Do you drive around for specials?

Fuel is so expensive that I have to figure that cost into the equation. I'm not going to use 2 gallons of gasoline to save $1 on cucumbers. What works better for me is doing my meal planning around whatever is least expensive at my store.

I am very cost conscious...but I weigh all the shopping influences before I spend...such as nearness of markets, wear and tear on my old car to get to them...wear and tear on me...cleanliness of a facility...freshness of all stock... reliability...yada...yada....yada.

Of late I've returned to an established market in my area that gives huge price incentives to little old ladies like me. Shop on Tuesday and I automatically get a 10% discount off the entire bill...along with member card savings. Their produce is pristine. They have a huge natural food section. And I swear I could eat off of their shelves and floors. That means a lot to me because I'm immunity challenged.

Plus their crew are some of the nicest people I've ever had the good fortune to meet. I always leave the store with a smile on my face. I've also noticed that their attitude rubs off on the shoppers. I've yet to leave a check out lane without sharing a bit of pleasant conversation with others in line...and manners rule throughout the store. It's such a delight to be there. Previously, I was the kind of shopper who used to charge through the door...list firmly in hand...head down...determined to complete the task in minimal time. Now I saunter along enjoying the entire experience. LOL

I shopped yesterday. Total bill = $253.08. I paid $202.36. I saved $50.72 plus I received store gold coins for free or greatly reduced items on their monthly reward roster. The results of that excursion will probably last me the better part of three weeks and was higher than normal due to the purchase of a couple of expensive vitamin supplements.

So...in answer to your question Jas...I haven't been driving around lately because I've lucked out BIG time. It's all under one roof these days. :-)

Most of my stores are close to me, so I will shop around. When I can get a top/bottom round roast or a rump roast for $1.99/# , go across the street for blueberries at 3/1.00, eggs at 3 dozen for $1. One store has pork loin roast for $1 per pound this week.

I buy in bulk, then run it through the Foodsaver and load up the freezers. I have hit some good sales the past 2 weeks and it took me about 2 1/2 hours to vac it all. I should not need the grocery stores for a few week, other than for veggies and dairy.

I don't drive around for grocery store deals. I do however comparison shop online.

No, there is only one grocery store in my town. Food Lion. Food Lion is famous for renting empty building to keep out competition. This past year our Food Lion decided to move into an old Winn Dixie store. They are keeping their lease on the previous building and worked out a deal with the owners to not allow any businesses that sells grocery items. The Dollar General had to move out but now have a nice new building closer to me. I have to pass it going to the grocery store so will stop in and pick up sale items.

Some people in our town were about up in arms and created a Boycott Food Lion facebook page. They would post ads for other stores and encourage people to leave town to shop. This also caused hard feelings with other businesses in town that felt like people going out of town for groceries would also shop at other stores, thus they would lose business. The closest stores to me that aren't a Food Lion is 38 miles away. When in that area I will look for deals.

DH loves to review grocery ads and shop accordingly; it's like a game to him. I wouldn't and would stick with closest store. As a side story, when I was a girl I remember watching my maternal GPs do this and I pitied them for having such an empty life. They weren't listening to music or daydreaming about adventures, they were reduced to reading grocery ads, for shame! HA look at me now. Doing the same. And I was the one that needed to be pitied as I didn't understand that their penny-pinching helped my once single mother take care of the children. I think about that every time I see DH pouring thru the ads

Peppi Kramer........I'm moving to where you live!!!!!! I love rump roasts and they're always $4.99/lb. when on sale. 3 DOZEN eggs for a buck??

Moonie, hubby lived in NC for a few years and he remembers well the Food Lions and Winn Dixie stores. Do you live in NC?

Anne, you really lucked out! I'd enjoy shopping there as well.

We both enjoy grocery shopping together and always source out specials. I too, plan our meals around the specials, and stock the pantry and freezer.

Pasta is on sale this week for 99c for 900 grams. I need to buy some curlies etc, I have lots of spaghettini.

Right now my grocery shopping is drastically different than normal. Because I have much less storage space and cooking space. I can store cold items in the house in the fridge and freezer. I do for some things but if I don't see it I forget I have it. I need my white board I had on the house fridge. We have very good luck with the Kroger near us plus we get the senior discount and if we buy the Kroger brands we get a discount for that. They send me packages of coupons selected for me from my shopping purchases. I use them. I also go by what is on sale that week. I use the online coupons which are saved to my keyfob card so when they scan my card all my coupons are automatically used. Great features because I won't clip coupons. If we have to go to Walmart I may buy stuff there if the price is right. On occasion I go to HEB for something I can only get there. The Mexican market will have great specials and it's close by so I will on occasion buy there. In the summer we make a point of buying from the local farmers.

