Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Food Cost Savings #2 - Outsmart retailers!

I. Take Advantage Of Sales
People call me a coupon-lady or a bargain-hunter. Whenever I get to use coupons or find grocery items on huge sale, I can't help becoming so excited. Several months ago, I found a great website which lets you know all the sales going on at local grocery stores. It's http://www.mygrocerydeals.com/.
I registered several grocery stores in my neighborhoods: Dominick's, Jewel-Osco, Trader Joe's, Garden Fresh Market, and Walgreen. I check the website regularly to see if the items on my next grocery shopping list are on sale. Two weeks ago, all kinds of Brownberry bread were on sale for buy one get one free, and since we pack PBJ as snack everyday we bought four and put them into a good use!

II. Get To Know Different Stores In Your Neighborhood
Have you noticed tomato is over $2 and at major grocery stores such as CostCo, Dominick's and Jewel-Osco? Two months ago, I found the same kind of tomato at $0.78 at two of the smaller local produce markets! How about apples? It's $1.59 or more per pound at major stores, but I bought Fuji apples and juicy Cutland apples at $0.99 per pound at a local ethnic grocery store! Spanish onions were $0.69 per pound at one store, but it was $0.29 at another store! In general, I found fruits and vegetables are cheaper at smaller local produce markets.