Grocers dirty little secrets!

As I have said before, the retailers have spent considerable money to research our habits and find ways to get us to spend more money.

Advertising multiples, when you can only by one item is one trick they use. Because something is 3/1.00 doesn't mean that you have to buy three.

The longer you spend in a store, the more money you will spend. That's why some retailers change things aroumd frequently. Costco is notorious for it. If you have the mind set that you are on the clock and want to get the most bang for your buck, you'll spend less time. It's a game. I want to save as much as I can in the least amount of time.

Impulse buying is the retailers profit. They figure that 70 percent of what we buy is impulse. Often it is the most expensive things in the store that you don't really need. We want the retailers to prosper but they can do it on someone else's dime who can afford it.

Create your own path through the store, if you don't need anything in an isle, don't go there. The true necessities are on the outside perimeter of the store.

Sometimes, what is truly on sale isn't the featured items up front.

Exercise the hands off rule. Studies say that if you touch it, you are most likely going to buy it.

It's a well known trick that if prices have to increase, the manufacturers will reduce the size of the package instead of outwardly increasing the price.

Know your prices, the bulk isle isn t always the cheapest price.

Keep in mind that foods are sold other places other than grocery stores. Many time you can find overstocks at the dollar store, big lots, Bartells and almost anywhere. Keep your eye open, and know your prices.

Pick your grocery store based on the prices, not how friendly the clerks are or how fancy the store is, or how uncrowded it is. think about it, there is a reason why the store is crowded. Either they have just forecasted that dreaded S word, or it's because they have the best prices. You go to the grocery store to purchase your food.

Stores charge manufacturers slotting fees. Basically they charge rent for the eye level shelves. You can just bet they are going to pass on the cost. Look UP and DOWN for the best buys.

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Jane

Life is like a big pasta salad

Yesterday, I made a big pasta salad to take to a happy hour picnic. Reflecting on my life, I think that life is like a big pasta salad. The pasta is the base. Our moral values, or its what we are made of. The veggies and stuff that we throw into it is the life experiences that get thrown at us. We can process them so that we wind up with a gourmet delight, or not. The dressing so how we pull it together. How we find a positive, out of a negative situation.

Back in the days when we went without a 10 inch black and white tv with rabbit ears, I would have never dreamed I would have a thirty something flat screen with hundreds of channels. We listened to old time radio. Now, I listen to old time radio because I want to and enjoy it. I can listen and still work in my studio or fold clothes .

When I studied everything I could get my hands on to learn to stretch a buck, I learned valuable life's lessons. Life's lessons I am trying to teach others. Making a positive out of what could have been a negative. My mother always said that no one ever gets through life without paying their dues. What you do with the experience is the key to a " flop or a gourmet salad."

So, I write this blog to help those people who, by their own volition want to stretch a buck or because someone is in a position to Have to stretch their food dollar, can make informed decisions and eat better for less.
My way of turning a negative into a positive.

The little feedback I get is telling me that people take different things from this blog. Some like to try a new recipe, some like a way to get out of the kitchen faster, or streamline the hectic dinner hour. Some just like to laugh at my terrible keyboard skills on the I pad! LOL. Whatever the reason, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are sharing so that I can reach more people. They can take what they want from it. I do not get paid for doing this, I am doing it to try to help people eat better for less. Better, cheaper, faster,


Again, thanks for stopping by


Jane

The ads sept 11th

Top

London broil BOGO nets 2.75
Cheese 4.99@ limit 1

ALBERTSONS

Campbell soups 2/1.00 limit 8
Grapes 1.28
Yoplait 10/5 $$$
BOGO meat, no prices


Dryers 2/7 *****

SAFEWAYS

Corn 3/1

Dryers 2.88***

5 dollar Friday
2 strawberries
Cream cake


QFC

Peaches .99
Romas .99

Buy 5 /5 mega

Cheerios 1.50$$
Dreyers 2.49 $$
Nature valley 1.69$$$
Oscar Mayer lunch meat 2.49
Sirloin tip 2.99
Whole chickens .99
Butter 2.00


Notes:
Dryers ice cream is 2.00 with a printable coupon at rite aid'and up rewards.
Rite aid also has Russell stovers sugar free candy for a buck a bag with up rewards.
They also had sox for .25 each. Adult , the kind you wear with sneakers, colorful.
And Kleenex tissues for .88, 100 count


@ means an in ad coupon
$$ means there are coupons either printable or in an insert, see coupon connections.com.

Chicken is a buck at QFC!


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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

It's Tuesday in case you were confused! LOl. Sometimes, I get confused if I don't have any special thing to so in a day. The days run together when you are retired. Sometimes, I think I work harder than I did before I was retired.
I sure don't miss driving to Everett everyday. LOL

Last night we had leftovers. I made baked potatoes and peas for our meatloaf. An old fashioned dinner if I ever had one!

It still feels like summer here, we are having unusually warm September. We are going to a BBQ tonight.

Granny's macaroni salad.

1 cup medium sized macaroni, cook, drain

2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup red or yellow pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pickles
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1 hard cooked egg, chopped
1/4 cup thawed frozen peas.



Dressing
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T milk
1T pickle juice
2 parsley
Salt and pepper.

Mix dressing, macaroni and rest of ingredients. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.


I just got a new coupon list in my in box. I haven't looked at all of it yet, I tend to wait until I get the real computer so I can print too, it's more efficient. I did find a dollar off three pudding cup packages. Some of us are gathering food for take home packs for needy children. I think the dollar store carries it. That would make 12 for 2.00.

We stopped at grocery outlet yesterday because I needed some supplies and went to Lynnwood.
They had shredded cheese. It is a little pricy at 2 dollars for 8 ounces, but there was blue cheese crumbles and several varieties of specialty cheeses. Red and yellow peppers were .50. There was five pounds of chorizo sausage crumbles for 6.99. It is already cooked and drained so that would be a good price. I passed on it.
Like any store, not everything is a bargain. You really need to know the lowest prices on the things you buy regularly.

