 2500.  Plus I had a 50 Swagup rebate so I got it for 2150 points.  Anybody need a Swagbucks referral? ? ?  (I'll keep trying.  Maybe someone will take me up on it one day!)

I made chicken leg quarters in the crock pot tonight and it was so good and so easy to make.  I used the Herdez Mexican cooking sauce jar that was a Kroger Friday Freebie a while back.  I added bell peppers from the freezer from my free fruit guy, and the last of the onion/pepper bag that was free from Birdseye ages ago.  It was so good and I cleared out a bunch of things from the freezer.

Wednesday I went to Super King for a one-day sale.  They had 7-bone steak for $2.59/lb.  We had never heard of it so we were skeptical but any steak for less than $5 is a great deal so we tried it.  DH loved it.  I don't eat steak so I didn't try it but he said I should get it again.  If I ever see it for that price again I will.  They also had chicken leg quarters for 29c again but I resisted.  I think the freezer shelf would collapse if I gets any more meat on it!  The best deal was Foster Farms sliced turkey breast (deli meat) in the package.  $3.49 for 2 lb. minus $1.25/2 IP = $1.43/lb. for deli turkey.  Unheard of!  I got 4 lb.  I'll have to portion them out and freeze them too after I get the cheap Ziplock bags.  They also had 12 pk Charmin for $3.99 minus 50c IP = $3.49 each.  It was 360 or 370 sq. ft. so that's stock up price!  The limit was two but I went back for two more.  Sadly it seems that's the only kind I can use now. 

[rubyslippers]

Freesalsa, do you get gift cards at Kroger?  They are having quadruple fuel points thru Aug. 11 and they sell gift cards to the gas station I

[rubyslippers]

Sorry, hit the wrong button. I get my gas station gift cards at Kroger, especially when they have quadruple points. You can get a maximum of $1.00 off a gallon of gas when you get 1000 pts.

Meijer has Jif on sale this week for $.99 and our paper had a $1.00/3 Jif coupon. I don't think I've ever gotten it at this low of a price before unless I used rewards at CVS and got it for free.

I made fresh salsa from the first tomatoes from our garden

[dancinmama]

Aug 1, 2015 8:05:42 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

A little off topic here: We now have commissary privileges and while on a short trip this week we decided to stop at the Ft. Riley, Ks Army base  Goodness how things have changed since 1996, the last time we were shopping.

The Exchange building was an actual mall, complete with large Starbucks and a Popeyes in the food court.  We had quite a few laughs while waking thru there.  Best part is that no sales tax is charged since it's on Federal property.

We then went to the Commissary.....what a huge wonderful grocery store.  We checked the few items for prices that we remembered, and Walmart came out ahead on all of them.

The nearest commissary and exchange is in Little Rock and that is 3 hours away, so we'll likely never go there, but it was a fun day for us to relive some of those old memories. 

I don't know what it's like today, but in the "old days" you were charged a surcharge at the commissary on all your groceries.  On top of that, it was customary to have a military kid take your groceries out to your car for you for a tip.  I don't believe it's ever been a "great bargain" to shop at a commissary.  I believe they are more of a convenience so service members can stay on base to get almost everything they need if they wish to or need to.  The no tax at the BX was good though.

[murphath]

FreeSalsa:  I haven't made it in awhile, but we use the 7 bone steak for a stove top pot roast.  You tenderize it, season it, flour it and then brown it in a little butter.  When browned, lower the temp to simmer, add a couple sprinkles of Worcestershire, some water (about 1/2  way up the meat side), some peeled/quartered potatoes and sliced carrots.  Let it simmer away for a couple hours.  I check on it to make sure the water doesn't dry up.  When the meat is cooked through and practically falling off the bone, it's done.   You can also wait to put the potatoes/carrots in until about 1 hour before.  It's delish!

[FreeSalsa]

Aug 2, 2015 13:57:28 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Sorry, hit the wrong button. I get my gas station gift cards at Kroger, especially when they have quadruple points. You can get a maximum of $1.00 off a gallon of gas when you get 1000 pts.

