We’re back! This week’s ad is a good one, so I am a little pumped!
Quick Recap: Every week, I shop a Food Lion ad. I always have a starter list of things I am going to get regardless of price, for example, milk, cheese, bananas. And with those items included, I set a budget of $30 that I try to stick to while taking advantage of whatever deals are going on that week. It's always a fun challenge!
I shop at three stores four our household needs and that is it. And in reality, I only step foot into one of them. Yes, there’s probably better deals at a specific store this week, and yes, I know if I drive across town to Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s, or Lidl, it would be worth my while. But here’s the truth. I’m busy. I have a career, a family, a house to maintain, side hustles, I am very involved with my church, and I also have a lot of TV shows that I keep up with. So, to me, the thought of scanning ads from 5 different stores, drive to 3 of them, and getting my groceries for the week is not worth it. That is just not on my list of fun things to do. I am not at all knocking the moms that do that, I’m actually very impressed with you. I just know I can’t do it. So how do I shop at only 3 stores, what is my schedule? I’ll break it down for you:
Walmart Plus- I put in one large order at the beginning of the month for pantry staples.
CVS Pharmacy- I put in maybe 2 orders a month to make use of their coupons and Extra Care Rewards.
Food Lion- I go to Food Lion once a week to get weekly items as well as stock up on meat when I catch a good deal. The goal of each trip is to stay within $30. I set a budget for $150 each month for my “walk in groceries”, that provides $30 each week, as well as an additional $30 to stock up on meat for our freezer.
Got all that? Okay, let’s go!
Page #1- Drumsticks and Thighs for $.99/lb. They run this deal every couple of weeks, and when they do, I stock up! We are all out of chicken thighs from the last deal, and have one meal of drumsticks left, so it is time. I will budget about $10 for this.
If there is room in my budget, and the numbers are reasonable… I’ll probably be grabbing some New York Strips for the weekend as well. A nice surprise for my husband!
Mandarin Oranges for $2.99, always a great deal. Sold.
Blackberries are 3/$5. We are not blackberry eaters, but that is a great deal, so I would take advantage of it if your family will eat them.
Crescent Rolls/Cinnamon Rolls are 2/$6, these are a possibility, if I can find a coupon!
Coke Bottles are listed for 4/$12… but I am telling you that same exact picture was 4/$11 last week…
The deal on Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops is an okay deal without the coupon, but it is a great deal with the coupon. Go onto your Food Lion app and load it to your card.
Page #2: There are some good deals on meat. The roast, stew beef, and boneless chicken thighs are about $.50-$1.00 below Walmart’s price. The ground turkey is actually $.01 higher than Walmart.
Items like hotdogs, smoked sausage for some reason freak me out, so I am brand loyal on those products. But, just for fun- the smoked sausage and Nathan’s hotdogs come in about $.50 under, while the deli meat is only $.20 under.
Page #3, the BOGO items! Remember, you do not have to buy 24 donuts to take advantage of this deal, you can buy one dozen for half of the price. 12 donuts for under $3, sounds like a win to me!
I’m telling you, don’t sleep on store brands. I grew up on brand name groceries, but when I started buying groceries for college, and then my own household, it just wasn’t feasible. Something had to change. I started going for the store branded items more and more. And yes, while there are some things I will not do store brand, about 80% of my grocery shopping is store brand items. In fact, my husband, the pickiest of all picky eaters, insists that I buy store brand compared to name branded items because he thinks they are better. I’m talking Walmart Ranch Dressing, Walmart Anytizers, Food Lion cheese, to name a few. Just branch out and try it, it will take some getting used to, but it is definitely worth the amount of money you will be saving!
Food Lion waffles are almost $2 less the Eggo brand at Walmart. That’s insane, and definitely worth a try in my opinion.
Page #4: If I brought home any plant based meat, my husband would laugh me out of the house. So I am just scrolling right past that section.
The 2/$5 chicken broth is not really a deal, they are $2.52 each at Walmart. However, the other week, they ran a 2/$5 chicken broth deal on top of a Buy Two Get One free, so they were 3/$5. I stocked up then, so hopefully they will cycle that deal around again, because that is a steal.
On the Border Chips and Salsa are on a 2/$6 deal. That is a good deal ONLY if you are getting 2 bags of chips. Salsa is $2.58 and the chips are about $3.78. So, if you get a Chips and Salsa combo, you are only saving $.36. If you are getting two bags of chips you are saving over $1.50. If you get two jars of salsa, you are paying more! I would get two bags of chips and a jar of store brand salsa. Yes, you are spending more than the original $6, but you are taking advantage of the deal, not the deal taking advantage of you.
The 20 pack of GoGo Squeez is not a deal, it’s $.01 cheaper at Walmart.
OREOS. Oh man. If it wasn’t Girl Scout Cookie season. This would be on my grocery list.
Page #5.
There seems to be a lot of soda deals this week. Maybe trying to get rid of the leftovers from Super Bowl weekend? I don’t know.
Pepsi bottles are on BOGO Free, but remember… you don’t have to buy 2.
We skip the alcohol.
Page #6.
Breakstone’s Sour Cream and Cottage Cheese 2/$4 is a good deal. However, if you buy store brand, you don’t have to worry about it being on sale or not, it’s always cheaper.
Country Crock Butter- one of the things I am brand loyal to. 2/$5, sounds like a good deal. But if you go through butter like we do, it is best to get the 45 oz at Walmart for under $6. This deal is for only 15 oz tubs, so you will get 30 oz for $5, the larger tub at Walmart is the way to go.