I want to pay 2.50 a pound for cheese. I have been finding it occasionally, and have a stock on hand. I got shredded motts for 2.19 or so at Costco. I have plenty of cheddar bricks. I can always put a brick through the food processor and add a little cornstarch to it. ( natural anti caking agent). The grated cheese at grocery outlet makes really good four cheese Mac and cheese. We also like blue cheese in tomato soup with basil. I got a fresh basil plant for 3.34 cents and have been eating off of it all summer. If you add to,atoes from the garden and basil and motts with a balsamic dressing , it is really good. It's almost time to start eating cheeseburger macaroni from scratch again. My granddaughter has been eating cheese quesidas all summer.

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Jane

Monday madness, and a new post

It's Monday. Back to school for the little one, I have to still get the rest of my big order out, so it's stuck in the studio working.

Last night we had meat loaf, squash and salad.

I was looking at some retro cookbooks. We certain,y ate a lot more fat and sugar than we do now. Many recipes are really good. We just need to alter them to make them a bit more healthy. in other words, we don't need to deprive ourselves of the foods we like, we just need moderation and to make so,e adjustments to our recipes.

Many recipes call for,shortening. I think they have taken the saturated fat out of shortening. I still try to steer clear of it.

Grocery Outlet is a good source for cheese. They have a wide variety of cheeses and So,e of them are inexpensive as cheeses go. Cheese is still a good source of protein. Especially if we avoid fried foods and and fatty meats.
The harder the cheese,the better it is for you.

Three Cheese Fettuccine

1-1/2 cups broccoli
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced
1T olive oil

4 green onions, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
2T flour

Oregano, salt, pepper

3-1/2 cups plus 1T milk

1/2 cup shredded Gouda
1/2'cup shredded Swiss
1/4'cup parm
12 punches of fettuccine or linguine , cooked and drained. Keep warm.

1) cook broccoli and carrots with a little water until crisp tender and drain.

2) in a large skillet, sauté garlic and green onions on oil. Stir in flour and spices. Cook 1 minute , then add milk and stir until white sauce has thickened. Add cheese a little at a time. Add vegetables to the cheese sauce.




Note : you could add cooked chicken to this. Serve with a tossed salad and breadsticks.


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Jane


Ps. I had to go to the next town for supplies. Stopped at grocery outlet. 4 pack of fruit was 1.49; 5 pounds od cooked sausage was 7.99.,peppers were .50.

Rite,aid coupon extremes.

We went to Rite aid. I did not go to Fred Meyers. I got a tremendous amount of things for 15.00 at Rite Aid with coupons and specials and up rewards. I got 2 ice creams for 2.00 a piece. I got sugar free Russell stoves chocolate for a buck. I got sox 4 pair for a buck. I got the baby's treats for two dollars off. And I got Kleenex for .88 a box. Basically, I got half off.

Thanks for stopping by


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Jane

Fred Meyers ad out

I have not got out to dollar store to get a paper. But, I checked on line.

Broccoli .77
Chicken breast 1.37
Bottom round 2.99
Eggs 1.25@@
24 ounces of sour cream or cottage cheese 1.88

Note for Beta Gals

I don't usually get instant oatmeal. It is so easy with as many steps as instant to make it from the bog box. But, we are buying food for weekend backpacks for school children.

Instant oatmeal at Fred Meyers is 1.50 net with a printable coupon found on coupon connections.


one cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1.5 minutes. Instant oatmeal without the cost.! Add cinnamon, a little apple, craisens, sugar, or what strikes your fancy!



Thanks for stopping by

I will add anything once I get the paper.


Jane

Suddenly Sunday, what to do with what you have. Edition.

It's Sunday. It's beautiful out after the rain and storm. We are still having meatloaf for dinner. My husbands beef jerkey is in the machine.

I stumbled on to chocolate waffles. I guess they are supposed to be for desert. We love them for anytime. Basically they are just waffles with some cocoa in them. I can see that of they were served with some bacon and a yogurt parfait, it could be a balanced meal the kids would talk about all week! lol. As long as there is protein, starch , fruit/ and or veggies and dairy in a meal, it can't be all bad! LOL. I wouldn't, however, have it for a steady diet. Again, moderation is the key.

Breakfast for dinner is another way to cut the cost of feeding your family. Often, breakfast is cheaper to cook than dinner. I am not talking about having cereal for dinner. I usually don't have enough time to cook a real breakfast for breakfast. Like a quiche or scrambled eggs and toast and fruit, or veggie stuffed omlettes.

One way to cut costa is to use what's in season and have a group of recipes that use small amounts of food.
Like steak salad. ( leftover eye of round steak that was on sale this week? Pizza is another way to use up little bits. Ditto soup. When we were kids,sometimes my mother made depression stew. No, for you young people,She was not depressed. She grew up during the depression-- a period in our history when nobody had jobs or money. Depression stew is a stew made of any bits and pieces of meat and potatoes and veggies. Like a piece of bacon, some meat balls, potatoes and carrots.

Looking for recipes that incorporate the ingredients that are on sale that week.

Grape Broccoli Salad

1 cup broccoli florets(fresh), quartered.
3/4 cup grapes, cut in half
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup raisins or craisens
1/2 cup sour cream
2 T mayo

Place everything but the sour cream and mayo in a bowl. Mix together the sour cream and mayo.
Fold into the veggies. Chill at least an hour.

Note: Grapes and broccoli are both on sale this week. Green onions and radishes were .50 at Winco.

Oranges were a buck last week. They are always good for orange quick bread. I have chicken breasts that I deboned from the grill pack for a buck last week.

Orange Chicken Salad
1 pound of chicken breasts

DRESSING
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3 T orange juice
2 T olive oil
Parsley
Salt, pepper,
Dashed red pepper sauce,if desired

Mixed salad greens
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 cup orange sections
Red onion slices
Craisens
Almomds , cashews or walnuts.

1) grill chicken and slice. ( or use cooked chicken cubes)
2) mix together dressing ingredients and chill.
3) toss together salad ingredients.

Assemble salad.

I would serve with a crusty bread or bread sticks.
Berries continue to be reasonable in cost. You can make a mixed berry compote or shortcake.
The strawberries didn't look good this week,but raspberries did as well as blueberries and blackberries.

We went to Costco Yesterday. I bought fruit and meds and coffee! The chocolate covered almonds just jumped into the cart!
Seems Mickey Mouse decided to sit next to granddaughter too. LOL. Can you guess grandpa is a pushover for baby granddaughter?!? LOL

Thanks for stopping by

Please share .