Iwould have to really save a lot of money to do all that driving around, it's not easy unloading and loading my scooter, it would be a hardship on my husband. We also get extremely low gas prices from our Kroger card at the gas station there, can't beat the price.

Not anymore. It's just me and hubs, and we don't spend that much on food anymore. I actually buy a lot of my organic basics from thrive market, like ghee and spices and protein powder. I buy high protein meat bars, called Brick bars or epic bars, online. Farmer's markets will be my veggie source for the next couple of months, otherwise it's Aldi. I do not buy any meat that is not grass fed or pasteured, so I have farmers I buy from. We get our free range eggs from an Amish farm for 1.50/dozen. My husband picks them up on his way home from work, right at the farm. Now if I could only find someone that sells raw milk and cream. Not legal in Wisconsin, but people do it anyway.

Falsely labelled produce

I shop at Kroger and HEB on a regular basis. They aren't always the cheapest, but they are close and I can usually count on quality. If I want to do some driving around, I have other choices like Sprouts, Whole Foods, Aldi, Walmart, Walmart Market, Randalls, Fiesta and probably some other places I can't think of right now. I don't like traffic, driving around and I no longer have the patience to do it. I use the Kroger coupons and that's about it since many coupons are for junk food or other things I don't need.

ETA: I left out Costco and Sam's. I go Costco every 2-3 weeks. They actually have competitive or cheaper prices on the things I buy there. Sam's has decent prices on basic goods, but the selection isn't what I remember. It may just be this store. I only go there 3 or 4 times a year although I live reasonably close.

I live in a small town and the food stores are Dillons (Kroger associated and there are 3 of them), Aldi, Food Saver (although I rarely go there), Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club, and am only a few miles away from anywhere in town. I do my grocery shopping once a week (Wednesday morning). If I go to the most distant stores (Sam's and Wal-Mart - 3-miles away), I'll go past at least 3 of the other stores, so yes, I do price comparison and shop from a list before I leave home and stop accordingly.

I have been keeping a Price Book (http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/make-price-book-save-money) since I first read about it in "The Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn (1993). I also keep an inventory of foods-on-hand so I don't buy things I don't need.

With a $125/month food budget for 2 adults, mainly using whole foods, I have to be cost conscience. I paid 60-cents for a dozen eggs at Aldi this morning, and they are more than twice that at Dillons and Wal-Mart. When fresh shell eggs were over $2 a dozen it really had an impact and I would only purchase 1-dozen a month until they went below $1/dozen, and I used powdered eggs and egg substitutes like flax or chia seed "eggs" for baking. I've used dried milk products exclusively since 1981 and never buy milk at a store - and have saved hundreds of dollars over the years. The milk powder is generally ordered on-line (in a bucket) and I save from my food budget until I have enough to purchase enough for a year (and also wait until I can get it on sale) which I did recently.

We have a home food storage room in the basement and follow a storage plan similar to what the LDS Church teaches, and that makes it all possible. I generally purchase food only when it's at rock-bottom stock-up prices. I generally spend about 20-25% of the food budget on fresh foods and the other 75-80% replacing food I rotate out of the food storage. I literally "shop" at home FIRST!

Out of the $125 food budget I set aside $10/week for meat. Although I don't always find a bargain each week, the $10 will carry over to the next week. Now that the garden is in full swing, there's very little purchased "fresh" and I'm able to save more for large purchases of grains/seeds/beans/freeze-dried and powdered foods. In fact, in the winter I'll grow most of our fresh foods - micro-greens, sprouts, wheatgrass for juicing, and some hydroponic "gardens". I'm also great at finding FREE food and do a lot of dehydrating and freezing when food is free.

As of today, I've spent $610.65 for the year. I teach food budgeting and meal planning classes at the local Food Bank and other organizations, so I practice what I teach.

grainlady im impressed and embarrassed as we can drop $125 on ONE meal for two couples. geez

I shop the online sales fliers for groceries and pick "1" store to shop. We go once a week so the veggies & fruit are fresh.

I did just drive across town to use my $10 off $10 JCP coupon. Got the cutest pelican pajama pants $1.20! Then drove by several of our rentals in that area of town....the grass was green, roses in bloom. Then stopped @ the library & rented a movie. Walgreens had a BOGO on vitamins. Walmart had $5 outdoor pillows. All in the same area. I do THAT about once a month....

I never even read the circulars the stores send out. My experience has been that when they advertise something at a price good enough that it might entice me to go there, more often then not everyone else will have got there before me and the store will be out. I do very much shop opportunistically once at a store and either stock up on items that happen to be on a good sale, or just not buy something that is on my "list" but which isn't available on sale.

The store I frequent often has sales of "Buy 2 and get 3 free" for some items, and if it is something that will keep long enough for it to make sense, I get 5 or even 10 of that item. Last year ner the beginning of tomato season they had baseball-sized balls of fresh mozzarella for the buy 2 and get 3 free special. They lasted almost until the end of tomato season.

