Monday, December 1, 2008

Weekly Shopping Trip - Fame Pays Off

I ended up taking my youngest grocery shopping with me today. It's always nice to have a reminder of why I should never do this. It seriously added an hour onto a regularly 1 1/2 hour excursion. But after all the "no, you can't have candy," and "Gabey stop touching!" I finally managed to make it to the very last store; Franz Discount Bakery.

The minute I walked in the door, the nice ladies behind the counter asked me if I was the woman from the newspaper article. They had the paper hanging on the wall in the back room because I had mentioned their store in the interview. They chatted and gushed; they are always so friendly there. And when I went to check out, they decided they had a pile of marked down chocolate chip cookies that they needed to get rid of so they jammed a bunch in my bag to send home with me...for FREE!

I think I could get used to fame if it meant free chocolate.



Here's how the trip went this week...



5 loaves of bread $4.70



3 cans of chili $1.77
2 cans of green beans $.78
2 boxes of cake mix $1.00
2 cans of tomatoes $.98
80 dryer sheets $.49



sour cream $.99
2 bags of shredded cheddar $3.98
frozen blueberries $2.79



10 lb flour $3.28
2 boxes sausage links $2.70
15 lbs potatoes $3.98
bulk crispy rice cereal $1.82
6 apples $2.14
4 onions $1.48
bulk chocolate chips $5.67 (gack!)
bulk white chips $2.41
broccoli $1.47
chunky peanut butter $5.87
mushrooms $2.65
bananas $1.92
bulk raisins $.70
cream cheese $1.49
powdered sugar $1.18


Grand Total $56.14

I'm really excited about tomorrows entry. I've got a great $10 or less Christmas gift that I think you're going to love. So don't forget to check back.

9 comments:

Pug1 said...

I have a couple of bakery outlets near me and they are GREAT! CHEERS! MIchele

The Meal Planner said...

You are so lucky to have stores like a discount bakery and grocery outlet and stuff. I'm curious how you plan out where you are going for which items?...Do all of those places have flyers so you plan by the flyers, or do you just know that certain items are always cheap at certain places? How do you know which items you should be buying at Winco, and which items you should by at the Grocery Outlet?
Thanks for all your great tips and tricks. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's frugal gift idea!

Kindra

Gayle said...

I don't shop by flyers or ads or even coupons. I just shop at the cheapest store first. Then I hit the next cheapest. And if all else fails I hit Win-co at the very end to get whatever I couldn't get at the other stores. They are all in a close proximity to each other so I don't have to drive across town to get to them.

Terri Steffes said...

I will be back!

Tell me, I saw in the newspaper last night that bone in chicken breasts were $1.29 a pound... good deal or not?

Duckygirl said...

Free cookies!?! How great is that!!!!

-Laura

Gayle said...

Terri,

I have no idea if that's good or not. As a rule, if the package looks like it's enough to feed my family and the price is under $3 or $4 than I consider it.

mommanator said...

I don't have food outlet stores around me. I am so jealous of your shopping cudos for you

km said...

Gayle...Yeah for free chocolate. I've been trying to continue to decrease my food spending, and I'm doing well. I'm still not close to your fantastic spending though. I calculated 35 cents an apple that you spent and cheapest I've gotten here lately is 42 cents. I think that some things just depend on where you live. And I know I'm doing the best I can.

Terri...I've gotten bone in breast for 97 cents a pound and then I stock up for my freezer. The cheapest I've ever gotten boneless is $1.50. Again, I think this is something that depends on where you live. Across the nation...prices depend on how far something has to be driven.

Michelle said...

How cool, Gayle! Can't beat free cookies!

To make the most out of that bone in chicken breasts, make sure you save the bones and boil them up with veggie peelings for some good stock! :)