Jane

Pizza crust

Pizza Crust, easy

1/2 to 3/4 cup of warm water (105 to 115 degrees
1T dry yeast
1tsp sugar
2cups flour
1T veg oil
1/2 tsp salt

Combine 1/4 cup water with the yeast and sugar.
Let stand in a warm place till bubbly --about 5 minutes.
It will look like a root beer with a head on it.

Put flour, oil, and salt in food processor with a steel blade. Process a few seconds, add yeast mixture through the tube with processer running. Add enough water through the tube until dough forms a ball.  Process until the ball makes 25 turns around the bowl. Approx 1 count every 25 seconds. Put dough ball on pizza pan. Let rest for 10 minutes. ( a good time to assemble your ingredients.).
Put tomato sauce and Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder in a small pot and simmer till warm and somewhat reduced.
When dough has had it's resting time, pat into a circle on pizza pan.
Spread sauce and pizza toppings on the crust. Bake 425 degrees for 15 a 20 minutes
Until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.

BAKING MIX

6cups flour
1/2 cup PLUS 1 Tablespoon non fat dry milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, margarine or shortening cut into small bits
Mix together. Store in a cool dark place . Shelf life. Two weeks.

TACO SEASONING

1/2 cup plus 2T chili powder
2/3 cup paprika
1/2 cup plus 1T cumin
1/3 cup onion powder
1/3 cup garlic powder
1 2/3 tsp cayenne pepper
2tsp red pepper flakes

Mix well and store in an airtight container. Use 2 tablespoons per pound of ground meat.

Suddenly Saturday

We went to Winco this week. It is a ways for us to go so we don't go often. I was surprised somewhat that the prices were so much higher. There were a few bargains, but not nearly as many as I had seen the last time we were there. I would have to have a ten dollar coupon before I would go up there again.

I spent around 35.00. I did ask if they accepted manufacturers coupons, and she said,yes, but not competitors coupons. Pasta was more expensive than it is at the chain stores and pasta sauce was more too. I don't usually like their produce, but they had gala apples that looked OK and salad greens for the same price as Costco. I got an a pen squash for .68 and bought some meat loaf ground meats to make a meat loaf to go with it., my mother used to make meatloaf, baked potatoes, and acorn squash stuffed with butter and brown sugar for dinner. It was a signal of fall.
It was that and the breaking out of the oatmeal box!

Since we have to bag our own groceries at Winco, I brought in the cooler bag and boxed up our groceries, using the cooler for the meat and dairy. Basicly, I got meat for meatloaf, milk and yogurt, and vegetables and bread. The whole wheat English muffins were a bargain. The yogurt wasn't bad. Had I brought in my coupon binder, it would have been cheaper. there were a few coupons at the store. I had been under the misconception that they didn't take coupons. They do not take credit cards. They do take debit cards and snap.

Friday night, we had pizza. I used the last of the white cheese. I have lots of yellow,and some pepper jack.
I used red peppers I had chopped and frozen, sausage I had pre cooked, some pepperoni I got for .50 at the dollar store and 1/2 of a .25 cent tomato sauce can and part of a .50 can of black olives. The crust was 1.25 from big lots. That totals, in my head, 1.62. Adding some green salad, we are still well under the five dollar benchmark.

ALMOST FREE PIZZA.

When I said that to my frugal co worker,she said,someone is giving away pizza? Ha ha
If it sounds too good to be true.....

Take a couple of plastic containers or zip lock bags and put them in your freezer door.
Every time you chop an ingredient for a recipe that would also go on a pizza, chop a little more and put it in the bag. Do the same for bits of meat ( in a separate bag) that will work for pizza. Put them in the door because if your freezer is like most I have seen, of you put it on the regular part of the freezer, to might be lost forever. LOL.

When you have enough for a pizza, you can either use an inexpensive pizza crust or make the pizza crust recipe that I have on an earlier post. At .075 a cup for flour and bulk yeast,it is next to nothing to make a crust.

The pizza took almost no time, and almost no money and dinner was on the table and everybody was happy! I love easy dinners that I can adjust to please every picky eater in one effort.


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Jane

Friday.

Yesterday we had thunder storms. I put a slow cooker of vegetable bean soup on before I went to work. All I had to do when I came home was to put a couple of baguettes in the oven.
Another case of having a plan and adjusting for circumstances.

Wednesday I made a quick bread loaf from a muffin mix. I got the muffin mix with a sale and a coupon, so it was cheaper than scratch. I like to make loaves instead because it is more efficient and you can portion it better.
I might think different if we were always taking them out of the house.

Sour Cream Muffins

1-1-2 cup baking mix
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix wet ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients together .
Mix the two together. Do not over mix.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes.

A good way to use up the last of the sour cream.

Baking your own baked goods is a way to save a lot of money and spend a little time doing it.

What kind of muffins do you bake?

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Jane

The ads , some beef prices are decent

This is the second week that the prices in the ads are not very advantageous to a frugal budget. It is usually the case with a holiday weekend,but the prices are continuing to be high on actual food. Bargains are on processed food, a lot of cereal and cereal products.

SAFEWAYS

Chicken 1.29

SAFEWAYS has a lots of BOGO meat, all are processed, non are priced.

Corn on cob 3/1
Peaches .99
Raspberries BOGO
Yoplait 10/5 $$
Milk 2.59

Mega sale
5, save 5

Cereal, bars, 1.49 $$
Kellogg's cereal, bars 1.99$$



TOP

Apples 1.29
Chuck roast 2.99
Yoplait 10/5
Potatoes 10/2@@
Pork sirloin 2.00 @@
Green peppers 2/1

QFC

Broccoli .99
Blackberries 2/5

Mega 5/5

Dreyers 2.49
Nabisco crackers 1.50
Nature valley bars 1.69$$
Cheerios 1.50$$
Skippy 1.99 $$

Round roast 2.99

ALBERTSOMS

Berries 2/5
Milk 1.79 @@
Canned veggies .49@@
15 percent ground beef 2.79


Notes:

@@ means an in ad coupon
$$ means that there is a printable or paper coupon out there. Check coupon connections or you matchup site.

There are some meat prices for three dollars a pound. While that is a 50 percent increase in prices, it is about the best we can hope for in this climate. And, I am still seeing some decent prices on fruit.

There are not a lot of buys out there, and really not a lot to stock up on. Some snack crackers because the holidays will be upon us . It's a good reason to stock when the prices are low.

