Grocery Shopping Advice to Save Money

[noboundaries]

I don't want this to turn political, but don't grocery shop around the 1st of the month, or the week following the first of the month. Many grocers jack their meat, dairy, bread, and veggie prices 10-30% at that time because that's when food program cards are reloaded. Grocers get reimbursed at the higher price.

I've noticed the pattern before, and it was confirmed by a checkout worker. I made the mistake this past weekend of grocery shopping and there it was again. I'm buying with my own money, not a govt card.

I held off on several items until I know the prices will drop back to normal, usually the 6th-10th, depending on what day the 1st occurs and the grocer's normal weekly repricing schedule.

If you do the cooking and shopping, pay attention at your grocer. See if something similar happens.

Another trick is to pay attention to the sell-by dates on meat. If the date is a Tues, Wed, or Thurs, any unsold packages are often marked down 25%‐75%. I've caught some great deals that way, especially on meat I use to make jerky.

Share any money saving tips you might have.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Sales all happen around mid week around here. Never really thought about what you said before, but now makes sense.

All I know is the prices are through the roof. Still have two boys at home, the cost is nuts.

 

[noboundaries]

I agree on the prices, SE. That's why I posted this thread. Every little bit of savings helps.

 

[adam15]

I know in SE North Carolina the weekly specials begin on Wednesdays so Tuesday night is a good time that I’ve noticed to get whatever is left knocked down even more

 

[indaswamp]

Boston butt sales have all but dried up down here. I use to be able to find a sale about every 2 weeks...for $0.99/#. Not any more....The recent spanish chorizo I made I used loin because I found it for $1.47/#. It was middle section and had some dark meat on it along with the loin so it worked out well. The large amount of paprika used colored the salami anyhow so the light colored meat did not matter.

 

[normanaj]

Our local Aldis very often will have 30% -50% off on some meats midweek. That's when I usually stock up.

 

[chopsaw]

Share any money saving tips you might have.

I buy all my meat at GFS in vac packs . I do the break down and clean up myself . That's a big savings by itself .

I go and see what's a price I'm willing to pay ( for meat ) , then I think what meals I'll get from it .
I have a bottom round flat right now . $ 3.39 a pound . I'll get 3 meals from that for 3 people .
Taco meat , roast beef and some grind . All kinds of options , and it's cheap in my opinion .

At the regular grocery store , I use a store app . Clip digital coupons , and earn points for purchases . Several buy one get one through the app only . Not a huge savings , but it chips a few dollars off . Points earned can be redeemed for cash or free food items .

There's always something on sale .

Boston butt sales have all but dried up down here.

Same here , and have been slowly going up .
I just bought a vac pack of pork cushion because it was cheaper than pork butt .
Makes a great ham and good for sausage and roast pork . $1.89 a pound .

 

[smokerjim]

Can't speak for the rest of the country but I've been in meat rooms for over 40 years in my little corner of the world and can honestly say I never seen stores jacking meat prices up certain times of the month.

 

[bbqjefff]

I never even thought of that but it makes sense. Prices are pretty bad in California.

 

[SmokinAl]

I have never paid attention to that, but will from now on! Thanks for the heads up Ray!
Al

 

[Brokenhandle]

Never thought about it before either, but will now. Try to buy anything we can on sale and stock up...dry goods and such. We have enough meat in freezers we don't buy much. Price of Ball canning flats has come down...be a long while before we run short on them!

Ryan

 

[DougE]

Boston butt sales have all but dried up down here. I use to be able to find a sale about every 2 weeks...for $0.99/#. Not any more....The recent spanish chorizo I made I used loin because I found it for $1.47/#.

Yep. Around here, $1.49/lb is about as low as they have been this year. Kroger did have them for $0.99/lb last week, but you hardly ever see them that cheap anymore.

 

[Bearcarver]

We have been shopping "Giant" on their web site, then Mrs Bear picks it up at their store.
We do it every 2 weeks, at 10 AM, on Tuesday.
We make our picks throughout the two weeks, but then check them all out the day before, to make sure the prices haven't gone up, since we made the selection. It's been working pretty good for over 2 years. The only problem we run into is when they're out of something, but you don't know it until after your pick-up time.

Bear

 

[JLeonard]

Haven’t really paid attention to this. But I will from now on to see if there is a difference.
Jim

 

[noboundaries]

Can't speak for the rest of the country but I've been in meat rooms for over 40 years in my little corner of the world and can honestly say I never seen stores jacking meat prices up certain times of the month.

Might just be a Kalifornia thing. I can always tell when someone is using one or both of the types of food cards available in this state. They place their groceries on the belt in sections, then pay for each section separately. I originally thought they were buying for someone else, then I noticed that the alcohol was always last in a separate section, and generally paid with cash. Food cards don't allow alcohol. The light went on. It is VERY apparent around the 1st of the month in my area.

I buy all my meat at GFS in vac packs . I do the break down and clean up myself . That's a big savings by itself .

There's one store in my area that sells bulk meat in vac packs. When my freezer isn't full, I will stop by there on occasion, only for beef though, and generally tri tips. I haven't seen much difference on poultry or pork to go out of my way to get it.