We have Food Lion stores around here, but also many other choices, so the Food Lion stores tend to be in further-out-of-town locations where there is no direct competition. I think by the policies moonie57 describes Food Lion is tacitly admitting that customers would rather go anywhere else than Food Lion, so they try to prevent customers from having any other options. I guess it doesn't occur to them to actually try be a better store that customers might actually want to go to.

I don't really comparison shop. I do have 3 large stores within 10 minutes of me (Safeway, Superstore and Save-on-Foods). I tend to buy my non-food items at Superstore (as they are cheaper) and the rest at Save-on-Foods but I do price-check. I'm not a fancy cook or an extravagant spender, I don't buy pre-made food or from the deli, or prepackaged foods, pretty much everything is made from scratch.

And as for over-all food bill - we might go out for dinner twice a year.

I do however buy things such as real parmesan cheese, real vanilla and nice herbs.

The main way I save money is by not sending my husband to do the shopping.

Grainlady, you totally impress me! We try to eat very healthfully. I wish I was as great at the shopping and food storage as you are! Something to strive for!

I had no idea that Kroger gives a senior discount. It has never been mentioned to me in the store. How does one claim the senior discount?

In Chicago there are 'food deserts'. Where I live must be a 'food oasis'.

Four minutes from my house are two stores separated by only a dry cleaner: Jewel ($$) and Fresh Market ($$$$). There are two Heinen's ($$$$) and a Sunset ($$$) ten minutes away. Costco is fifteen minutes away. There are two Targets with grocery sections within ten minutes, but I'm probably in Target four times a year at most. No Aldi's or Walmarts or other ($) places for groceries. A Mariano's may drive out one of the Heinen's.

Our town has a farmers market once a week in summer, as do most towns in the area. I take that 'farm-fresh' produce with a grain of salt.

Grainlady -- Do you have a *special use* for the money you save on food? (Excuse the Nosy Parker here!)

Unless I'm missing something, Jasdip you saved even more money then you thought on those cucumbers. The first ad reads: 2 for $3.00.

I rarely look at the ads but my SIL makes a list of the sales for the 2 stores where we shop. I do a monthly big shop and we shop at the stores which are less than 10 minutes away both on the same street. Frescho for most things, Metro for the sales or better cuts of meat. My cousin and I go for a county drive once a month so we stop at road side stands or barns for local fruit and produce. Out of necessity last week I did my big shopping at Metro and I paid double the price than what my total bill would have been at Frescho.

I shop at different stores, but not for specials. I try to only buy organic produce and I don't see that on sale very often, and when I do, the quality isn't great. I have a lot of stores in a 5 mile radius. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Vons, Stater Brothers, Albertsons, Gelsons, Ralphs, Fresh Market and a few Targets with full grocery.

I tend to go to 3 stores - Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the Vons closest to my house for convenience reasons. There are things I can only get at Whole Foods that I'm willing to pay more for (pastured eggs, $7 a dozen!, grass-fed dairy). Trader Joe's is the cheapest but their produce is hit and miss for me. I get what I can't get at those two stores at Vons because their prices are actually pretty high. Oh there's a nice little cheap farmer's market next to Trader Joe's but their selection of organic is limited.

I wish I could find everything I need under one roof! I'm the type that would rather spend an extra $5 or $10 for the convenience of not having to drive around for everything.

Yes I comparison shop, and may shop at several stores in the same week. Within my normal driving path I have Kroger, Lowes Foods (yuk), Harris Teeter ($$$), Food Lion (basics only) and a new Costco. Very close to work I have an Aldi. I shop the weekly ads, and actually I end up buying the most at Harris Teeter, because they run good specials. I also have a weekly veggie box delivery to the house, so I don't buy much produce in stores besides bananas and potatoes.

@ grainlady (or anyone else), do you know of a price book app for Android? I made a Costco list on my phone so I could compare prices with the stores, but a real price book would be nifty. I searched on the Google play store and didn't find anything.

There are only two of us, and we don't eat meat at home, so my grocery bills are low. I still enjoy the challenge of saving.

Walnutcreek Just ask at your local store if they give the Kroger discount and what day is it? All you have to do is mention it at the checkout.

Can't remember if this is mentioned in this thread and don't feel like rereading. You can go to Kroger.com and register your card. Every Friday, you can sign in to get a freebie loaded to your card that you can pick up at he store on your next visit. Usually, it's a new or newer product they are introducing. Last week, it was a box of Quaker Breakfast Flats. Sometimes, it's full size like a two liter bottle of soft drink or a bottle of juice or an individual package of candy. You can also look at the online coupons and have them loaded to your card. Sometimes there are more free things in the coupons. They also sometimes have other discounts or games you can play to win more free stuff.

