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!
Quick backstory. 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:
I have a Walmart Plus Membership, I debated on it at first. I mean, I did the grocery pick up for years, but holy moly, my local Walmart Pick up was sooo slow. I might as well have gone into the store myself done my shopping and I would have been done a lot sooner! Is Walmart Plus worth the annual fee of $100, would I use it enough? One day, I was talking about it to one of my friends, who is a full time working mom of 3, also working on getting like her 2nd Masters, runs a side business, so basically a rock star. She told me she tried Walmart Plus and has never looked back. She told me to do the free trial period they were offering and decide after that, but she said I would be hooked. So I did, and I was! Probably the best subscription purchase I have ever made.
I started out placing 2 grocery deliveries a month. Upon redoing our budget, which you can read about here, I realized that the money I was tipping the drivers to bring me my groceries was eating into my budget. So from there, I decided to do one large order at the beginning of the month to make up for the two orders I was originally doing. I raised my tip amount, because it was a larger order, but there was about an extra $10 in there that was able to go towards our actual food. This order consisted of pantry staples, items that would keep for a month until my next order. Check out my Walmart monthly order in my next post!
So, Walmart is the first store, and I also shop at CVS. I use their coupons, mixed with their weekly ad deals to get the best deals on more personal items like, deodorant, toothpaste, razors, and laundry detergent. I will be posting about my CVS shopping schedule soon!
So that brings us to my 3rd store, the only one I actually step foot into, and that is Food Lion. I am a cheese lover and Food Lion has the best cheese. I will die on this hill. Food Lion New York Sharp Cheddar is the best block cheese there is. Sorry Kraft, you’re out. Needless to say, this is why I am a Food Lion loyal shopper. I am going to go there to get their cheese, so while I am there, why not get the rest of my groceries for the week?
Food Lion runs their weekly ads Wednesday to Tuesday. I already know the basics I am going to get, cheese (duh.) milk, fruit for the week. Items that I can’t buy a month in advance on my Walmart order basically. My goal each week is to stick to a $30 budget. I have about a $150 budget for my walk-in groceries, as I call them. This allows for $30/week and any meat sales that I need to take advantage of throughout the month.
With that in mind, let’s get into it!
Alright, here is page #1 of this week’s ad.
First off, I am super pumped because their chicken breasts are on sale! This is when I stock up on chicken, as this is the cheapest I have seen their per pound price go. Now is the time. For budgeting purposes, I will budget about $10 for this, because it really depends on how they are packaged as to how much they will cost, so that is my goal for this week. However, if I end up going to $11 or $12 that is fine, because I technically have a $30 meat budget. This should get me at least 8 chicken breasts that I will separate and freeze for our family meals.
Typically, we use 1-2 chicken breasts per meal. If we are planning on having leftovers for lunch the next day, that meal will need 2 chicken breasts, but if we are just cooking for supper that night, then we will use one chicken breast. Yes, it is possible. So this $10 will stretch us for about 5 meals worth of meat. Technically it’s more if you count our lunches for the next day. But I will get into that another time!
When I shop for meat on sale, my goal is to stock up within reason. Meaning, I don’t have a huge freezer that is dedicated to meat or stocking items. I have a regular sized freezer/refrigerator in my kitchen, so I have to keep that in mind when stocking up. If I did have a large freezer, I would probably shop more wholesale for my meat, or local meat shops, but I just don’t have that capability.
They also have Boston Butt for $.99/lb. That is also the cheapest I have seen. The last time they ran this special, I purchased one Boston Butt, got it home, separated it out into about 4 meals and put them into the freezer. I am going to pass on that this time, since I am already getting the chicken breasts.
Moving down into the pantry items, the main thing I do is to always compare Food Lion prices to Walmart prices. I always have to pay attention to the sizes being advertised as well. They will try to trick you! Sometimes, Food Lion deals are not deals, which is why you have to compare with Walmart, and maybe crunch some numbers, to see if it is truly worth your money.
It looks like Tostitos are on a good sale, those bags are typically about $4 at Walmart, so if I wasn’t already stocked up, I would take advantage of that deal.
We don’t drink a lot of soda, and when we do it’s definitely not Coke, so I can offer you no advice on that one, just compare to Walmart.
The Pepsi BOGO Free is a great deal as well as the Lay’s BOGO Free. One thing to remember with Food Lion is when they have a BOGO Free, you don’t have to get 2 items! You can just get one, and it will be half price. This saves you money, because you aren’t paying full price, and you aren’t being forced to take two of one item that might go bad before you have time to actually eat that item. I am a huge fan of the buying a single item at half price method.
Onto Page #2. The Food Lion chicken wings are a good deal, especially since it is the week of the Superbowl. If you are hosting a crowd and need something quick, that is the way to go. However, if you are buying them for more of a family meal, I don’t know if it is the best option. I typically wait for their fresh wings to go on sale, and then cut them in half and freeze them in batches. They tend to have more meat on them, and it is more bang for your buck. So, since I am not hosting any Superbowl parties this weekend, this is a pass for me. Pun intended.
