I couldn't resist posting about this. I know it's been forever and it looks like I may never post again (and that was kind of how I was feeling--there is just so much time in a day) but this was something I was going to send an email to my daughter about and why in the world shouldn't I just post this and send her to the post? Duh! as the kids say.
So, here it is: I needed cat food for my sweet darling kitty. I headed off to Petco. (She's the most persnickety cat I've ever met and I allow her to be so because it makes her so happy and costs me so little to see her so happy.) At any rate, I went back to the only cat food she likes and grabbed a bag. It occurred to me that if they had a long shelf-life I could save time and temptation to buy other goodies by purchasing two at a time. I turned it over and the date was 3/20/09--that was three days from now! I looked at another one and it was something like 1/xx/10. Well, then--this had possibilities. I took both to the front checkout where I was the only person in line--hurray. I asked if they discounted items that were code dated. Well, he said, looking around--let me take a look, he said. He turned it over and I mentioned that a cat can't eat that much cat food in three days. He looked around again and asked if I would consider 20% off. I told him I would rather have 50%--he stuck with his 20% offer--I took it. Happy me. He could just have easily said they don't do that, just like a manager at a grocery store did to a friend of mine.
That's just the beginning--a paltry sum--$2.40.
Then, however, I went to Grocery Outlet. I was craving that lovely Allouette cheese spread. I had gotten the loveliest spinach artichoke one for $1.99 just a couple of weeks ago. That was a nice price but I wouldn't buy it very often. I had thought to get it at Fred Meyer and it was well over $4.00, in fact, my brain is remember something horrible like $5.49 but that seems just way too high to be possible. Anyway, at well over $4.00 (as in $4.79 or $4.99) getting it for $1.99 was a good price. Alas, no spinach artichoke. The did, however, have zesty garden for $0.99! That deserved getting two of them. I'm having a guest over for St. Patrick's dinner this weekend and that will make a very posh appetizer. I then got the pricey Stoned Wheat crackers--the mini size--the ones they sell in the regular stores for over $3.00 for $1.69--not bad.
That was all I was looking for but right after getting the cheese I happened to notice a Hormel appetizer tray. It had barbecued little smokies and barbecued meatballs, 1# of each, in a little serving tray, for $2.50. I'm serious. The retail on those was $7.99! I would never have gotten them for the retail price (actually, the only thing I would have gotten at retail so far might have been the crackers but I might have gotten a different brand at 3/$5). Anyway, they were code dated for today so I only got one but if I'd had room in my freezer I might have gotten two.
I'm not done. My sweet tooth has been acting up something fierce these days and I haven't had anything in the house to soothe it--well, nothing I didn't have to cook or bake and it hasn't been acting up THAT much. Anyway, I thought I'd take a look at the frozen sugar stuff aisle and see if there was anything worth taking a look at. OMG, Hagen Daaz Sticky Toffy Puddin' for $1.49. Have I ever seen it at that price? Maybe, but today it looked like a little bit of heaven. Then, as I was getting into line I saw it--the creme de la creme of sugar treats for me. A family sized box of Caramel Crunch & Munch for $1.49! I had to have it--I just had to.
When I got to the checkout and she rang me through, I paid $9.15 for all of it. ALL OF IT!!! According to them, I had saved something like $14.00 (forgot to write it down and they have a drawing each week where you can get the amount you save. I'd only get $14.00 but that's more than I would have spent for all the food I bought today. Anyway, I put the end of it into the drawing box but I know I said to the clerk something like, "I saved almost twice as much as I spent!" Her smile acknowledged how happy that made me.
I came home, put everything away, and sat down at my computer to record my savings (I've been doing that more often than I used to but not often enough to be helpful to my blog) and by my calculations and guessing at the savings I didn't know for certain--attempting to err on the low side rather than the high--I saved over $18.00--their retail prices may be a little lower than the stores where I shop. I figured I can afford to have a few treats when I can get them for under $10.00. Good grief, I decided to splurge and get a new fast food item at Jack in the Box and it cost a bit more than half that amount and I had a $1 off coupon (it was their new beef terriyaki bowl and it was pretty good for fast food--I could have made a ton more for that price but I didn't want a ton more--I wanted one little bowl). At any rate, spending less than $10 for treats for the month isn't what I'd call a huge deal.
I'm impressed with myself--enough so that I think I might have some of the barbecued meatballs for lunch instead of something healthy.
P.S. Tiny warning about Grocery Outlet--they have amazingly fabulous prices. I adore them. Unless something is an obvious huge bargain, I'm very cautious. The crackers weren't a huge savings and I might have been able to get something cheaper on sale but I needed them today. I also saw canned vegetables for $0.69. I can get those on a super sale at 3/$1 and on a fairly standard sale for $.50. That's not a great deal. Just pay attention to the prices and don't be seduced by the name of the store and some of the amazing bargains they have.
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