Maddielee, yes you're right. I was thinking one thing and typed another.

Zehrs has them 2/ $3.00 (or $1.50 each) and FreshCo has them for .47 each

Grainlady -- Do you have a *special use* for the money you save on food? (Excuse the Nosy Parker here!)

All food dollars go for food (and only food). Non-food items are a separate budget amount. At the end of the year any and all leftover money is used for food - often holiday sales on turkey and ham for the freezer. I donate at least 10% food and/or cash to the Food Bank.

Jas - yes, I do live in NC.

Jasdip, I just found this in my email....Now 4 dozen for a dollar! There must be a glut of eggs on the market as the prices just keep going down.http://www.jerrysfruitandgarden.com/no-specials-at-this-moment

Costco had had 18 count eggs for $.89 yesterday. I bought four cartons. Eggs last for a while. I use them a lot and the kids are home for summer so I'm cooking and baking more.

I shop at three stores but I don't go out of my way. Wegman's , Giant and a local chain. Also I hit Aldis once a week but it's 1/2mile away. Pint of blueberries, $1.19. It's more than double at Wegmans. Love my Aldis.

Peppi, I love your flyer!!!! I see that Jicamas must be in season, we like those.

Your boneless thighs are cheaper than our bone-in. I never buy boneless much as I'd like to. It's at least $5/lb. Our asparagus is slightly more than that. I'd love to get 20 limes for a buck. 5c each!

I was looking to see if they had canned San Marzano tomatoes. Our Costco quit selling it, that's the only place I've been able to find them. There is a little Italian meat/deli store that we're going to check out, but I'm not going to pay an exorbitant price for them just because it's a boutique.

Adellabedela, I don't blame you for stocking up on eggs!

Maybe when I'm retired I will have enough time to do that. I must admit, I shop on the fly these days.

I don't drive around for specials but I do drive for plastic bags. LOL

Where I live even clothing stores aren't allowed to give customers a bag. Surrounding towns give bags out if they don't sell food. Several times a month I drive around 30 miles each way to shop at a Super Walmart that is in a free bag city. I hit other groceries there at times also.

Hoping to see the pending California state law overturned come November. We get to vote on the issue then. Then more cities will hopefully drop the insanity.

When I do shop locally I bring my own plastic bags. Bought a case of them. Two cents each as opposed to buying them at 10 to 25 cents each at the stores.

Adellabedella,

I have frozen eggs in containers sometimes. I add a little water and scramble them, if you don't do that the yolk changes texture. I use those eggs later for omelets and cooking.

Grainlady -- Ah, thanks for clarifying. I would be hard pressed to winnow out only *food* items on the cash register receipts from my 'grocery' stores. I buy all kinds of non-food items at these stores. All I can say is that I budget $6K a year for everything I buy at 'food' stores. (Two adults; seldom eat out.)

Do you pay separately at the checkout? One tally for 'just food' and another for 'everything else'?

It pains me that our OOP costs for care, meds and insurance premiums are higher than our food budget.

Watchme, our Walmarts quit giving away bags for free this month. They now charge 5c. It was my go-to store when I ran low on bags. I belong to Freecycle, and periodically I'll throw out a request for plastic bags.

Thanks Lucille! I don't think I'll have a problem using them up before they go bad. Dd asked if she could cook last night so she made a tator tot casserole with three eggs. DH and I wanted something less carb(y) so dh scrambled six eggs to go along with the casserole. I usually eat an egg or two for breakfast. We go through them pretty fast sometimes.

No time to read through the responses now but I will when I have more time because I think this is a really interesting question. Way back when, I used to always shop the sales, especially when the stores were close by, but where we live now, the only national chain store we have is Kroger and while it's close, I've never liked. So what started out as a means to avoid Kroger has turned into finding better options for brand variety, fresh and locally grown and/or organic foods regardless of cost. It's expensive but most of what we eat is locally grown, raised or produced. Most stores are not in our area but I usually have clients that are close to them and I'm able to swing in while there for work .

For Kroger's senior discount, just go to the customer service counter and ask. I asked and was told no, Ohio does not have a senior discount, but Kentucky does. :(

I forgot to mention that Thursdays are 20% off at Shoppers Drug Mart. We always buy our milk there and save 20%. Today we bought 3 bags and saved $2.55.

I do combine errands when I shop. I don't just go to one store and then right home.

I don't. If my budget is $125 a week, I buy up to that amount, or possibly more. If I want cherries, even if they are not on sale, I will buy them. I'm worth it, plain and simple.

Even when I was single with a low income, I never shopped around or looked for sales on food. I paid my bills on time and saved money as well.

For those on extremely limited incomes, watching your food bill is a good way to save money.