It might be a good week to go to Winco, although I haven't seen a ten dollar coupon lately.



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Jane

Wicked Wednesday.

It is the first day of school here. The kids in the neighborhood are so excited!

It is time for packing lunches. I usually don't talk much about lunches because, for us it is leftovers, cheese and crackers and fruit. Most people, I suspect, that are of snap also get school lunches too.
When we were kids, we either got to come home for lunch, or we got a sandwich. Period.

Breakfast was always oatmeal in the winter. Oatmeal for, scratch is just as easy as oatmeal from the canister.
1 cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1-1/2 minutes in the microwave. I like to add craisens or blueberries.

Breakfast muffins are a good thing, or a quick bread that you can make ahead.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/blueberry-banana-bread/96c37e01-6aad-42a5-9907-2117e388209b
Google Betty Crocker banana blueberry bread. There is a heart healthy version too. It uses egg beaters and low fat bisquick. In my book, 2 eggs split between 12 servings is not a lot of eggs.

Bananas with black spots on the skin are supposed to be anti cancer. Blueberries are anti oxidents, and oatmeal is good for cholesterol. Nutritious,easy and inexpensive is a winner in my book. They just happen to taste good. I wasmaskedmfor a substitute for the banana. I guessed chopped apple. I googled it, it said papaya. I have never bought a papaya, I would guess that it would derail the cost effectiveness of the muffin. Muffins are a dollar a piece in the grocery store. That is another time when scratch is a money maker.

To find out if something is worth making from scratch, first figure the cost of the bought product. Then cost out the scratch product. Time your non- passive cooking. Divide the difference in cost by the time it takes you to make the muffins. you will get the amount of money you are "making an hour " to scratch cook. if it is a couple of dollars, it's probably not worth it. When my daughter and I cost out lemon pound cake vs buying it at the lots of bucks store, we figure we made over 212.00 an hour if memory serves me. That's a little extreme, but at a dollar a muffin, I am pretty sure, scratch is well worth your time. If you can make them in a loaf pan instead, itmwouldmbe even faster.

Another thing that can be cost effective to make is salad dressing ( not mayo).A vinaigrette can be cost effective. There are recipes for salad dressings on an earlier blog. When salad dressing is a buck or less with a coupon, it is probably not cost effective.

I think what I have learned is that not everything is black and white playing this game. But, all in all, you will come out the winner if you put some effort into it.


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Jane

Tuesday

It's Tuesday. it seems like a Monday because of the holiday. I actually cleaned my studio and organized some things. I guessed I could start my busy season neat!

Last night we had a taco tater tot bake in place of the tacos on our plan. My husband wasn't impressed. It was ok, but I don't thinks will make it again. It had lots of ingredients and sounds more tasty than it was. Trying new dishes keeps meals interesting.
Mealtime can get in a rut. Children, however like repetition.

I am making muffins today. They are quick and easy and a good breakfast or snack. I usually make muffins with veggies or fruit. I got a couple of oranges at Fred Meyers because they were a buck a pound. I also got a few peaches of sale. Milk was a buck a half gallon and that included chocolate milk. Orange quick bread is one of cheapest ones. Grating and drying the orange peel saves it for other dishes. My MIL used to candy it.

Trying to waste the least amount of food is another way to stretch your food dollar. Mid week, do a fridge clean out and use up anything on the edge and dump anything dead. Hopefully, there won't be much dead. That is a good time to make vegetable stock. I make it on the stove, but when I worked,I made it in the slow cooker. I use it in a base for split pea soup when my daughter was a complete vegetarian.

It is the first of the month. Printable coupons have an expiration date. Many aremforma short time and all of them
Have limits, You can print two and the manufacturer sets a limit on the quantity that are printed. The large dollar coupons go first. I go through and print the ones I am likely to use if I find a sale. I file only printable coupons in my coupon binder. When I file this months, I throw out any lingering with stale dates. Most coupon sites have the same download file, they all come from coupons.com. Coupons.com doesn't make you go through hoops to get the coupons. You have to download coupon drivers once. It has been my experience that coupons.com is safe.

I purchased two skippy natural peanut butter with a coupon at Fred Meyer. They were dated 9/2. ( a group I belong to is providing food for needy kids.) I then downloaded another two dated October. Fred Meyers net cost with the coupon was .95. SAFEWAYS cost with the coupon was 2.44 for the same jar of peanut butter. To me, not buying the same peoduct with the cheapest price is wasting about 3.00. All those dollars add up. Instead of one kid getting a jar, I can get for almost three.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that people were running out of money before they ran out of month on SNAP ( food stamps) . It is possible to eat well on full food stamps. USDA hasnstatsnthat are updated frequently on what food costs. It is on the Internet. They base SNAP on these figures and the place where you live. No childmshoudmhave to live with the insecurity of waking up to no food in the house. And, no child should have top ramen and potato chips for a steady diet.

I am writing this blog from a suburb of Seattle. I know that different parts of the country have different stores and quantity of stores and different prices. The basics of groceries on the cheap work with all places. Saving is realitive. I think I had a wake up call when we went to a resort town off season for our anniversary trip. Lodging was cheap. BUT, there was no place to eat! The town had one eatery that had fish and chips. Fish and chips cost 40.00 for two of us. I had ice tea and my husband had 1 beer. The only store was an independent that had almost no food and what they had did have didn't look fit to eat! It was twenty miles to the nearest big store. We googled subway and found one four miles away and we ate the food I had brought from home in a cooler and subway the rest of the weekend.

If I was in that position, I would get the stores to mail me their ads or see if they were on line. Then, I would see I'd I could find another person to car pool with me and go twice a month when they had the best buys, my SIL and I used to go to the next town to shop together. They only had one car at the time, and we both had toddlers. The husbands could watch the children and we could go to the cheapest store to buy food. Shopping without toddlers makes it easier to concentrate on what you are doing. It seems every town has a dollar store. Our little town even has one. there are some foods that are cheaper; some are not. Make it a point to know your prices on the things on your
Stockpile list anyway. My mother had an expression, " some people wouldn't know a bargain if it bit them in the butt." Don't be that person! Ha ha

If you are on SNAP or a limited budget, knowing what a bargain is and taking advantage of them when they come along can make the difference between skimping along, or eating well and having something in the pantry at the end of the month.


