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”

“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)

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!

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!

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!

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!

We’ve been focusing on saving on groceries for our first 30 days, because groceries are the biggest, easiest and fastest way to save BIG bucks! If you’ve been with us, your cupboards, fridge and freezer should be fuller, yet you’ve paid much less, even though it’s only been 31 days. And there’s more to come, as the big mile marker is 12 weeks! If you’ve joined www.TheGroceryGame.com, you’ve been maximizing your savings the quickest and easiest way possible. And now, you’re on your way to save thousands of dollars on groceries for 2012 and every year after!

But there’s more… Members often say that their grocery savings mindset has carried over into everything else! With this video, I hope to encourage you to save money wherever you go, on all things!

Be sure to end your 31 days, by commenting on Day 31  ”Take it on the Road!” Share how your mind has already opened up to savings in all areas of your life, and tell us how much money you plan to save in 2012!

http://www.facebook.com/TheGroceryGame

www.TheGroceryGame.com – For as little as $10 for 8 weeks, you should save $6,000 a year! Most people save enough in their 4 week FREE trial to buy a deep freezer!

Have a happy and prosperous 2012!

If you can learn to navigate instant rebates, you can save BIG bucks! The offers are usually to mix and match, and buy a minimum number of items within a specified group, and get instant savings at the register. There’s often several different offers at a time for one store: Mix and match 10 from this group for $5 back, and 5 from another group for $3, and 7 from another group for $3, etc…Instant rebates offer huge savings, especially if you choose items with the highest value to begin with, and use coupons for more “deal stacking.” But… It can cost you money if you don’t buy the right items and quantity, and if you get too many, you don’t save as much. Sound complicating???…

Watch this video, on how http://www.TheGroceryGame.com/ states the final price of each item with any available coupons and the instant rebate figured in, and then how our tools organize your selections into their various “Instant Rebate” groups, so you can be sure you have all your ducks in a row before heading out to the store! In the end, the best advice I can give is to just log in and try it!:

5 minute commitment done!

For your commitment to 31 days, go back and comment on our Facebook thread for Day 30 “Instant Rebates”. Ask questions, or share what kinds of deals you’ve gotten by “deal stacking” with instant rebates!

http://www.facebook.com/TheGroceryGame

Optional Additional reading:

Here’s an article on Instant Rebates, and a review on lots of other savings strategies that we’ve covered over our last 30 days:

http://save.lovetoknow.com/expert-interviews/expert-shopping-tips-grocery-game

For your commitment to 31 days, go back and comment on our Facebook thread for Day 30 “Instant Rebates”. Ask questions, or share what kinds of deals you’ve snagged by “deal stacking” with instant rebates!

http://www.facebook.com/TheGroceryGame

One more big day to save in 2012!

See you tomorrow!

http://www.TheGroceryGame.com/ – For as little as $10 for 8 weeks, most members should save $1,000! Roll your savings from the 4 week FREE trial into a deep freezer for investing!

Advertised sale example…

The Red Baron Pizza featured in the sales ad, now at 6.99 regular price has been 8.99 since Oct. 2011. Prior to October 2011, it had been 6.99 periodically up and down from 8.99. But the sale price of $3.49 is the lowest of the past year, previously $3.99 in Oct. 2011.

For the most part, many regular prices have gone down, while sale prices have remained the same.

UN-advertised sales examples…

One of the UN-advertised sales on our current list at www.TheGroceryGame.com, Tyson Grilled and Ready (frozen 22 oz.) was regularly priced at 9.99 and has dropped $2, down to 7.99. This week’s UN-advertised sale price has remained the same at 6.99.

Some prices have remained the same on regular and sale price…

Also UN-advertised, Yoplait Greek yogurt and Dannon Oikos yogurt have the same regular price and same sale price as before. Gorton’s breaded Seafood 6.3-11.4oz is also UN-advertised, regular price of $5.99 and sale is $3.49, both the regular and sale price have been the same for past year.