Hubby does our grocery shopping and usually just at Krogers since it is the closest for us and Wednesday is Senior Citizen Day. He will at times go to a store called Food Depot that has some things that Krogers doesn't carry. We don't drive around a lot so as not to waste gasoline and to keep the mileage down on the car. If we can stay under 5000 miles a year, we are exempt from the yearly inspection.

I check/comparison shop our flyers online, plan the weekly dinner/lunch menu's based generally on what's on sale..for example pork tenderloins are on sale $2.88/lb at Freshco, along with chicken thighs @$1.88/lb. I'll combine a shopping trip/dog park visit/Barrie Hill Farms visit this weekend, stock up (local asparagus is IN!), and then do a second shop for the basics at No Frills/Food Basics for the rest of the necessities.

I'd like to invest in a chest freezer, but I have this inkling that I'd just stock pile/waste things at the bottom of the unit. We don't shop spontaneously, plan for that once in a great while "NEED STEAK" :) meal, and have planted more veggies than ever this year. Of course, it's freezing cold outside, and the poor tomatoes and peppers are shivering in the breeze at the moment!

@chisue-

When I check-out I place food budget items on the conveyor belt first, and everything else that is non-food budget item after that and pay for everything at once. I reconcile my "books" later at home - not at the store. I'm one of those cash for all purchases people - like Dave Ramsey's "Envelope System", except I was doing it long before I ever heard of Dave Ramsey. Using a budgeted cash amount ($125/month) is the first way I save money on food. I've used this method so many years it's just second nature and only takes a few minutes. I also take the Kroger survey each week on-line when I get home from the store so I get 50 extra fuel points.

@countrycottageklutz-

By design (our home food storage method), I have more than enough food to last us a year and I only have the freezer on my refrigerator. I gave my stand-alone freezer to my sister-in-law 10-years ago when we moved into our current home and was glad to get rid of the old "energy hog". I was paying more for the electricity than the savings on the bargains I was storing in it - when I ran the actual numbers. An extra freezer is a lovely convenience, but in my case, not really worth the cost.

My chest freezer costs less than $10/month to run. It is one of the ways I do save $ because when I find bargains on meat and veggies I buy extra and freeze. Pluse I freeze some veggies from the garden.

I think maybe newer chest freezers use less energy?

How does one figure out how much energy a freezer uses? I have one, with the energy-star declaration/logo on it, but I have no idea what it uses. Our hydro/electricity bill fluctuates every month, even though I can't see anything that we're doing much different.

Jasdip-

I have a Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor. Sometimes you can borrow them from your electric company to test appliances - I bought mine at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q?ie=UTF8&;Version=1&entries=0

I do shop ads but I don't drive around. All of our stores are on the same street. The farthest is only a few miles away. I do end up going to quite a few stores to buy groceries but it does pay off. I would not drive very many miles away to save a few dollars though.

jasdip, the model label will tell how many watts the unit uses. Electricity is billed in kilowatt hours (kwh), which means one thousand watts used for one hour. If you had a 100 watt appliance and it runs for one hour, that's 100 watt hours or 1 /10 of a one thousand (kilo watt) watt hour. If your freezer is 500 watts and were to run constantly without turning off, it would tally one kilowatt after two hours (500 watts x 2 hours).

There are websites with typical power demands of various things. Remember that for fridges and the like, they only consume when they're "on" and that they do intermittently.

(amps and volts are related and are another way to say the same thing but I wanted to keep it simple)

Re: Eggs. If stored in the fridge they can keep about 2 or more months past the use by date. Just this past Wednesday we had breakfast for dinner with eggs that had an April 10th date.

Jasdip if you search the model number you might be able to find the energy guide for the unit you have if it's not too old, or find a similar model if it's relatively new and get the info for that one which would give you an idea of how much it uses. Going by your electric (hydro) bill can be misleading since often there's so many other fees on there and they can vary too.

After reading the Tightwad Gazette series I started and used a price book for quite a while. I even started the store surveys to get info and the like and got into it for a while. Then when I was working 3-4 jobs, it got to the point that it was such a hassle it went to the wayside. I still would know unit price of a lot of popular things I bought so I looked more at those items and didn't worry if I paid a little more or less on infrequent purchases since the savings was less significant.

I look for best value on whatever I buy. Sometimes paying more is a better value. I never could understand the envelope system. I have money on which to live. If I don't spend what I expected to spend on something it does NOT mean I can waste it elsewhere. My goal is getting value for my money. Property taxes go up and down. They need to be paid so the envelope system means I don't completely pay my property taxes when they go up. Yeah right, like that would work! LOL That actually gets expensive. I've been taught how to handle money and have learned over the years. Just because I have money in the wallet doesn't mean it has to be spent. With the in-and-out of the hospital over the last years that would throw off a hardcore "budget" like crazy. There's times when you spend more in one area, less in others and it balances out fine if you know how to handle money. Sadly parents and schools just won't teach kids those skills and it's clear how it affects them.