It will be worth your while to download coupons early in the month before the high dollar ones are gone. Knowing your prices of the things that you buy often can save a bundle. Making adjustments to your shopping if you don't have chain stores available in your neighborhood might be necessary to effectively cut your food costs. Shopping without children makes for a more effective shopping trip. Why is it that even if younremondmchildren to go to the bathroom before you leave, it is right on the middle of you're calculating a unit cost when they announce to the world that they have to go potty! Ha ha.

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Jane

Meal plans

There is a picture on the Internet that has been circulating . It is three grocery carts. The forest one says 1998 and is full. The second says 2005 and is half full. The third one says 2012 and is almost empty. Each is headed with a twenty dollar bill. Groceries are a big part of our discretionary spending. The cost of food has gone up every year , but this year some items have doubled in cost. It is getting harder and harder to Stay on a thrifty budget. I can still average ten dollars a sack; the sacks are just smaller. LOL.

This week , I spent thirty dollars at ALBERTSONS and twenty at Fred Meyers and 4 at the dollar store. I didn't get any protein. I have a lot stockpiled. Mostly fresh food and some frozen veggies. A


It is possible to eat well on a thrifty budget. Last night we had Scratch Mack and cheese and mixed vegetables. vegetables. it is a dinner that satisfies the whole family and I only have to cook one version.

When I make meal plans I use a matrix. We have a vegetarian, a semi vegetarian and a dad that doesn't like most vegetables., I have given up and just cook veggies. Take it or leave it. But, I cook a variety of protein in an effort to be more healthy and satisfy everyone.

My matrix is

2 beef
2 pork or chicken
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

This makes meal planning easier. Your matrix may be different, but a matrix helps. Betty Crocker web sites help. I get them on e mail weekly. They even tell you if there is a store near you that has ingredients on sale.
Some recipes need adjusting to be on the cheap, but almost all are doable and many sound really good. You can also google an ingredient you need to use up and it will provide recipes.

I use the matrix and incorporate what's in the fridge with my meal plans. What needs to be used up.


1) tacos, refried beans, vegetarian Spanish rice.

2) Italian meatballs and spaghetti,small ad baguette

3) chicken Kiev , baked potato, minted peas, salad.

4) smoked pork, peppers, potatoes, baguette

5) Mac and cheese, mixed vegetables

6) split pea soup, bread sticks

7) tuna Cassarole with peas.


Notes:

Taco kit was 1.55 at ALBERTSONS with a coupon. I bought enough for tacos once a week or the month. I usually make my own taco seasoning, but this is cheaper than making and Buying the two different kinds of shells, the seasoning, and the taco sauce.

The chicken is from the grill packs I bought last week. I de boned the breasts and cooked and shredded the rest. I added some vegetables during n the cooking time so that I had a stock left when I was finished. I portioned the chicken shreads so that I have one meal bags. For salads, tacos, stir fry, on top of Mac and cheese. I can use the stock in split pea soup: easy fare in the slow cooker. The smoked pork was I think 1.23 with a sale and a coupon. Peppers are at the dollar store. The meat balls were batch cooked from hamburger I got at Costco for 2.89 for 9 percent ground beef. Ditto the taco meat. The base for the Mac and cheese was a garlic recipe starter that I got for .50 at the dollar store. It is cheaper than making white sauce.

Plans can be altered, but you need to have a plan. I remember one time, years ago, when I walked into albertsons to get milk. They announced over the store PA system that they had purchased too much Dover sole . It was two dollars a pound. We had Dover Sole that night.! LOL. Without a plan,things are sure to go a muck the first time your schedule is compromised.

groceries on the cheap takes on a whole different way of grocery shopping. You do not come home from shopping with a weeks worth of food. Because you have the basics for a weeks worth of food in your pantry and freezer, basicly when you are fully set up you are buying

A) the loss leader meat/ protein that is available that week. I buy cheese when it is under pr at 2.50 a pound. Grate it and freeze it. I add a little cornstarch to it so that it doesn't clump. I want pork loin for under 2.00.
I want ground beef for as close to 2.50 as I can get it and I want 7-9 percent. If I want more fat for meatballs or meatloaf, I can add some ground pork that I have ground from a pork loin, or I can grind my own from chuck if it is cheaper than good ground beef. I want to pay a buck a poundnformchicken. I have been getting whole chickens for a buck, I got grill packs this month for a buck at two of the chain stores, and saw them at the other two on sale too.
Sausage is cheapest at Costco in a roll. The price keeps going up, but with sausage a little bit goes a long ways. I cook it and de fat it and portion control it in bags in the freezer. Use it on pizza, in soup, or on quiche. The pork, chicken are pretty much passive cooking. The ground sausage and beef are a bit more time consuming. I used to buy a roast beef before beef took such a hike.

There is a idea out there for what they are calling now freezer cooking, we used to call it marathon cooking. Thos is a compromise that takes less commitment of time, allows for more fresh food, and less freezer space. I think it is more doable. I don't have the stamina to shop and prep for 8 hours and cook for eight hours. Itmcouldmworkmfor some families I think, especially if the family had parents that had 12 hour shifts for work and left a culinary challenged parent to cook. I used to do some freezer cooking so that I could take already cooked meals to our elderly mothers. To is hard to cook for one person, especially of you are not well.

If you buy and cook one thing a week in bulk and rotate to for your meal plans, it will save time and money. You cook when you are more relaxed. Most of the time, you can passive cook the meat and when the meat is already cooked, it makes for an easy dinner time. In most families with children, dinner time is the most hectic time of the day, besides getting everyone out the door in the morning. I would not batch cook any more of one thing than a months worth. You can get a months worth of dinners in a standard freezer section of a fridge.
Rotate it for variety.

B) the perishables you will need to round out your meals. : fresh produce, dairy and eggs. I buy eggs when they are close to a dollar. They have a loag fridge life.

C) anything on your stocking list that is at or below your target price that you need to bring you up to your goal amount.



All this takes a little planning to get started. The result is better, faster, cheaper meals. The average family can cut their food bill by 1/2. 75.00 a week times 52 weeks is wait for it......

3900.00. And, it probably won't take you more than an extra hour a week. That is about 75.00 an hour.

Next time: ready made or scratch. When is it worth it.

