Retailers dirty little tricks. Know your prices

Just a note .......

QFC has a buy five, save five sale on now.   There have been times when I have been able to match the sale with coupons and really make out with as much as a 78 percent discount,  

This time, I found something quite remarkable,   A good reason why knowing your prices gives you a heads up in their dirty little secrets.

LaCroix sparkling water has no added sugar or fake sugar, amd no sodium.   It has been everywhere from 3.00 to about 3.68 at Winco in the last few months.

Recently, ot was 3/10 at QFC.  That's 3.33 a can.   Now, they upped the price to four dollars to lower ot to three dollars.  That's no sale.  It is three dollars or there aboits  all the time at Winco.
That is a fair price, but to inflate the price to lower the price is deceiving.  I still want anrbp on the few treats I allow myself.   I ration ot out.   Bubbly drinks aren't necessarily good for you.  Some studies say that they contribute to osteoporosis.

It goes without saying-----always look at the bottom line.    You are looking for the RBP.   I a, also looking for the healthier a for my money.  

1. 21 ounces of whole grain cereal for 2.49 is good.  There is also dollar off two and sometimes three coupons out there.   Unfortunately, favado doesn't do QFC, so you are on your own to find them.   I have found them in the inserts that come in the mail.    
2. Sliced cheese at 2.49 comes out  to five dollars a pound    I buy cheese at two dollars a pound,  and I found extra shirt white cheese for 2.66 a pound at Costco.  This would not be a real sale.   
3. I don't buy Tide. Bit at 4.99 when there are big coupons out there, it could be a deal.   
4. 16 ounces of jiffy is good for 150.  Check the label for how much hydrogenated oil ot has.   Because of back to school, there may be a coupon for it.   
5. Jimmy Dean sausage at 299 is not a deal.  It's cheaper on the chub at Costco.   
6. Junk food isn't a bargain  at any price.   Rule of thumb: if it doesn't have food value, you don't buy it.  

I'm not going to partake of this one.   There is nothing I need.    If I did need things, I would buy cereal with a coupon, tide with a coupon, peanit butter. And maybe Dave's  killer bread, just because it's a treat!   

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the "put the meal on the table train" from  a different perspective. 

The emphasis is on purchasing good shelf stable or frozen food  for a RBP in quantity - enough to last you until it goes on sale again or to keep a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you  use  on a weekly basis. 

This means that instead of shopping daily or weekly for just the things you need to cook your meals for the week. You go to two stores and buy :
1) a protein that is a RBP - enough to make that meal for x number of days. (I.e.: if you eat it once a week, buy enough for 4 meals.)
2) produce and dairy you will need to fill in the meals for the week. 
3) a stock item, if you need to and it is on a RBP - enough to fill in to your self imposed stock level. 

You often are paying 1/2 price for your food.   This allows you to put well-balanced meals on the table consistently on a four dollar a day per person budget.   You spend more time on the locomotive ( planning and shopping ) end of the train, and less time in the caboose ( kitchen j) by cooking more efficiently. 

 Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on 4 dollars a day, spending more is not difficult and you still get more nutrition for your buck.