I shop different stores for different things. There's some stores that carry things no other store carries or it's such a better value I only buy it there. I do keep a list of things to get at certain stores and I monitor prices on them so it's a modified "price book" system. I go to different stores for certain things but I don't go overboard with it. I make a list of things I need or need soon with me most of the time. If I'm in the area of a certain store then I stop there and save money on vehicle expense, get the better deal, plus I get in and out quicker. I have a list and sometimes I'm just too tired to mess with going to another store. In that case I'll see if the store I'm in has the item at a reasonable price or if I can get by without it which is often the case. I always try to plan ahead and do shopping when I'm running other errands to save trips. I really don't like having to make a special trip to the store to get one or two items but I also don't make the marathon stockup trips I used to make either. My shopping habits were forced to change the last 5-7 years. I have less pantry items than I used to keep but more in the freezer than before. Times change so I adapt. I will eat out on occasion and I'll make use of convenience foods too. I also save significantly on utilities which makes me quite happy too. Energy is something people can make a big payoff on little effort. No coupon clipping required, no driving to 10 different stores or paying an annual fee to participate either. I use my Discovercards and take the cashback. 3 months a year I get 5% back on gasoline purchases, 2% the rest of the year. Couple that with the (sometimes) substantially cheaper gas at Sam's there's a nice cost reduction.

I've never done price matching. Strike that, I did do it once about 25 or 30 years ago when I bought my riding mower at Walmart. They had a model I preferred and Fleet Farm didn't have the advertised one so I got a better model and the cheaper price and didn't have to drive as far to get it. The only rebating I do these days is Menards and use few coupons. I don't get many coupons and won't pay for a Sunday paper to get them. I balance my time spent on cost reductions to be reasonable and effective, which gives me value. I don't like hearing "saved" used with spending. If you buy a $1000.00 TV for $600, how much did you save? Many people say they "saved" $400. No, you didn't. You SPENT $600. People have been indoctrinated by retail to think they're saving money even when they have to pay to spend money! (ala Sam's Club and Costco) Off the soapbox for now. :)

>>The main way I save money is by not sending my husband to do the shopping.>>

I LOVED that line! Almost fell off my chair laughing :). I never ever grocery shop with DH. He likes to browse and will pick up anything that sounds interesting. I'm the "make a list, get in/out ASAP" type.

Even with a grocery list I wing it depending on what's available and what looks interesting. I'll usually plan a couple of specific dinners each week but after that, it's "finish up the leftovers" or "hmmm...what can I do with ingredients A, D, G, and X that would be interesting?"

I use one major supermarket and very occasionally, two other smaller, specialty markets. There's an excellent upscale specialty market that's on-line and I like to use them every once in a while. Both the on-line market and the major supermarket deliver to our home - they'll even bring it inside for you (but they don't put it away - rats!). I've been using the supermarket delivery service more often lately, especially for all the bulky/heavy items that are a pain to lug home.

No strict food budget. When financial times were tight (back in the '90's) we did, but no longer, thank goodness. We also dine out a lot, it's a major hobby for us. There's so many good restaurants in our area. We love all kinds of cuisines and there's lots of unusual ones out here.

We have a separate upright freezer. I freeze a lot of things, like nuts, Meyer lemon juice (we have 3 mature trees), bread (I'll freeze half a loaf to keep it fresh since we don't eat it every day), sausages (make that hot linguica even hotter by freezing, LOL), soup stock (I make my own).

In late 2013 we put in a large rooftop solar install. We're still connected to the grid, but have that advantageous 'zero net energy' rate. Instead of an electric bill that cost us $1200-1600/yr, our first full twelve months of solar exchange cost us a total of $26. We were amazed and needless to say, very pleased. So using the freezer is essentially 'free' for us.

We don't drive around to buy the cheapest. In CA gas is costly, as of 6/14/2016 it's $3.89/gall for regular. Lots of stores around us but in different directions. Not worth ig-zagging around the city to save a few bucks.

Personally I'm all for the ban on plastic bags. I prefer using my cotton canvas ones anyway. Sturdy and washable. I have a set in each car, along with insulated freezer bags.

Plastic bags:

https://www.plasticsindustry.org/files/about/fbf/myths+facts_grocerybags.pdf

Lucille, sorry, but I have never felt the same way about plastic bags since seeing photos of wild animals who have gotten caught in the handles when young, and had to grow up in misshapen forms because they could not get them off. I dislike the plastic multi-ring holders on bottles/cans for the same reason - so we always cut them completely open before recycling, just in case.

Our county recycles plastics, although it's a money-losing proposition these days. But I've noticed since the ban went into effect three years ago, there are fewer bags flying around loose on windy days in the hills here. I don't think that's unrelated.

