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Smart and Final

July 2nd, 2007 at 10:24 pm

Just got groceries for the week at Trader Joe's. Again I went over by about $25. I also need to make my quarterly stop at Smart and Final where I get our cleaning supplies/paper towels/etc. I wanted to keep it to only $100.00, I went over by about $25, because they had sugar free Popsicles $4.00 which my 3yr old loves, also they had a special on Eggo Waffles $8.00 for 60 waffles (normally 3.99 for 12), and the large Hebrew National Hot dogs on special for $7.79; Oh...and also 2 boxes of snack pack size gold fish crackers. So I bought 4 things that I wasn't anticipating on buying, but at least they are things I know we will consume, and things I know I would have paid almost twice as much for at the regular grocery store.

Posted in SPENDING | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Smart and Final”

  1. disneysteve Says:
    July 2nd, 2007 at 10:32 pm 1183415554
    1183415554

    I have mixed feelings on this. I agree that it makes sense to not be so strict on a budget that you pass up really good deals. On the other hand, however, 3 of the 4 items you bought unexpectedly are pricey convenience foods. If your goal is to reduce spending, these are the kinds of things you should be eliminating.

    1. Instead of buying sugar free Popsicles, make your own. Buy a big bottle of sugar free juice and a popsicle maker from the dollar store. One 64oz bottle of juice will make a couple dozen popsicles and probably cost less than half of what it costs to buy the ready made ones.

    2. Either make your own waffles and freeze them (cheapest option) or switch to the store brand. My daughter was hooked on Eggos. One time I showed her how much cheaper the store brand waffles are and told her she had to try them. I agreed that if she really didn't like them, I'd buy Eggos again. She thought they were just fine, and I like that they were so much cheaper.

    3. Don't buy things in single serve packs or snack packs. Buy the biggest size you can find and portion them off yourself with little baggies or containers. They charge a big premium for the individual servings. Find a Pepperidge Farm outlet and buy the great big boxes of goldfish.

  2. honeichild Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 01:35 am 1183426543
    1183426543

    ^ I agree. Not to mention that Trader Joes is super expensive anyway.

  3. mathis86 Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 04:12 am 1183435930
    1183435930

    Honeichild, where do you go to shop for good produce. In my neck of the woods Trader Joes is the most economical around...cheaper than Vons, Wholefoods, Pavillions, Ralphs, etc. I'd love to find somewhere even more cost efficient.

  4. disneysteve Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 01:42 pm 1183470155
    1183470155

    Where to buy produce really depends on what your options are. Do you have a nice Asian market. Around here, they often have great produce prices. If TJ is cheaper than the supermarket, then go there, but just for the stuff that is cheaper. If you go there to save a couple of dollars on produce but end up spending $25 on things you didn't really need, you haven't actually saved anything.

    That's why some people say they buy milk at a convenience store. It might be $.50 more per gallon but they don't end up walking out with a cart full of stuff they hadn't intended to buy.

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