The Grocery Game Food Price Watch:

Sale Prices on the Rise?

As of May 3, 2012 update to USDA food cost increases: All data and price samplings generated by www.TheGroceryGame.com

After a rough start in the first few months of 2012, many supermarkets have changed their marketing strategy to lean more towards everyday low prices, which translates into regular prices being lowered. With that said, we expected to see historically low sale prices begin to rise, and they did. The following provides a few examples of what has happened nationwide, starting with some of the most dramatic increases.

At Meijer stores in OH, Kellogg’s Cereal had price drops in January, but have since steadily climbed. At the end of March regular price was 3.39 with a sale price of $2. The sale price steadily rose through April, from 2.50, to 3.19, and finally 3.33 last week, a 67% increase in the sale price in a one month period.

At Shoprite stores in the northeast, the sale price of Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil (16 oz) jumped by 25% from 3.99 to 4.99 on April 1st, and has remained the same.

At Ralphs, a Kroger store in CA, Red Baron Pizza, previously $3.49 on sale, jumped 43% to the new sale price of $4.99 the second week of April. At the same time, the regular price dropped from 7.49 to 6.99. Progresso soup dropped in regular price from 2.99 to 2.69 end of March, while the sale price doubled from 1.25 to 2.49. Also at the end of March, Eggo Waffles dropped by 5% on the regular price from 4.19 to 3.99, while the sale price jumped by 25%, 1.99 to 2.50.

Not all went up at Ralphs in CA… Ritz Crackers, Cheerios, Dole canned pineapple, Fiber One Bars, Eggs, and Ralphs brand yogurt, to name a few, saw drops in both the regular and sale prices at the end of March. Their California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza jumped from a sale price of $4.49 to $5.99 at the end of March, now down to 3.88. Starbucks coffee was the biggest drop on the sale price from $8.99 down to $5.88.

At Food Lion in NC, the regular price of Breyers ice cream dropped from 6.99 to 6.49 in mid-April. Sale prices remained the same.

At Vons in California, 18 count Lucerne eggs just dropped from 3.69 to 3.29, a throw-back to the prices of summer 2011.

Food Lion in NC this week dropped a pint of grape tomatoes from their regular price of 2.99 since Feb. 2011, to a regular price of 2.60 per pint, the lowest since $2.49 in June of 2010. Ralphs in CA Tomatoes on the Vine lowest sale price was .99/lb, now .49/lb, the lowest price in the nation.

Hyvee in Missouri’s boneless skinless chicken breasts at 4.28/lb and 1.99/lb on sale, dropped  in mid-March to 3.29/lb with a new lower sale price of 1.88/lb.

Chicken, having risen less than 3% in 2011 (compared to beef and pork up 10% and 12% respectively), continues to be the best value in meat departments nationwide.

All data and price samplings generated by www.TheGroceryGame.com

Each year, when the USDA gives the food cost increase analysis of the past year along with their projections for the current year, www.TheGroceryGame.com queries samplings from our databases, and continues to update. Here are some past reports:

Feb. 28, 2011 – “USDA’S FOOD COST INCREASE PROJECTION – I’M SKEPTICAL. MAYBE IT SHOULD BE MORE”

March 7, 2011 – “FOOD COST INCREASES ACTUAL #S NATIONWIDE”

March 9, 2011 – “FOOD COST INCREASES IN AR, OR, TX, FL & NORTHEAST”

April 30, 2011 – “USDA COST INCREASE UPDATE AND… REALITY CHECK”

March 12, 2012 – “POST RECESSION AND FOOD COSTS RISING AT ALARMING RATES”

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This is an inexpensive and easy centerpiece for kids to make for Mom! This can also be cute for spring and summer parties and baby showers!

“Mom’s Little Garden” – Real growing flowers from the nursery that can be planted in mom’s garden, in a cheery glitter painted picket fence. Silk butterfly, bee, bird, and lady bugs add fun and color. 

