How much do you spend on groceries?
Liz and I split our shopping between the corner market (Milk and produce) and Jewel (everything else). I suppose we owe at least that to Jewel, considering we met when I came through her checkout line at Jewel.
When I started taking my Grandfather, Shew-Lim shopping on the weekends, I was surprised to find that he shopped the exact same way I do. Or I guess I should say the opposite--I had learned to shop the exact same way he does though we had never been to the market together.
Since I was a little kid, grocery shopping has been a kind of comfort activity for me. I sat in the basket of the cart as my mom would push me around until I got too big and then was sent around with half of the shopping list. From four or five, she taught me to calculate price/unit (ounce, cup, etc.) and how to discriminate between good and meaningless sales.
I never knew that she had learned it from watching her folks. We all do the same thing--we get a list of essentials that we need for the week, and then buy whatever is healthy and extremely on sale.
When Liz and I first started dating seriously, it was a bit of a culture shock for both of us. She's rather thrifty herself, but I had never really bought anything "I like" that was full-price. She wasn't used to coming home with bags full of unfamiliar items.
After six years, it appears that I have won. It really has more to do with who does the food preparation than anything else. Here's this week's receipt:
What do you buy at the store? What is your strategy?
Jewel:
Savings %: 53%
Final Cost: $63.14
Total Savings: $72.39
Preferred Savings: $23.02
MFG Coupons: $8.25
Store Coupons: $5.00
Buy 1 Get 1 FREE: $36.12
Juicy Juice
Breyers IC 56OZ $5.99
Breyers IC 56OZ FREE
Pepperidge Farm Bread $2.95
Preferred Card -.45
Nissin Ramen X 4 .80
PC -.40
GM Cinnamon Toast 19.62
PC -7.62
GM Cheerios 11.55
PC -5.55
Vienna Beef Franks X 2 9.98
Vienna BF X 2 Rain checkFREE
P/F Geneva Cookies 2.95
PC -.45
P/F Raspberry Cookies 2.95
PC -.45
JWL Rotini 1.00
JWL Rotini FREE
RAC Tri Rotini 1.29
RAC Bow Tie FREE
CHX Mix Hot X 2 4.90
PC -2.90
Frontera Grill Pizza 6.29
Frontera Grill Pizza FREE
LAYS Wavy 11.5 oz 2.95
PC -.95
Perdue Turkey 16oz 3.79
Perdue Turkey 16oz FREE
DGB OR LVND CH2Z 2.75
PC -.25
ROK Tumb Candle X 5 2.25
PC -1.25
Jewel Medium NDL 1.40
PC -.40
Cabot Garlic Cheddar 4.99
Cabot Garlic Cheddar FREE
Frigo Ricotta Cheese 2.95
PC -.95
Stella Shredded Parm. 3.79
Stella Shredded Parm. FREE
COUPON $5 off $50 -5.00
Scanned Coupon -.55
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -.75
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -.40
Scanned Coupon -.55
Scanned Coupon -1.00
When I started taking my Grandfather, Shew-Lim shopping on the weekends, I was surprised to find that he shopped the exact same way I do. Or I guess I should say the opposite--I had learned to shop the exact same way he does though we had never been to the market together.
Since I was a little kid, grocery shopping has been a kind of comfort activity for me. I sat in the basket of the cart as my mom would push me around until I got too big and then was sent around with half of the shopping list. From four or five, she taught me to calculate price/unit (ounce, cup, etc.) and how to discriminate between good and meaningless sales.
I never knew that she had learned it from watching her folks. We all do the same thing--we get a list of essentials that we need for the week, and then buy whatever is healthy and extremely on sale.
When Liz and I first started dating seriously, it was a bit of a culture shock for both of us. She's rather thrifty herself, but I had never really bought anything "I like" that was full-price. She wasn't used to coming home with bags full of unfamiliar items.
After six years, it appears that I have won. It really has more to do with who does the food preparation than anything else. Here's this week's receipt:
What do you buy at the store? What is your strategy?
Jewel:
Savings %: 53%
Final Cost: $63.14
Total Savings: $72.39
Preferred Savings: $23.02
MFG Coupons: $8.25
Store Coupons: $5.00
Buy 1 Get 1 FREE: $36.12
Juicy Juice
Breyers IC 56OZ $5.99
Breyers IC 56OZ FREE
Pepperidge Farm Bread $2.95
Preferred Card -.45
Nissin Ramen X 4 .80
PC -.40
GM Cinnamon Toast 19.62
PC -7.62
GM Cheerios 11.55
PC -5.55
Vienna Beef Franks X 2 9.98
Vienna BF X 2 Rain checkFREE
P/F Geneva Cookies 2.95
PC -.45
P/F Raspberry Cookies 2.95
PC -.45
JWL Rotini 1.00
JWL Rotini FREE
RAC Tri Rotini 1.29
RAC Bow Tie FREE
CHX Mix Hot X 2 4.90
PC -2.90
Frontera Grill Pizza 6.29
Frontera Grill Pizza FREE
LAYS Wavy 11.5 oz 2.95
PC -.95
Perdue Turkey 16oz 3.79
Perdue Turkey 16oz FREE
DGB OR LVND CH2Z 2.75
PC -.25
ROK Tumb Candle X 5 2.25
PC -1.25
Jewel Medium NDL 1.40
PC -.40
Cabot Garlic Cheddar 4.99
Cabot Garlic Cheddar FREE
Frigo Ricotta Cheese 2.95
PC -.95
Stella Shredded Parm. 3.79
Stella Shredded Parm. FREE
COUPON $5 off $50 -5.00
Scanned Coupon -.55
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -.75
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -1.00
Scanned Coupon -.40
Scanned Coupon -.55
Scanned Coupon -1.00
posted by Xian Franzinger Barrett at 9:05 PM
4 Comments:
Dude, Asian people don't buy food, we just kill dogs off the street for food!
It doesn't work in our neighborhood--it's all those little rat-dogs--skin and bones, my friend, skin and bones...
I tend to grocery shop in a more British-style, which is to say that I generally buy only a handful of items each trip, and make multiple trips a week. The British do it because they (traditionally) have smaller refrigerators and storage units. Ashley & I do it because A) the store isn't terribly far from where we live, and 2) our appetites are bound to the whims of the day, so we rarely have our meals planned-out over the course of a week.
Just thought I'd share.
Yeah, that's kind of how we use the corner market. It has the added benefit of meaning that you are eating fresher stuff.
With the dry stuff, we just save too much money buying it in bulk (and I mean actually saving money, not that Sam's club stuff ;))
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