Hungry Jack’s Pancakes- 2/$4. This is a deal because, even though I can’t find a comparable Hungry Jack product at Walmart, the Walmart brand 12 count waffles are $2.46… so this deal beats out the store brand price. Automatic winner.
Page #7.
I do the majority of my household shopping with my Extra Care Account at CVS, so I run through this section pretty quickly.
But! Febreze with a coupon is absolutely a deal. There is a similar deal on Walmart Plus where you purchase it for $3.97 and get $2 rewards back onto your Walmart account. That’s great, but you’re still spending the money, but at Food Lion you will only be paying the $1.99. Be sure to remember to load the coupon to your card!
Page 8. My favorite page!
Blueberries are 2/$4, and a bonus, they are organic. Win.
I will probably get some squash, just because it’s been a minute since the summer garden harvest has depleted. I think we are actually down to our last can of green beans. Summer can’t get here fast enough!
Page #9.
Deals for Dollars. This is new, I don’t think I have ever seen this spread before. Let’s see what we’ve got.
They are separated out kind of like the McDonald’s “dollar” menu.
First we start with the $1 section.
Green Giant Boxed Vegetables are $1. Last week, they were 5/$5… you do the math. Basically, I wouldn’t feel the need to stock up on these if I didn’t need to. It seems they will always be on some sort of “deal”.
Martha White. My girl. My favorite muffin mix of all time. It’s been a minute. Since inflation this past year has gotten crazy, I had to drop the Martha White brand for Food Lion brand muffin mix. While, Food Lion’s is good- as in my family didn’t even notice we switched good- there is still a childhood comfort that this brand brings me on Sunday mornings. So, I will definitely be purchasing some of these mixes for only $1.
In the $2 section, the Peter Pan is a good deal, saving you $.34 from the Walmart price. But, if you buy the store brand, you save even more. Just saying!
Duncan Hines is not a deal. What is happening? It is always $1.92 at Walmart regular price unless they run a rollback. So this $2 for Duncan Hines Frosting is highway robbery.
The last page, we made it!
Honestly, I am not a fan of this Deals for Dollars format. Seeing the word deals, and then seeing a straight $3 or $4 price beside each item, doesn’t make me feel like I am getting a deal. I know that basically they could advertise Ritz Crackers for 2/$6, and it would be the same, it just doesn’t give me the same vibe.
Also, Walmart has these on rollback for $2.98, so the word “deal” is used very loosely in this situation.
So, here is my shopping list for this week:
(I’ve listed the items in order of my usual route around the store, it makes my shopping trips very efficient)
Queso- $5 (We’re having enchiladas tonight, and my husband always wants queso. I’ve been trying to make it from scratch and haven’t quite mastered it, so he is due some quality queso!)
Blueberries- 2/$4
Oranges- $3
Bananas- estimated $2 (Weighted Product)
Chicken Thighs/Legs- estimated $8 (Weighted Product)
NY Strips- estimated $15 depending on price/what they look like
Martha White Muffin Mix- $5
Hungry Jack Pancakes- 2/$4
Milk- $3
Cheese- 2/$4
Total Budget for this Week’s Shopping Trip: $53
Okay, so I am over my $30 budget this week. But, that’s okay because, so far this month for my walk in groceries, I have spent right at $70. We will be on vacation next week, and it is a short month, so this is the last week I will be spending money on this line item in our budget. I have $120 budgeted, which really only leaves me $50 to work with. I will keep that number in mind when adding up and making decisions in the store.
We did it!
Here is what I purchased on this week’s trip to Food Lion:
Queso- $4.99
Block Cheese- $4
Shredded Cheese- $4*
Gallon of Milk- $2.83
Hungry Jack Pancakes- $4
Martha White Muffin Mix- $4
Beef Stir Fry- $4.14*
Chicken Thighs- $2.22
Drumsticks- $5.14
Bananas- $1.51
Oranges- $2.99
Blueberries- $2.99*
*First off, I got to the produce section, and the 2/$4 blueberry packages were so small! It was not worth it, however, there was a large container for just $3, so I chose that option.
Then, there were no more New York Strips left, so that made my decision super easy!
This opened up about $15 in my budget so that I could buy additional groceries if I had any last minute additions or found good deals. So while I was in the meat section I scanned the selection for any Manager’s Specials. I found a beef stir fry for only $4.14. I am going to use this for fajitas, so that we can make use of that large queso I bought before it goes bad. So two birds, one stone- or something like that. With the extra money in my budget, I knew I was running low on certain shredded cheeses. I normally wait for a 3/$5 deal to stock up, but I had a little extra money, so I went ahead and got 2 packs of shredded cheese for $4.
AND! I forgot I had my Shop and Earn Bonuses that were going to apply to this trip! So I saved even more. Since this was my last trip for the month and the Shop and Earn bonuses end each month. I went ahead and looked at the other offers to see if it would be worth my while to grab a few more items to meet those bonus marks.
For example, If there was a Shop and Earn Bonus for breakfast items, and I have to spend $10 to get $3 in rewards, and I had already spent $8, then I would buy an item to get me to the $10 mark to get the $3 bonus. But if I had only spent $4 in the category this month, it would not be worth it this month to spend an extra $6 just to get $3 back.
This week’s grand total: $38.57
I'll take it!
Kommentare