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Jane

Fred Meyer ad with coupon matchups

Here are the Fred Meyer specials. I don't have a paper yet, I am using the Internet

Grapes .98

Oranges .98 ( can we spell orange quick bread? )

Peaches 1.49

Chicken breasts 2.79 ****+

Skippy peanut butter. With printable coupon .95

Tillamook yogurt .33 with in ad coupon. Add printable coupon nets .08 !


NOTES.

Orange quick bread is a good go to when there s nothing on sale in the dead of winter. Super inexpensive.


Note price on chicken breasts....dollar a pound chicken grill packs are a really good buy.

Yogurt is a given.


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Jane

Sweet Sunday

Friday, I spent 30.00 grocery shopping. I used coupons and bought specials from ALBERTSONS. I added potatoes and sour cream that we needed. We start a new month. I am, yet again going to try to eat down the pantry. A lot of the things on their mega sale this time , I don't buy. There was still enough to come up with ten items that I had coupons for to make a deal. I made chicken tacos from the Old El Paso taco dinner kit. They were really good. I got the kit for 1.55. It included soft taco shells, hard taco shells, taco seasoning, and taco sauce. It was enough for all four of us to have two meals. I used the pulled chicken that I made from our .99 a pound grill packs. It seems that over the past couple of weeks, every one of the chain stores has had foster farms grill packs for .99. I have bought two and cooked them up. It is a real cheap way to get boneless, skinless chicken breast and you are still paying a buck for hind quarters-- a real winner in my book. It's a good way to have a gourmet meal and still average a couple of bucks for protein a meal. I got ten meals from ten dollars and change worth of meat!

Betty Crocker on line has a lot of good recipes of you are stuck for ideas on dinner. Sometimes you need to adjust for an expensive ingredient, but most are doable on a budget.


Thursday, we had two plus inches of rain in an hour. All the streets were flooded, half the stores in town were flooded. We came home from work to no power and a flooded garage. The drains could not carry the water off fast enough. Today, I spent the day cleaning the garage and loading the truck with wet soggy stuff! One way to get the garage floor clean! LOL. Friday was a teacher in service day,so I had my granddaughter. She had a ball driving the grocery cart/ car around the store with Mickey. LOL

I think the bottom line is that I spent more a couple of months ago because there were store closings and the rock bottom prices were in full force. Now the rock bottom prices have slowed down and I am only buying a few good buys and the perishables we need to fill out our meals. The grocery budget will averge out.

Getting started on stockpiling without spending more than a normal budget can happen. First, cut out the junk food and pop. Start with one thing at rock bottom prices. Buy a few ahead. Keep it up and pretty soon you will be stocked and be in a maintenance mode. It just takes time. When you are socked, there is less stress. I know if I get sick, or something happens, I don't have to go to the store if I don't want to. in this part of the country, snow cripples us. One year, there was a flood on the interstate and the trucks that bring our groceries to the stores couldn't pass over the road. We still had food.

Over the years, I have developed recipes that take little time to prepare that my family will eat. I am not lazy, just busy. I have had two jobs most of my career. I am retired and still work 2 days a week and run two side businesses. If it took top many hours to groceries on to cheap, I wouldn't be doing it.

There are previous posts on how to roast a chicken. It takes almost no ti,e to season a pork loin and rub it with olive oil and program the thermometer. The rest is passive cooking. You can go about and take care of mail,download recipes or coupons, or whatever is on your to do list.
Putting up ground beef is a bit more time consuming .

I do meatballs with a portion scoop and bake them on a wire rack in a quarter sheet pan in the oven. This drains off fat. Meat loaf is baked right before dinner in a meat loaf pan that drips off the fat. Crumbles and taco meat are done with a defating method. Taco seasoning recipes are om a previous post,as well as almost free pizza , pizza crust,baking mix, white sauce mix.

Precooking meat makes it fast to add ingredients for a casserole, or stir fry or other skillet meal.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see on the blog.

I throw out all the ideas that have worked for me. It is up to you to do the part of this that you feel will work for you.

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Jane

The basics: cooking from scratch

Groceries on the cheap is a whole new way of looking at shopping for food. One of the fastest ways to derail a thrifty budget is to go to the store every day or every other day and buy just enough food to get you by for a couple of days. you spend more gas, more time. subject yourself to the deluge of impulse stimulation, and probably pay top dollar for your food. Another way, is to go to one expensive store and buy whatever looks good to you without as much as a plan or list. Again, you are paying top dollar and you are setting yourself up to repeat performances.

Like anything you want to do well, shopping on the cheap takes some planning and organization. A little time up front will save a lot of stress and time in the long run. I have got pre planning down to a half hour or so. When you have your staples stocked, grocery lists come down to 1) perishables that need replenishing: produce and dairy around the perimeter of the store 2) a loss leader meat you will batch cook. And 3) any stock items that you need that are at or below your target price.

If you spend more time on the front end of the "get the meal on the table train and less time on the back end, you will be better off. You get "paid" for,shopping, not for cooking. You save momey scratch cooking most of the time. But saving momey shopping really shows up in the bank account and on the bottom of your receipt.

For the most part, it is necessary to cook from scratch to maintain a 1/2 price budget. Cooking from scratch does not have to mean long hours in the kitchen. If you enjoy cooking and have the time, that's great. Most of us have busy lives and it is usually hectic around dinner time.

Purchasing ready made dinners and a lot of box mixes and snack foods will derail your train fast. With some planning, scratch cooking can be fast and easy.

You need to start with a plan. Make meal plans when you get home from the store. Try to leave children at home when you shop. Plans can be altered, but you need a plan. Otherwise it is too easy to fall into the what's for dinner answer of drive through or order pizza. LOL

Cooking your meat in batches and portion controlling it is a good money and time saver. You are buying loss leader in bulk. You cook once, preferably at a time of day when you are the least stressed. You portion it out in meal sized bags. You save a lot of time at meal time because the meat takes the longest to cook. Your non- passive time in the kitchen is minimal. You clean up the bulk of your dishes once.

I cook and defat ground meat. Make meatballs, meatloaf, crumbles, taco meat.
I cook and defat sausage. It is usually cheapest at Costco.
Chicken is either roasted whole, or grill packs are split between breasts and legs and thighs.thenbreastsmaremdebomed and the rest is cooked in water and vegetables and the meat is shredded and the stock frozen.
Pork Loin roast is roasted off. The first meal is pork roast, the rest is sliced thin and frozen for hot sandwiches or some of it sliced off for pork chops before cooking.