Supplies: Butterfly, Bees, bird, lady bugs, 6-pack of flowers from the nursery, peat moss, glitter glue, craft popsicle sticks, Elmer’s glue, crackle paint, curling ribbon, platter to hold water

How to: Kids build a “picket fence” around nursery flowers with craft popsicle sticks and glue, and decorate with glitter glue! Paint the craft sticks with crackle paint. Using glue, make 4 fences. Kids can decorate with glitter glue. Pack peat moss around the nursery flowers. Tie the fence around the flowers and peat moss with curling ribbon. Arrange peat moss around the outside of fence. Decorate with lady bugs, butterflies or birds from the craft store. Optional: Stick colorful seed packets with curling ribbon on skewers into the middle of flowers. Whimsical and fun!

Tip: for the Nursery flowers in the middle, choose an “annual” which will bloom all the way through fall – cosmos, marigolds, sunflower, vinca for good performance in summer heat.

Tip: On skewers, stick vegetable or flower seed packets into flowers decorated with curling ribbon hanging down:

Tip: Choose seeds that can be planted in May (Note: May is the perfect time to plant seeds directly into the ground for: squash, beans, cucumbers and melonsl) OR Look for seed packets that can be planted in May for Aug. thru Oct. flowers (snapdragons, strawflowers or scarlet sage)

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“Ring Around the Posies”

This is a bright and cheery cake topped with fresh flowers, and flower shaped fruit on skewers set in the center of mint leaves.

Buy or bake a bundt cake. I love this Pineapple Bundt Cake that’s so moist and delicious! Yellow cake looks best and makes the fresh flowers pop!

Using a steak knife, carve out perfect slots for 6 shot glasses to be nestled into the top of the cake ring, leaving the tops of the glasses flush with the top of the cake.

With green decorator frosting, make long whimsical leaves coming out and down from the shot glasses, in a swirling pattern around the sides of the cake ring.

Carefully fill shot glasses a little more than half full with water. Deposit one bright colored daisy into each shot glass. Trim the stem, so that the daisy is flush with the top of the cake.

Place a tumbler glass into the hole in the center of the cake, and put a few inches of water in the glass. Fill the glass with fresh mint to stand about one to two inches above the top of the cake.

Create flowers from fruit on skewers. Stick the skewer into the vase of mint leaves, and using kitchen shears, trim until strawberry on the skewer is only about one to two inches above the tops of the mint. Strawberries upside down on the top of a skewer makes the center of the flower.

Use a cheese slicer to slice a long thin ribbon of cantaloupe all the way around a peeled cantaloupe. Skewer one end of the cantaloupe and then wrap the rest of the cantaloupe ribbon around the skewer to make a cantaloupe rosette. Skewer the other end of the cantaloupe ribbon to hold rosette in place. Slide the rosette up the skewer to nestle the upside down strawberry as the center of the rosette.

Next, skewer a thin leaf shaped slice of honey dew melon and bring it up to the base of the rosette, or a few slices as leaves. String 2-3 green grapes under the flower to cover the skewer and make a green stem. Make other rosettes in the same way, using a chocolate or white truffle (without wrapping) or purple grape as the center of your rosette.

Make bigger flowers by building upon a fruit rosette. Using your cookie cutter, make flower shapes from large quarter inch slices of cantaloupe and pineapple. Slide the flower shaped fruit up under the base of a rosette, and then slices of honey dew melon for leaves under the larger flowers. Finish the stems with a few grapes under the fruit flower as before.

Put all your finished fruit flowers into their mint leaves. And now you have an edible “Ring Around the Posies!”

I hope you enjoy making this for Mother’s Day, Baby showers, or any girly brunch!