Meijer has Jif on sale this week for $.99 and our paper had a $1.00/3 Jif coupon. I don't think I've ever gotten it at this low of a price before unless I used rewards at CVS and got it for free.

I made fresh salsa from the first tomatoes from our garden

Thanks, I haven't done fuel points yet.  How long do you have to accumulate points, three months or something?  And how many dollars spent = 1000 points?  I suspect I might not spend enough there.  Remind me next time they have quadruple points, if you think of it.    Which gas station cards do you get?  Is it only Shell?  Do you feel it's worth it paying the higher price for a station like Shell than to just buy gas at a cheaper station?  Right now I'm getting 5x points at gas stations with my credit card and those can be redeemed for cash.  With so many options it's hard to know what is the best deal.

Right now I'm using Swagbucks to get a free Visa debit card but it can only be used online, not in store.  So I used the Visa card and bought the Kroger cards at Kroger.com and they mail you a physical card.

Today I got the Gladware for $1 each pack and got 3-5 containers per pack after Mega sale and IP.  We needed it, the lids on ours are all broken after several years of use and dishwashers.  
The Ziploc Catalinas are no longer printing and the sale price is more at my CA store than at the AZ web site I saw it on so I passed.  Though it's a 90 ct. box so I may still go back and buy it with my gift card.  
I also got red wine vinegar (is it called Red something?) in the round bottle for 99c after mega.  I've needed some for a while.  
I got lots of cheese bricks and Triscuits for $1.50.  I would have gotten the shredded mozzarella for the same price but it had a lot of preservatives so I got the brick and will shred it myself.

I tried buying Flipz at Vons/Safeway yesterday but my store didn't carry them anymore.  I'm not sure it's worth the effort to go to another out of the way store for them.  They are cheap but we shouldn't eat them.  I would just take them to parties.  I have already stuffed myself with chocolate mousse cake from a famous local Cuban bakery (saveinla, you know the one) so I've had enough chocolate for today and have probably ruined my dinner.  It was so good.

[rubyslippers]

Freesalsa, it is definitely worth buying the cards for the points, especially when they are quadruple.  Nothing is close here where I live so we have to drive everywhere any time we need anything.  We do have Shell stations here so I buy their cards.  I also buy gift cards for gifts and I buy Lowe gift cards for projects and things we use for the house.  You can use the points you earn during the month you earn them or the month following.  For example, I earned 2000 points in July and will use them to fill up twice in August, getting $1.00 off a gallon of gas up to 35 gallons twice.  I plan to use the points I earn this month for September.  A $100.00 gift card earns 400 points ($.40 off a gal) right now.  I also do the store survey once a week and get 50 points a week.  Buying regular store items gives you equal points.  You can redeem when you've accumulated at least 100 points a month for $.10 off a gallon. 

[marvholly]

Unusual. My 2 independent, local chains usually post their new ads online right after the stores close on Tue eve. At 3 am one just is not loading (and all my other sites load) and 1 is not yet posted. The unposted store did update by 5 am. However, it looks just like last week’s so probably not accurate. And I finally got the store that would not open to do so. Ads this week: IMHO my big fruit/veg mkt, which posts on Thur, better have a good ad or it is a washout week.

[marvholly]

The old ad is still coming up on the one independent store site but dated for this week.

My big, fav fruit/veg market came thru – somewhat. Their prices undercut other stores in my area on 3 items and do it significantly saving me $1.13 without having to go out of my way (more gas & time).

Sort of glad I waited. In the 3 weeks I have been tracking local gas prices they have gone down about 0.30.  NEED gas.

[marvholly]

Anybody else here?

Went Tue. Not crazy about new HUGE produce store. It is actually too big. Never thought I would say that. Sale prices are just so so. Non-sale prices are WAAAY higher than my current stores: salad bar 27% higher, rotiss chicken 20% higher. Couple things were good deals: spanakopita, tempura shrimp, deli meat & cheese ends so ‘might’ go again. NOTHING for me on this week’s ad.