I cook roast beef the same, but haven't since beef took such a hike.

Your slow cooker can be your best friend in the kitchen. It cooks dinner while you are out and you are welcomed to the smell of dinner done, or nearly done when you arrive home.

Making quick breads or muffins is a cheap, nutritious, and easy start for breakfast and/ or snacks. Air popped popcorn is another good cheap snack.

Cocoa and other items are sometimes cheaper in the bulk isle. Compare prices. Bulk is not always cheaper. Winco has the largest bulk isle I have ever seen.

Do the math. Some things are cheaper ready made, but most of the time, it is not so. There are ways to cook almost everything quick and simple. I want to spend twenty minutes or less non-passive cooking time cooking dinner.
Sometimes, lately,with coupons and mega sales, a few things have been cheaper than scratch. You are still sacrificing the home made flavor and the idea that your food has less chemicals in it.

Refrigerator bread is fast, easy, and cheaper than sourdough bread from the store.


Sometimes, I cook sometching from scratch or near scratch and find a remarkable difference. My daughter was buying lemon pound cake from a big bucks coffee shop. The difference between buying it and cooking it from almost scratch was Something like 212.00 an hour. Well worth the effort.


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Jane

The basics: Shopping wisely.

Part two: shopping wisely.

Lets recap. We have analyzed the ads. We know what stores have the best buys on the things we need. We are stocking our food when it is at it's lowest price. We are stocking enough to last us until the next sale, being careful not to overstock. Statistics say that every family has about six or so meals that they really like and have often. We can take advantage of this when planning our shopping list. No one store has the best buys on everything.

Pre planning your shopping trip goes a long ways to help us get in and put of the store. My only hang up is when I don't know the store or they change things around.

Once you are up and running, there will be few things that you HAVE to have. There are a few things that are staples that I always buy, preferably at the cheapest price. Things like milk, sour cream, eggs, etc. buying a lot of one thing because it is on sale makes shopping more streamlined. You are putting less variety of things away.

After you have analyzed your chain store ads, go to a coupon matching site, and check out any good matches for the things on your list. In the Seattle area, we use couponconnections.com . She is based on Lynnwood, Wa. There are others of you are in another part of the country. Many coupons are for ready mades and things that are never on a thrift plan food plan. There are coupons for dairy products and staple items at times. There are also coupons for some necessity non food items that make them free or nearly free. Like toothpaste. No, I haven't found free toilet paper yet. ( a coupon joke going around ). LOL. I have a coupon binder. I only clip printable coupons that I will use. I get one paper at the dollar store a week. I check first to see if it has a coupon booklet in it. I have a girlfriend that brings me hers when she can so I get multiples of any that fit my criteria. I use a binder clip per month for them. When the matching site finds a good match for something on my list, I go to the right insert and clip the ones I need. I group them in the front of my book before I go to the store. I also take my list from the ads and place it in the front sleeve of my binder for quick reference.

Impulse buys make up 70 percent of a stores sales. You can bet that they make the most profit along with the stuff stacked for you to see while waiting in line. Avoid impulse buys. Again, take your list and stick to it. I only vary if I see an unadvertised special that is a really really good buy on something I can incorporate into my meal plans. If you haven't tried something before, don't buy a zillion of them. Try one. If something is at or below my target price and I haven't tried the brand before, I get one to try. I don't want to be stuck paying for something no one wants to eat. LOL.

There is not much room for snack foods, and ready mades and mixes in a thrifty budget. It really Sabotage your budget fast. That being said, there are a few exceptions. Sometimes of the year, instant mashed potatoes are cheaper than scratch. I buy canned beans because beans and rice have a really short fridge life. I buy ready made refried beans and tortillas. All, of course at rock bottom prices. There are a few things that if you get a good enough sale and add a coupon, are cheaper than scratch. If you know your prices, you can take advantage of them.
Flour costs .075 per cup. When cake mixes were on sale and I had a coupon, one was free and one was .14. It was obvious that a box was cheaper than home made. Homemade does not have a lot of extra preservatives.
I usually keep one or two cake mixes on hand.

A hamburger meal box is another story. My daughter and I dissected one. Please read the blog on this. It is a real eye opener.

The bakery outlet has brown and serve baguettes and bread sticks so,eti,es really cheap. I keep them in the fridge. They last a long time. If I don't have that, I use a refrigerator bread dough. It makes really, really cheap bread or bread sticks. Just remember to bake it with a pan of water in the oven and watch your baking time.

Never, never, buy a two pound deli chicken. Any chicken under three pounds is a bad buy. Three pounds is the break even point for the ratio between bone and meat. I am still getting chicken for a dollar a pound. It takes about ten minutes to roast off a chicken ( non passive time) . The last couple of times, I got grill packs. I would prefer whole chickens, but I de bone the breasts myself, and cooked the hind quarters for tacos and other dishes. De boning chicken breasts saves a ton of money. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the most expensive way to buy chicken. De boning your own is really easy and makes you a lot of money. Then use the bone part for chicken stock.
Along with the stock from cooking the hindquarters for shredded chicken.

Buy fresh fruits and veggies in season. They will taste better at their peak, and they will be cheaper too. Frozen fruits and vegetables and French dries are usually cheaper at the dollar store. Baking, or convection baking your fries is healthier than frying them unless you have a commercial fryer. Commercial fryers sear off the potato your French fries absorb very little oil.

Ground beef comes in several different fat to meat ratios. The formula for comparing prices is
Base price times 1.xx. Xx is the fat content. Ie. If 20 percent hamburger is 2.00 a pound. The price of meat is 2.00 times 1.20 or 2.40. I get 7-9 percent hamburger. It is not the best fat content for burgers or meatloaf. You can get away with meatballs by adding something to create juice so they don't dry out-- apple, onion. De fat ring your ground meat can make it have no more fat than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. When a roast cut of meat is cheaper than hamburger, I make my own.

Often, dairy products are cheaper at Costco.

We most generally have oatmeal for breakfast. Some cold cereals in the summer. With coupons matching sales, Cheerios can be almost free.