Paper bags work just fine in a pinch. And they go into the composting cart (which is picked up every week) with the food scraps.

Our city is not quite as good as San Francisco at around 74% of all garbage recycled. SF leads the U.S. at over 80% recycling.

I'm fortunate to have many stores within a mile or two so I do shop around. I use coupon sites before I go so I know what I'm getting where. For instance, today I'll hit up Ralphs using the $5 off $15 digital meat coupon with the paper coupons they sent me (I have 2 $1.50 off natural or organic chicken coupons,) so I'll pick up $15 of organic chicken for $7. On my Vons J4U card I have an offer for free Don Francisco Family Reserve whole bean coffee so I'll swing by and pick that up while I'm out. Its not what we usually drink but it'll make good back up coffee in the event we run out.

My budget is similar to grainlady ($40-50 a week for 2 of us,) even though we could comfortably spend 3-4 times that- we've found we don't need to and put that money to use elsewhere in the budget. We do eat differently though- we dont eat grains. I'm the no-grainlady. :)

A neighbor text me this morning to see if I want to scope out Aldi with her today. One recently opend here in a neighboring city.

Jakkom

You are absolutely within your rights for both your feelings and your comments. It would be a boring KT indeed if we all thought alike.

Fortunately that will never happen. And while I agree with some of your points, I feel that efforts to create more easily decomposable plastic bags would be more beneficial and less expensive that making and enforcing new laws to prohibit current bags.

Lucille and Jakkom,

Funny, one person's solution to trash is another person's peril. I happen to be very allergic to the current "ecofriendly" plastics and bags produced today. Yes, they may decompose more quickly, but most contain corn products which could kill me. I can't foods that are contained in those containers because they leach into food-- ugh.

I use reusable plastic or fabric carry bags. My large ones from Costco carry tons -- but one local store refuses to let fill competitor bags in their store! You can buy theirs for $3.95!

I do use the plastic disposable bags for dog poo in the park, packing materials, garden produce and items sold at garage sales.

I reduce when I can, reuse all the time, and attempt to recycle any other time.

Some of the communities in my area have plastic bag bans (for grocery purchases) and are required to charge for paper bags if the customer doesn't furnish their own bags (of whatever kind) to use, as watchme described. I happily buy paper bags, it's a renewable resource and the paper/forestry industry helps in carbon capture in a small way.

With all due respect, I see this as a matter that makes some people feel good but in the greater scheme of things, it does little for the environment. There are large portions of the country, where many of you live, where comprehensive recycling is neither required nor easily available. It shouldn't be a question of whether it's economically feasible for the trash collectors or municipalities. Rather it should be done so that the material is properly disposed of, whatever the cost.

There are all kinds of materials in trash that can be hazardous to living creatures, including humans. There are also all kinds of human activities and practices that remain dangerours to living things and to the environment. In my view, it's a waste of time to shed tears over small issues when the big issues are ignored.

It doesn't make sense to me to ban giving away grocery bags, when you can buy plastic kitchen garbage bags at any store. The grocery bags are flimsy, thin and tear easily. The ones you buy are much sturdier. They sure don't break down in the land-fill. What about the plastic on diapers? They're there for decades/generations to come.

I do agree that our sea life is being injured and endangered. The plastic 6-pack holders are notorious for getting around the necks.

People are pigs. They litter and they don't care about the environment. I see it in my own neighbourhood where someone walks their dog, goes to the trouble of scooping the droppings in a small plastic bag, ties a knot in the bag then leaves it on the sidewalk. They do the same thing on walking trails. Bags of poop are hanging on tree branches, alongside the trail. WTH?

Jasdip, it boggles the mind, doesn't it!! At least it makes it into a bag. In our neighborhood, even that nicety is skipped at times :-(

My irritation is with the stores when they dis my reusable bags. They want me to buy new ones if there is a hole in it. I truly don't think gallons of milk will slip through the hole?! Hardly reusable when they want me to use them like disposable bags

;)

I shop mainly basic items, and check the flyers, don't plan to drive very far out of my way to get a good price, and plan to shop along with other errands. May buy more than I need over the short term of items at a good price that will not go bad over medium term.

Recently bought several bakery items at 50% off as they were near code date ... and the bread and bagels stayed good well past that code date ... which for most producers is mainly a guideline.

Don't pay the nickel for grocery bags, some stores have cardboard boxes and produce trays available near checkout. One that used to and quit after a name change bugged me, so I often take a tray from another store in there with me, should I choose to buy something, and they are one of the best for low prices o regular items.

Hi there jassy - I've been taking asparagus to a couple of churches that I attend, often about three yogurt tubs a week, asking the folks to put a little more into the offering. If you're planning to be in the neighbourhood, let me know when and I'll give you some ... but better make it soon, as it's near end of season. (Censor doesn't like my "neighbourhood").