 

[tallbm]

I don't want this to turn political, but don't grocery shop around the 1st of the month, or the week following the first of the month. Many grocers jack their meat, dairy, bread, and veggie prices 10-30% at that time because that's when food program cards are reloaded. Grocers get reimbursed at the higher price.

I've noticed the pattern before, and it was confirmed by a checkout worker. I made the mistake this past weekend of grocery shopping and there it was again. I'm buying with my own money, not a govt card.

I held off on several items until I know the prices will drop back to normal, usually the 6th-10th, depending on what day the 1st occurs and the grocer's normal weekly repricing schedule.

If you do the cooking and shopping, pay attention at your grocer. See if something similar happens.

Another trick is to pay attention to the sell-by dates on meat. If the date is a Tues, Wed, or Thurs, any unsold packages are often marked down 25%‐75%. I've caught some great deals that way, especially on meat I use to make jerky.

Share any money saving tips you might have.

Thanks for the info, that's great to know!

I only buy what is on sale in the weekly flyer. Both regular sale and digital coupon sale with the apps.

So because of this I never get gouged on price. I don't mind eating the same thing all weak or turning 1 thing into different types of meals.

FYI for everyone. In the US most grocery store deals START on Wed so the last day of that week's sales is the following Tues.

On Tuesdays you can go online to these stores and see the weekly add preview for your stories if you like.
So every Tuesday I ALWAYS check check the weekly add preview for the sales starting the next day (Wed).
Why? Often the meat is gone if you wait past weekend and try to get it before the next week's deals start.
So in my case getting the deals before the heart of the weekend hits you can score the meat. If after then its a roll of the dice!

One last thing I do is I check the preview on Tuesday and if the preview's show that there are no decent deals then I will make an effort to hit the stores up that day to buy the current week's sales so I don't get screwed with the following week's so called "sales".
I'm fortunate that I have 3 different store chains to choose from within a 2 mile radius, and 4 within a 7 mile radius.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to just buy what's on sale like I am, then you never break the bank. This has been 100% true for me pre, during, and post pandemic so I assume it should work for most.
If you live in an area with limited or no options then my thoughts and prayers go out to ya.
I am curious how people successfully manage that situation so I know should I ever end up in a similar situation :)

 

[DougE]

FYI for everyone. In the US most grocery store deals START on Wed so the last day of that week's sales is the following Tues.

True of every chain around my area with the exception of Meijer. Their sales run Sunday to Saturday.

 

[Daba's BBQ]

Use an app called FLIPP. It will give you real-time prices on almost any product you buy at your local grocery store. It is based upon your zip code, so all of the stores are ones close to you.

Here is how it works...

After you download the app, enter your zip and then choose the stores that pop up. These will be the stores on your daily list. Now, let's say you want to buy St Louis spare ribs but don't want to go driving all over town for the best price. Enter it into the search box and hit enter. You will immediately see the current prices for the ribs. You will then get a daily list of all the products you save with the current prices/saves for that day.

I've been using this now for about 30 days and I have saved a nice bit of money.

Hope this helps everyone out there.

Peace.

 

[jcam222]

I buy all my meat at GFS in vac packs . I do the break down and clean up myself . That's a big savings by itself .

I go and see what's a price I'm willing to pay ( for meat ) , then I think what meals I'll get from it .
I have a bottom round flat right now . $ 3.39 a pound . I'll get 3 meals from that for 3 people .
Taco meat , roast beef and some grind . All kinds of options , and it's cheap in my opinion .

At the regular grocery store , I use a store app . Clip digital coupons , and earn points for purchases . Several buy one get one through the app only . Not a huge savings , but it chips a few dollars off . Points earned can be redeemed for cash or free food items .

There's always something on sale .


Same here , and have been slowly going up .
I just bought a vac pack of pork cushion because it was cheaper than pork butt .
Makes a great ham and good for sausage and roast pork . $1.89 a pound .

I just bought two big vac packs of cushion too. Not a bit I’ve seen there before. Both were frozen on the clearance freezer for $0.99 per lbs.

 

[chopsaw]

I just bought two big vac packs of cushion too. Not a bit I’ve seen there before. Both were frozen on the clearance freezer for $0.99 per lbs.

Pork cushion was a cut that showed up here during the shortages last year . They have kept it on the shelf ever since .
It has actually dropped in price from a year ago . It comes from around / trimmed off the picnic . Makes great ham because it has the texture you expect from ham .
This is what's in the bag .

4 cleaned up and one for the grinder .




We've talked about chuck flat , but another beef cut that showed up last year is chuck pectoral . Great cut of beef , comes off the brisket and resembles a brisket flat in texture .
All kinds of options with the cuts , and when you sort through the options and figure the number of people fed and the multiple meals you get from leftovers , it's really not that expensive .
I have threads on all these cuts .

I really don't shop sales , but I operate along the same lines as tallbm .
I've said this before , I figured out the delivery day for GFS . I go the next day . I watch the prices so I can see the trend . That way I know if it went up or down from the last time I was there . Then I buy accordingly .

I don't hoard . NORMAL buying habits will help the prices come back faster as long as people don't panic buy .

Pay attention to product packages . Take a store brand mustard . Usually cheaper than name brand right ? Look at the bottle and check to see if there is a name brand bottle it looks like . Then check the ingredients . The local store brand here is made by Koops . $1.50 cheaper .