I have been buying recipe starter at the dollar store for 2/1.00. It is 2.59 at SAFEWAYS last time I checked., AT .50 it is cheaper than scratch.

Buying more you can use before it goes bad is not good economy. It's a fine line to manage. The difference between hoarding and stockpiling is a hoarder will buy much more than they can use. Like 93 bottles of red pepper sauce. A stockpile is just enough at a low price to last you until it hits a sale again. Males go on a 8-12 week cycle.

Meat usually goes on a four week cycle. Often it is a loss leader. Take advantage of that. Buy enough to serve one meal ( or two ) a week for a month. Batch cook it,portion it onto meal sized portions, and freeze. Rotate your meats. Less cooking, less clean up, and less waste. I rotate hamburger (2 meals a week) , chicken, pork loin, sausage, and roast when I get it cheap enough.

Next time: cooking from scratch and meal planning.

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Jane

The basics

This blog is about groceries on the cheap. I started it when it came to my attention that people were running out of money before they ran out of month on SNAP. ( food stamps).

I learned a lot about how to grocery shop from my mother. In the 70's I was a single parent. We had double digit inflation and I didn't get a raise in three years. I read everything I could find on how to stretch a buck. It became a habit even after I didn't have to any more, overpaying for food seemed wasteful.
I mean, why buy one can of pasta sauce for 1.59 when you can get two of the same pasta sauce for less than 1.59?

The USDA has charts on line that tell what it should cost for food for your family. It adjusts costs for family sizes, ages of family members, and has several budget categories. It is my understanding, that SNAP is based on the thrifty plan with the COL index adjustment. My figures are based on the proverbial family of two parents and two school aged children. Figures are based on actual food eaten. The effects of last years drought are starting to effect market prices. The USDA predicts that it will still be seen well into 2014. Unfortunately, most of the products that will be affected are perishables that are hard to stock. By stocking the items that you can find with rock bottom prices, and matching a coupon when you can, you can offset some of the increases.

Groceries on the cheap takes a three pronged approach.
Planning and organizing
Shopping wisely
Cooking from scratch

Over the next three or four days , we will go over it. don't be overwhelmed, I am putting a lot of information put there. Take baby steps. it doesn't happen overnight.

Planning and Organizing

Most of this is a one time project. After this step, it should take you less time shop and cook meals than it does now, only you will be spending a whole lot less doing it. 1/2 price groceries for the average family ,puts about 4 THOUSAND dollars a year in their pocket.

1) identify the cheap sources of protein your family will eat. In my family that would be
Eggs
Cheese
Beans
Chicken
Pork
Beef ( ground) , some roasts
Fish and shellfish

2) gather 7-14 recipes for main dishes that your family will eat.

3) write down the shelf ready ingredients that you will use to make these recipes.
No ready mades here, ready made food and mixes for the most part will break your budget.

4) these are your stock items. At our house that would be beans, refried beans, diced tomatoes, pasta, pasta sauce, black olives, tuna, instant mashed potatoes. You will probably have 10-15 items.

5) set up a data base ( excel spread sheet) or a notebook to track the prices of these 10 or so items. You are looking for the the rock bottom price, or what I call the target price and how often it goes on a good sale.

Pasta, 16 oz

Date Where. Price. Coupon? Net price

6) when it is at it's lowest price , buy
As many as you can afford
As many as the store will let you
As many as you need to replenish your stock.

Whichever comes first. If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use it once a month,me keep 6. For things like ketchup, mustard, and mayo, I keep one ahead. If I open my back up jar, I start looking for a sale. This isn't about hoarding, rather stockpiling what you use on a regular basis while the price is low and eating it when the price is high. you want a bridge until the item goes on sale again. You actually spend less money, because you pay about 1/2 price or less for the food you do buy. it's a whole new way of buying your food. It is not unlike our grandmothers canning the produce from the farm for winter.

Make meal plans out when you get home from the store. You can pencil in a tentative plan, but things change. I can't tell you how many times I get to the store and they don't have what was on sale, or it looked not fit to eat, or the package is just way to big to accommodate us. You might find an unadvertised sale and take advantage of the bargain.

It is really necessary to know your prices. It you don't have them in your head, write them down.

Analyzing the ads

When your ads come out , take a piece of copy paper and divide it in four.
Place the name of a grocery chain on top of each quarter.

Now, go through the ads and write down anything in the meat and produce, dairy section that is on sale cheap.
Write down anything on your stock list that is a good price. Post the price to your data book or sheet.

Now,cross off anything that is cheaper elsewhere and anything that you don't need. Now , pick the best TWO stores.
You are going to two stores because you stand a better chance of getting good produce and can take advantage of the lowest prices in both stores. Get in the store with your list, get what is on your list, and get out. The more time you spend in a store, the more money you will spend. The stores have spent a lot of time and money to make sure of that. Read another post on What your retailer doesn't want you to know!

Storage can be anywhere it is safe to store your food. If you are short on space, there are creative ways to find room. I stored canned goods in an ottoman when I was in an apartment.

Now, there are a lot of stores that sell food. Never buy your non food items at a grocery store. They have a too high markup. You are better off going to a discount store or a warehouse store for those.

Warehouse stores are good for some things. No one store is cheapest on everything. The trick is to, within reason, get the lowest price on everything you buy.

Costco is good on bisquick, green beans ( lower sodium) and some produce. Sometimes, the produce doesn't look good, you can't blindly pick up a box. Bananas are always cheaper. I buy our limited paper products and soap when I don't get it almost free or free on coupon. We usually go when in the area, or when we run out of paper goods necessities! LOL

Winco is a ways away for is. They have rock bottom prices on lots of things. They don't have sales, but send ten dollar coupons every so often. We go about every eight weeks, or when they send coupons.

The dollar store has some bargains, you do have to know your prices. Frozen vegetables and potatoes are cheaper. They have recipe starters that are cheaper than scratch. They are 2/1 . The same ones are 2.59 at SAFEWAYS.

Big Lots and Grocery Outlet are over stock stores. Some things are really cheaper. You will find that they each have things that are better buys. We go to alternative stores when we are in the area .

We don't spend an exorbitant amount of time shopping. This is not about running all over town to save .15. At the price of gas, that would be counter productive. If I go to Winco, I save 60-75 percent. Everywhere else I save 46-50.

Next time : shopping wisely

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Jane