Comparisons with the non-doubling  competition,  Albertsons and Stater Bros…

According to our databases: Stater Bros. is the same on Dannon Oikos for both regular and sale price. Stater Bros. is 10 cents more on the regular price of Yoplait Greek yogurt. Albertsons Gortons seafood regular price is $1.20 more and their sale is also a penny more according to our databases.

Big drops in pet foods…

In pet foods, big changes in the regular price, many dropping by 10% or more, while most sale prices remained the same. Biggest cut was Purina dry cat chow 6.49 now down to 4.79. The sale price has remained the same at 3.99.

Huggies diapers were 11.99 regular price, on sale for 9.99. The new lows are 10.99 and sale priced at 9.49.

Some of the price drops come with a little more strings attached…

Tide dropped… used to be 9.99 on a great sale buy 2 for 4.99 now it’s 7.99 regular, but sale price is 4.99 when you buy 4 household items.

Downy dropped on both regular and sale: Was 7.79 then 4.99 (when you buy 2) now it’s 6.99 on sale for 3.99 (when you buy 4 household items).

Bounce used to be 7.79 on sale for 4.99 or 4.49  (wyb 2) now it’s 5.49 and 3.99 (wyb 4 household items).

These are just a few examples to show that prices are moving, and there are many more significant drops.

www.TheGroceryGame.com continues to monitor advertised as well as UN-advertised sales nationwide, and will give further reports as to fluctuating prices on groceries.

All pricing data generated by www.TheGroceryGame.com

We’ve learned a lot of ways to save money, and one is to eat at home, but feeding a family is a lot of work. For me, getting dinner on the table every night, after shopping, prepping, cooking, then dishes, dishes and more dishes… if the only reward was saving money, it wouldn’t be enough to keep me going for the long haul. But I have a big reward that’s my biggest motivator for keepin’ on keepin’ on… I look forward to that crowning moment of time with the ones I love! If our dinner table wasn’t something to look forward to most of the time, I know I would have burned out years ago.

I hope this video on “Family Party Time” helps you as it’s helped me to keep meals at home for the long haul!:

5 minute commitment done!

For your commitment to 31 days, go back and comment on our Facebook thread for Day 29 “Family Party Time.” Ask questions, or share some of your ideas on how you make dinner at home special and enjoyable for you and your family. And tell me if you think it helps to motivate you for all your labors and keeps you going!

http://www.facebook.com/TheGroceryGame

Optional Additional reading:

There’s a lot more that goes into making “Family Party Time” at your dinner table, more than I can put in a paragraph and a three minute video. Part of it starts with kids in the kitchen. From beginning to end, it’s all a safe and fun place, and we’re all in it together. Here’s something on the topic from “Shop Smart, Save More”:

Chapter 12: All in the Family

Kids, by definition, are fussy eaters. But here’s a little secret I’ll let you in on: they will eat almost anything if they make it themselves. My boys always loved to experiment and whip up their own bizarre dishes (who knew you could eat broccoli with chocolate chips?).   Even more fun: give that dish a crazy name, like Alien Asparagus or Monster Meatballs. Just make sure if you have little ones, you supervise all their culinary efforts closely (watch hot stovetops, pointy utensils and even butter knives). You can even encourage them to draw their own menus for the meal while the dish is cooking (a great distraction when they’re whining, “Is it ready yet?”). Remember to have fun and not take things too seriously. Kids will spill and slop and sprinkle flour all over your kitchen floor. That’s what kids do. You want them to feel comfortable in the kitchen, so when you’re old and tired (like me!) and they’re almost all grown, they can make you a meal fit for a queen–and do their own clean-up!…

(End of excerpt from “Shop Smart, Save More” by Teri Gault with Sheryl Berk)

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/more-ways-to-save/teris-book-shop-smart-save-more/

For your commitment to 31 days, go back and comment on our Facebook thread for Day 29 “Family Party Time.” Ask questions, or share some of your ideas on how you make dinner at home special and enjoyable for you and your family. And tell me if you think it helps to motivate you for all your labors and keeps you going!  http://www.facebook.com/TheGroceryGame

Two more days to save in 2012!

See you tomorrow!

http://www.TheGroceryGame.com/ – Save enough in the four week FREE trial to buy a deep freezer!