[rubyslippers]

Last week I had a good run at Meijer with all their discounts. I earned a $10.00 catalina for buying tennis shoes and my rewards added up to $20.00 when I was done. I used both this week to stock up on pantry items and produce. At Kroger I got a few more things that were part of their mega sale. This week, I just price matched CVS eggs @ $1.69.  I've been getting tomatoes, zucchini, herbs and still a few more green beans from the garden.  We're making lots of fresh salsa these days and I made zucchini bread today. 

I got gas on Monday using rewards and paid $1.29 a gal. ($1.00 per gal. discount). Today gas is up to $2.55 a gallon.  Do any of you ever see a pattern when the gas prices fluctuate, like a specific day of the week? 

[marvholly]

Aug 12, 2015 21:15:04 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Last week I had a good run at Meijer with all their discounts. I earned a $10.00 catalina for buying tennis shoes and my rewards added up to $20.00 when I was done. I used both this week to stock up on pantry items and produce. At Kroger I got a few more things that were part of their mega sale. This week, I just price matched CVS eggs @ $1.69.  I've been getting tomatoes, zucchini, herbs and still a few more green beans from the garden.  We're making lots of fresh salsa these days and I made zucchini bread today. 

I got gas on Monday using rewards and paid $1.29 a gal. ($1.00 per gal. discount). Today gas is up to $2.55 a gallon.  Do any of you ever see a pattern when the gas prices fluctuate, like a specific day of the week? 

Ruby

I don't know where you live but gas in metro Chicago is SKYROCKETING right now because the BIG refinery In IN that serves MUCH of our area has a problem.  I have also noticed gas generally goes up over the weekend (Fri-Sun) and ALWAYS on a long holiday weekend.

I like to buy on Tue or Wed.

[marvholly]

Food4Less (Kroger) has cottage cheese & ground turkey at good prices this week. Went on Thur-2nd day of ad. TOTALLY out of ground turkey – 5 empty shelf sections (holds about 40 pkg). No low fat cottage cheese – bought regular.

 
The cottage cheese has almost constantly been on sale. I have gone on Thur, Sun & Tue. Still issues any day. Did get a raincheck for the turkey then asked if a manager was working. Gave him chapter & verse about how S.A.D. it was to be OOS on basic items soooo quickly. Of course, he blamed everyone (meat & dairy mgrs.) but himself. He is the STORE mgr & if HIS direct reports are incompetent it is his job to replace them. Got a $15 gc for my troubles.

Since this is my closest store & has GREAT gas prices. I usually do go every week or 2. I am starting a word doc to chronicle my issues. Either this mgr shapes up & takes charge of HIS store or I go to corp and try to get him replaced. There are WAAAY too many people still looking for decent jobs to put up with incompetents and idiots.

[rubyslippers]

Meijer has Folgers coffee $4.99 today and tomorrow, the big cans.  I price matched 5 of them at Walmart.

Marvholly, the same refinery has driven the price of our gas up.  Today's it's $2.89 gallon.

[murphath]

Going to the farmers market one town over today because the last two sets of peaches I bought have been YUCKY! Mushy and no taste whatsoever. For some reason I think they were probably frozen or kept in very cold storage. The last ones were so bad I'm bringing them back to the store. Good thing I kept the receipt.

I'm part of Raley's "Something Extra" program. It's their way to compete with Safeway. Ever so often they send me some special coupons. This time it was $2 off 10 Yoplait; 1 free box Nabisco crackers, 1 free 3 lb bag apples, .40 off Raley's tortilla chips. In addition, August is my birthday month so they attached a free six pack of cupcakes to my account. The Yoplait was on sale last week at .50 each so I got ten and was able to also use a man. q for $1/10. The chips were on sale for .98 so I paid $2.58 for all the above.

I don't shop much at Raleys because they are a bit pricy (peaches $2.99 lb). I only cherry pick their deals.

[marvholly]

I desperatly need eggs & regular yellow onions at a price I can tolerate - eggs 1.80/less & onions 0.39/lb or less.

I am in the north burbs of Chicago. Yell out if spotted please.