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Playing the Game....Grocery Game that is

April 5th, 2018 at 03:28 pm

Each Wednesday and Thursday is what I call the Grocery Game. The Aldi ad comes out on Wednesday and then on Thursday the Kroger ad comes out. I make my lists so we can grocery shop. Kroger sent an email saying I could download a coupon to my loyalty card to save 5% on my total bill this week. You bet I did that! It's not a whole lot, but 5% is 5% off.

We get the local Sunday paper and the coupons are pathetic. Every so often there are a few coupons so I did get a couple of them for my grocery shop today. I also did the digital coupons. I know that today's two grocery bills will be substantial compared to what we have bought recently (we were using stuff up from freezer and pantry), but I'm looking at it a way to restock my shelves. We eat at home quite a bit and I figure in the long run it saves me money.

A little over a month ago I started using Ibotta. I finally got to the $20 savings. The problem is so much of the stuff they offer rebates back on is stuff we don't buy. We buy an awful lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. For awhile they were offering 25 cents on bananas, but that was short lived. There's another app called Saving Star that I looked into, but have yet to find anything that we buy that is eligible.

Kroger often has a free Friday download and you can get a free item from it. A lot of it we don't want, but if it is nonperishable, I get it anyway and donate it to the basket we have at church to donate to the food pantry. A couple of weeks ago it was the new Hershey bar with chocolate and peanut butter. I'm sure it is good, but I figure someone might like as a treat at the food pantry. Another week is was a Larabar.

In other happenings a few weeks ago we were perusing one of our favorite thrift stores and I saw a package of pillow cases you embroider upon. They were still in the package except there was a opening in the package where the person had bought the embroidery floss. The package was 69 cents. I walked by it at first thinking I didn't need to buy another project since I had other projects to do. But I went back and figured for 69 cents, I couldn't get hurt too badly.

I set a goal of knitting 5 hats every two weeks for my knitting group at church. Then, I feel I can work on other stuff. I use the leftover yarn from the hats that there isn't enough to make another hat from to crochet dish cloths which I either give to others or I donated a huge stack for our church's rummage sale. So, I decided since I had my five hats done and I have crocheted dish cloths with the leftover yarn, I could start on the pillowcases. It took me over a week to finish both of them since I didn't work on them 24/7, but I completed them yesterday. They are washed and I need to iron them. I still have a bunch of embroidery floss left over so I can use it for something else at some point, but I think I got a good deal on these pillowcases for 69 cents.

One of my mom's friends is a shut in and she enjoys getting mail. Her daughters come in and help her so I'm going to mail her some of the dish cloths for them to share. I also am sending her some tea bags with different flavors. I figure a nice package should brighten her day.

The big news around here is snow is predicted for tomorrow and Sunday. Measurable snow. We are sick of winter and especially any chance of snow. We received some Sunday. Fortunately not a lot and it melted by Monday afternoon.

8 Responses to “Playing the Game....Grocery Game that is”

  1. Buendia Says:
    1522944436

    I play the grocery game, too! We base our menu on what is on sale in the fruit/veg dept. at Sprouts (we don't have Kroger or Aldi - so sad about the lack of an Aldi). The ad comes out on Wednesday!

  2. debt-free by thir-ty Says:
    1522948347

    I do the grocery game with Lidl. For some reasons, Aldi never stuck with me, but Lidl is super cheap and really nice. I've taken my mom shopping there and walked out with over a week's worth of groceries for both us for around $100.

    I've actually already made this week's list from their ad. I just need to wait until tomorrow with the money comes in and I can top off the April grocery budget.

  3. snafau Says:
    1522958452

    I too play the grocery game, meal planning around loss leaders. Most of our food is imported so it's double or triple the USA prices we see advertised as there is transportation, exchange rates and tariffs/fees/whatever name you wish to give. We don't have the discounters yet, possibly coming...when our economy improves. It is very rare to get coupons for actual, edible, basic food. We mostly get free eggs or free loaf of bread buying $ 45. of groceries [doesn't include RX, or gas.] . I find savings at liquidators, one of which happens to be on my usual route. Tissue box is dented, label not in French on jar, damage to contained when unboxed etc.

    We buy non edibles at WalMart, big hardware store, or liquidator...which ever is featuring what we need. My latest savings is flipping through the rebates offered by various credit card companies. As long as you are paying the balance two business days in advance of due date, it's a bit of a hassle but saving of 6% - 9% on groceries and gas for example.

  4. PatientSaver Says:
    1522970747

    I shopped Aldi's today and as I usually do, I buy what's on "sale." Today it was cantaloupe for for $1.19, mangoes for .49 each and I always buy the organic bananas becus it's just pennies more and so important for the environment.

    Weeks ago I noticed Aldi's no longer had their house brand organic lentil soup, which was a great price and pretty good. I wrote Aldi's and they said it wasn't selling so they discontinued it. Today, I find it there! Not in huge amounts, but I grabbed 3 cans and expressed my delight to the nearby clerk, who said, oh, you're the one who wrote! Meaning, they really listen to you, so if there's something you like or dislike about Aldi's, go to their website and write them.

    Now if they only brought back their organic croutons.

  5. Shiela Says:
    1522976849

    It's amazing how much coupons and discounts you can get in the US, sadly we don't have that here.

  6. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1523069341

    PS - I'll have to write Aldi's about keeping the unsweetened original almond milk in stock. Smile

  7. rob62521 Says:
    1523215918

    That's good to know about Aldi's and their reading their email.

    Good luck to everyone playing the Grocery Game!

  8. Sallyr70 Says:
    1523240569

    I feel the same about Ibotta. I don't buy much branded/processed food,so only have $2.50 credit after a couple weeks. It will take me forever to get to $20. I do best using the digital coupons from Safeway and Fred Meyer/QFC, plus I have both their gas stations very close so I collect fuel points. Buying gift cards for Amazon and other stores I shop at when they offer double fuel points really helps cut my gasoline costs. Also, no Aldi's in the Seattle area, so I'm very jealous of everyone who do. The best I have is Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe's.

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