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I was SO impressed, relieved, and happy to read this great article by Barbara Thau:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/13/savings-experiment-trim-your-shampoo-and-conditioner-budget/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl5%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D154764

At first, I was worried, because too many reporters only compare regular prices, and conclude that every day low price stores like Target, Walmart, etc. are the best for savings. They often don’t realize that true savings and the best savings come in unexpected places by shopping smart with sales and deal stacking (coupons, register rewards, etc.) But in the end, Barbara Thau delivered! She got to the nub of it.

I couldn’t resist checking our databases to see what I knew to be true. I guess I just LOVE numbers!
I only checked two things, but the numbers are fun!
And if you log in to www.TheGroceryGame.com , you can get all the best deal stacking, AND beautiful hair at a great price!

As Barbara said… Our databases show drugstores win on shampoo and hair color…

Databases for last 30 days:
Lowest final price for each store – Pantene shampoo or conditioner 12.6 oz. (with deal stacking):
Rite Aid $1.25
Target $2.79
WM – $2-3.17 (west region for below matching)
West region Supermarkets – KS, Frys, 3 Albertsons, SoCal supermarkets:
8 deals – 1.67-$2
12 deals – 2.83-3.29

Interesting note on Hair Color, definitely drugstores win all the time:

In past 6 months on Clairol Nice ‘N Easy Hair color west coast region:

Walmart 7 deals 3.49-5.99.
Target 4 deals $3, 3.99, 4.99, and 5.99
Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens: 92 deals from 2.99 to 5.99
6 deals 2.99 to $3
58 deals – 3.49 to $4
28 deals – 4.50 to 5.99

Nice ‘n Easy west region Supermarkets past 30 days
40 deals – 3.49 to 4.99

So there you have it! Nice job, Barbara!

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Teri Gault to Appear on The Rachael Ray Show

I am so thrilled for you guys to see what an exciting segment I just finished shooting for The Rachael Ray Show! I have been a fan of Rachael Ray for many years and was so happy to be able to share some of the tips we use at The Grocery Game with her.

The show is airing this Friday, April 27 and it will detail going to “Club Stores.” Now, as many of you know, going to club stores is fun, but sometimes we end up buying much more than we need, and often go for the impulse buy because it feels like a good deal. My goal for the segment is to examine the BEST things to buy at stores like BJ’s and a few items to stay away from. I’m calling it “Wholesale Shopping 101”.

Make sure you tune in to find out important tips like:

Where to START your shopping trip at the club stores
Places to AVOID when shopping at club stores
To buy beef or not to buy beef?
Splurges and Gourmet items
Stockpiling tips
Alcohol savings tips!

Hope you tune in!

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Hey Dads! Stop by Dollar Tree and get some $1 mini storage/tote baskets, one for each of your kids to decorate a cute and useful gift for MOM! Even little ones can do this, and they love to weave with their cute little fingers!

The mini storage/tote baskets from Dollar Tree come in lots of great sizes and nice colors. When choosing baskets, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Stay within about 6-8 inches at the longest length so mom has the option to keep it under her sink or tucked onto a shelf in her closet.

Dad should cut about one inch strips from colorful old T-shirts to make the weaving “yarn”. Don’t worry about them being perfect, as T-shirt material rolls up nicely, and doesn’t fray. Kids can weave the colorful strips in around and through however they like. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Mom will love them no matter how they turn out! And besides, these get tucked away for her to use in her own privacy as storage. So she can cherish them for years!

Mini storage totes are actually quite useful. You can never have too many  in various sizes to stay organized. Mom can use one for all her hair supplies, easy to whip out from under the bathroom sink with hair brush, comb, hair spray, etc. all in one place. Or another one to store all things for a manicure. She may want a few to put on a shelf in her closet to hold sox, belts, or scarves.

I found hair clips, hair bands and some fun goodies at Dollar Tree that you may want to get as well. You can even fill the baskets with good quality name brand beauty products for nails, hair and skincare at 70% off or better. Log on to www.TheGroceryGame.com and gather some luxury products to fill those storage totes!

Have a “weaving” party with the kids, and remember to take photos of your busy “weavers” at work! Mom will really love that too!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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