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| More Groceries! |
Yes, I had more groceries delivered today, Friday, August 21!
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| August 21 Groceries |
Remember the pork chops that were on sale at a particular store that I had wanted to buy? I had gone to the store on my way from the pharmacy to the library to look for the pork chops on Wednesday and had been unable to find them.
Yesterday, I was debating if I should make a special trip and go back to the store to look for the pork chops, again. Was it worth my while? Did the store have other items I needed that might be on sale? The sales ad was in the other room, where my daughter was working and having back-to-back meetings all day. I didn't want to go there to look for the sales ad and disturb her. So, I decided to check if this store had the weekly sales ads on their store website. Not only did they have their sales ad on the website, I also found out that they now have store pick up and delivery options, too! The last time I shopped at this store was just before we went into Covid lockdown!
Not only that! This store (I'll call it Store F as their name starts with an F) is owned by the same parent company that owns Store R that I have been using 99% of the time since Covid lockdown and yesterday, I was thrilled to discover that, contrary to what an online search had stated, the paid membership my daughter got for me for Store R was also valid at Store F! How wonderful is that?
This second chain of grocery stores is the company's "no frills" version (you bag your own groceries, for example) and, often, their prices are lower than at the other, "full service" store. I wanted to take advantage of their bargains and decided to give it a try! The same rules applied to qualify for free delivery - a minimum order of $35 and opt for next day delivery.
So, I put in another order for groceries, yesterday, and they were delivered, this morning. I signed up to receive the same text notifications when the shopper started and checked out, if any substitutions needed my approval, when the groceries will be delivered, etc. Up until I received the order confirmation, I wasn't quite sure if the paid membership benefits would apply, but, they did!
The only blip with this particular order was that they were out of the regular cucumbers on sale for 3/$1 and the shopper substituted 3 English cucumbers which were priced $1.69 each without notifying me! I had specified no substitutions except for one item (pancake mix, where I specified the substitution). As a result, my bill was higher than I had intended it to be, but, I am going to chalk it up to experience. We do like English cucumbers (in fact, daughter prefers them to regular cucumbers) and I will not request a refund for that reason. Sometimes, things depend on the individual shopper.
Without further ado, here's today's grocery receipt from Store F (I have done a price comparison between the two stores, F and R, for my own amusement):
Item Details
16 Items
Other Fees
$0.60
I spent a total of $40.18
*Actually, 1 cantaloupe and 1 personal sized watermelon, priced $2.50 each
The only item that was the same price at both stores was the chocolate drink mix powder.
The same groceries at Store R would have cost me $62.41, if I substituted the store brand pancake mix and $66.01 if I had bought the brand name pancake mix.
I am rueing the fact that it has taken me over 4 months since my daughter bought me the membership (in April) to discover that I can use it to shop at this lower priced store owned by the same parent company. But, I am thrilled that I have discovered it now, with just over 7 months more to go before the membership ends. Maybe I might go ahead and renew it, next year!
I will not stop buying things from Store R; I will continue to shop from them, too, as they have their own deals (for example, the coffee I bought from there is selling at the regular price of $12.99 at Store F). But, I'll be paying close attention to the deals being offered at both stores from now on. At least, for as long as I am able to shop at both stores with the same membership discount!
My August Grocery spending to date:
$0.52 + $45.51 + $75.33 + $40.18 = $161.54
Balance left in the August Grocery budget = $258.95 - $161.54 = $97.41
I am okay with that amount of money spent to date and left in the budget, with 10 days to go until the end of the month.
I am very grateful that I discovered I could use the same paid membership account at both stores and look forward to taking full advantage of that fact for as long as I can!
Hi dear friend, I don't like the fact that they substituted the English cucumbers for the regular cucumbers without notifying you, especially since the cost of the English cucumbers are considerably higher!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the bag fees go, here in Montreal, plastic bags were discontinued for environmental reasons, which is very good. So I have reusable bags, I prefer the waterproof ones over the canvas, as they can be wiped off or washed. I have many, as I have bought them over a good period of time for between 50 cents to 2.00 each, depending on the size.
I just bring them with me to the store and they pack my groceries in them.
Since you order online you have to pay for the bags. It's not really a big deal, I just wanted to mention it.
All in all, I think you are doing very well in your budget, dear friend!
Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Linda. Yes, I'm not too pleased with the fact that the higher priced English cucumbers were substituted without notifying me, but, I'll not complain about it, this time. That's one of the downsides of not shopping in person.
DeletePlastic bags have been discontinued here, in California, too (although, there was a brief lifting of the ban during Covid lockdown). The bags in which my groceries are delivered are brown paper bags, which are recyclable. I do have a stock of reusable bags which I use on the rare occasions when I shop in person, these days.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with grocery shopping, Linda. I am a bit nosy that way and enjoy hearing (or should I say, reading?) what others do. I think I do well with my grocery budget and eat fairly well. :)
Well, that's exciting. Your discovery opens up all kinds of possibilities for grocery savings at no additional cost to you.
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly, June! I'm very excited! LOL. Doesn't take much to make me happy, does it? 😊
DeleteThat is great. Thanks for your lovely comment at my blog. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, e. And you are welcome; I enjoyed reading your blog post. :)
DeleteI do not use delivery services, but I do compare shop between the 4 grocery stores that are near my house. I cherry pick their ads all the time and comparison shopping makes a big difference doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteIt sure does, Anne. I used to cherry pick atll the time, but, got used to store pick up during Covid lockdown and continued to use it afterwards, too. Then, daughter gifted me with the paid membership which enables me to get deliveries and now, I'm afraid, I'm getting used to that! LOL.
DeleteEvery once in a while I will get a substitution without approval but not too often. When it happens though it is annoying. I use Instacart and will do the same order on three different stores to see which one has the best prices and then select that one and delete the other two. Most stores carry the same brand names but not always.
ReplyDeleteYou did good, I think! xo Diana
Thank you, Diana. Yes, the deliveries I get are through Instacart. Now that I know my store membership cards enables me to order from either store, I will be doing more comparison shopping to get the better deals. :)
DeleteThat was a lucky discovery! You will be in your element doing market analysis.
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased to find out that the one paid membership allowed me to get deliveries from both stores. :)
DeleteThat's great to have the option of delivery at the sister store. I'm thinking as I look at your list, it's time for you to grow some mandarin oranges in your amazing garden!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that I can get deliveries from the sister store, Bushlady. Well, I do have a little satsuma tangerine tree; its on its third year in the garden, is about 3 ft. tall, and has a grand total of 4 tangerines on it! It's growing directly in front of the chicken coop and they have already pecked at a couple of its leaves and decided they are not a favorite snack, which is fine with me. :)
DeleteYour food is so fresh and varied. I really should have more variety in my meals, but with Lily's limited diet I've settled for what works for the time being. X
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. You definitely need to stick to what agrees with Lily's dietary requirements. One of my daughter's friends has a very restrictive diet due to health issues and whenever she comes over, we make every effort to prepare food that she can have.
DeleteThat's great news about the membership and absolutely worth working it to your advantage. It looks like you got some great deals.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa. I was thrilled to be able to order from both stores with the one membership. :)
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