Hope you all have a great weekend.

That's one of the joys of retirement - every day is WEEKEND!

ole joyfuelled ... with a little help from, mainly, basic groceries (especially when on sale)

(Censor doesn't like "jassy" or "joyfuelled", either).

I drive a few extra miles for one item that saves me over three dollars! Although loyal to a neighborhood store which is excellent I do shop for the best quality and value.

Most grocery store sales fliers (online or not) are simply Hodge podges I don't have time to sort through. We have one grocery however that online does a good job at sorting, and the sales stuff is seldom that over-processed crud that I don't care to buy to begin with. Cheetos may be on sale but they aren't ever going in my shopping cart.

I eat enough eggs that for health and taste reasons I only buy locally from reputable pastured sources. I've learned which ones of these are overpriced. A co-worker and her family raises chickens for eggs, and I often purchase a dozen.

We do have a fair number of groceries nearby, including a Costco and a BJs. I'm one person so I limit what I get at Costco to things that have a good shelf life. My trips to Whole Foods are for specific items I can't get anywhere else - I get them and leave.

I don't tend to visit multiple stores on the same day, unless I'm wanting specialized ingredients for a specific recipe - i.e., shopping the Indian grocery and a more conventional one. I have limited shopping patience. But I do love my farmer's markets! This is one shopping experience I actually enjoy! I've developed a good knowledge and sense for which vendors are on the up and up. (They have farms you can visit, for one.)

I see bag bans as feel good legislation. Like others have said people still litter. Actually see people toss the bags they have just purchased in the parking lot. Why pay for a bag to take to your vehicle and then leave it behind on the ground? Litter is a huge issue to me. The same stores that require one to purchase a bag (for the environment) don't seem to take the time or bother to empty their trash receptacles outside their doors. They are always overflowing with trash scattered about them. In the wee hours crews come through with leaf blowers and a vacuum truck. By the time the store opens the parking lots are already littered again.

Shopping carts seem to be never washed. Many "shoppers" uses them as trash bin while they stuff their and their kids faces. What they can't take one hour to shop without drinking and eating? The kids some as 10 ride in the food area of the cart. With dirty clothes and shoes. Same people don't allow shoes in their homes but they are fine with shoes in the food cart.

We don't have a bag problem. We have a PIG problem. Self-centered, self-entitled people who have zero respect for the others around them.

Snidely and I live in the same general area if not the same city. Our county is a pigsty. Litter and discards along all the main roadways. Now we also have homeless encampments encroaching on the suburbs. Piles of trash and, mattresses, old sofas etc. right at the roadside. But out elected officials are too busy trying to figure out what their next ban should be over fixing the existing problems. We are supposed to be proud to have the strictest bag ban in the state. However our once potentially beautiful city looks like a third world country with its litter problem. No one addresses the blight.

I agree. I've posted before on KT about the litter problem, I live near a high school and the kids daily throw fast food containers and other trash into my gardens and the yard outside the fence. You can't legislate responsibility and decency, or pride in neighborhood.

Watchme, in reading your post I was surprised to see we live in the same city, as I do not see the litter and filth you see in stores and parking lots. I do, however, see it on the highways and I do believe most of that is from unsecured loads in the backs of trucks, of which I see sooo many. I must say I see FAR fewer plastic bags floating around now and am all in favor of the ban. Some stores are getting around it by giving "reusable" plastic bags. Please. As to the homeless encampments, where would you have them go?

Here is a different point of view. i'm retired, live alone, hate grocery shopping and never cook. So comparison shopping sounds like a real chore for me. i stick to my local Albertson's, and go to Sprouts for fresh veggies for my bird, and coffee for me.

Target parking lots sjerin. Any of them. Any neighborhood. Overflowing waste and people dumping everything from fast food containers to dirty diapers. People buy things, take them out of the packaging and toss the packaging on the ground.

watchmelol- but Target is the classy Walmart!! /s

T_G -I notice some Walmarts here actually have extra trash containers placed in their parking lots. At least they are trying.

Hmm, not the Target closest to my house. (Would rather not say just where that is.)

Hate to be the lone dissenter, so I will! =:O : No litter around large high schools most days and !never! one piece of litter--not during/after 'games'--!never!, no litter at Target, no litter around malls, !no! !litter! on roadways/highways whatsoever!, no litter anywhere.

There is great pride and eco-education around here. We also have one of the most advanced recycling programs in our Nation.

Lucille, your Wednesday @ 3:56 info link about plastic bags is quite outdated. The source info at the bottom has a year range of 1990-2005. The most recent is more than 10 years old! Cities have introduced bans, and even repealed them (Huntington Beach), during that period.