We also aren’t seafood people, so Page # 2 is a flop for us. Next.
Page #3.
Once again, the emphasis is on hosting, so while I would take advantage of some of these offers if I were in need of some quick crowd pleasers, this week is not the week.
Page #4. Totino’s Pizza rolls, a classic. Noone else in my house really eats them but me, and that’s at work when I don’t take my lunch. So, by the Walmart check, this is a great deal. However, I have seen them do a Buy 2 Get One Free combined with a coupon or Ibotta rebate, so I am not impressed.
Frank’s Red Hot is not a deal. Do not engage.
I am always tempted with the Velveeta deals, because I mean, it’s Velveeta. And there is more than likely always a rebate from Ibotta. However, once I discovered the Velveeta sells their cheese sauce in packets, I have never turned back. I purchase a box of those, they come in packs of 3, and Walmart brand shells, and make my own Velveeta mac and cheese. No regrets.
Page #5. Buy 5, Save 5. Please. This is only a deal if you are truly going to eat all of these items. If not, you are just getting caught up in the buying items so you can say that you saved $5. I know because I’ve done it, but once I realized that most of these items would be wasted, it wasn’t worth my money. The only saving grace is that you can mix and match. So, if you and your family truly eat these products, then this would benefit you. However, for my family spending $13 on 5 boxes of Cheez Its just isn’t reasonable.
We don’t drink alcohol, so I just skip the rest of this page altogether.
Page #6.
Pillsbury 2/$6. I used to hold out for a 2/$5, but with recent inflation, this is probably as good as it’s going to get. They will occasionally run a Buy 2 Get One Free, and you can sometimes match this with a coupon, but either way it is still cheaper then Walmart. So this is definitely a deal.
Dave’s Killer Bread and Bagels. I can not stress this enough. This bread not only tastes good, it is good for you. I’m big on putting quality nutrients into our bodies, especially my son’s, and this bread is a great way to do that. We are all stocked up, but this is a good deal!
With that being said, that is why I honestly skip a lot of the pantry items, and processed foods, the heat and eat meals, etc… I once read something that has stuck with me for a while, that is to "shop the perimeter of the store." As in, avoid the middle aisles at all costs, they do not provide nutritional value for you. Yes, I know there are tons of things in my pantry that come from the middle aisles, however, they are somewhat researched, and we do not eat them very often. So when I do go to Food Lion, I stick with the produce section, walk around the back side to the meats, hit a couple of middle aisles to catch certain sales, and then onto the end of the refrigerator aisle for my milk, eggs, and cheese. That is how I am able to stick to a $30 budget each time, I cut out the processed foods that kick up your total at checkout.
Cereal is one of those items that aren’t great for you, but you have to have them. I can’t explain it. There is a 2/$6 deal on a couple of General Mills Brand Cereal, that is a good deal, and typically there are Ibotta deals AND coupons that you can put towards this deal. Just be careful to read the fine print, because a lot of time they are only for very specific cereals. Like this ad is just for Honey Nut Cheerios and Lucky Charms, not all GM Brands. Make sure your Ibotta rebate and coupons match up to these cereals.
Page #7.
I am so sad that I didn’t see this before. (I’ve already done my shopping for the week as I am writing this.) There are crockpot liners for $2! I have never used Food Lion brand crock pot liners, but it would be worth a shot for $2.
I don’t buy any personal items at Food Lion, they are almost never worth it honestly. There was, however, a really good deal on Tide Laundry Detergent the other week, so it's always worth a look.
Page #8. This is one of the pages I get the most excited about. The fruits/vegetables page! I already know what I am already going to buy in the produce section each week- bananas and probably a head of lettuce- but this page tells me what other goodies I get to take home! But it turns out this week is a flop. The potatoes I try to wait until there is a 2/$5 deal, and since I am still working on the second bag from the last one 2/$5 deal, no potatoes for me this time. Carrots and tomatoes were on a better sale last week, so I stocked up on those then. Overall, I'm really sad about this page.
The rest of the ad focused on Valentine’s day goodies, which I already have, so I don’t need to look at those.
This week was kind of a flop, but I will go with my list anyways, and I should have no problem staying under budget!
Alright, here is the damage!
2 blocks of New York Sharp Cheddar Cheese- $4
Food Lion Sour Cream- $1.89
Lay’s Wavy Original Chips (Buy One Get One Free OR Single Item Half Off)- $2.60
Food Lion Spray Olive Oil- $2.50
Baby Shark Gummies (Signed up to bring fruit snacks to my son’s Valentine’s Party)- $5.49
Chicken Breasts ($1.79/lb)- $10.33
Bananas- $1.62
Total- $29.25
We did it! AND We got meat in bulk this week too! What a win!
Comments