Shopping from sales ads - Your experience.

[imagine]

I have always heard people say they plan meals around what is on sale. I couldn't figure out how people saved money doing this.

We have two grocery stores that have sale ads. One big chain and one smaller more local chain ( regional maybe?)

The big chain was the one ad I usually looked at to plan what to make and buy. They would have a sale on something but the rest of the stuff you needed to make a recipe or meal would not be on sale. You ended up paying full price for that stuff if you didn't already have it on hand.

Then I started noticing the smaller stores ad would have something on sale and have some if not most of the things you would need to round out a meal or make a recipe on sale too. That sure made it easier for me to meal plan off of the sale ads. And it saved me more $. The smaller store started to get more of my shopping and of my money than the other store.

I wondered if this is normal or if we just have a super nice and considerate smaller store.

What is your sales ads like? What is your experience shopping from the ads?

[amanjud]

I don't usually shop the ads to plan my meals, but I do use them to stock up on things I would normally buy that is a good deal. Shopping for a meal plan is too time consuming for me, I would rather have a good stockpile of what i normally use and make up meals day to day.
The ads here in cny haven't been too good lately, i used to see a lot of b1g2, but haven't seen them since early fall.

[MommaStumpf]

From my understanding and from the way that I shop planning your meals based on the sales means that when you look at the ad if chicken is on sale you plan some meals with chicken and I also look for what to stock up on so that the rest of the meal comes together from what I already have at home in the pantry. I have also found that in order to save the most money to keep our menu simple.
I have also learned not to shop at only on store for everything.. It may be more conveinant but in the long run it can cost you more. But the most important thing I have learned is to stock up when things are their cheapest so that I don't get stuck paying full price for something.

[kaebuzz]

I agree with stocking up, combine sales with coupons.
I have 1 store that i shop at only for deals, cuz they double coupons. This is my stock up store.

Than i finish my shopping at another store that has less sales, but everything is reasonable.

[nuisance26]

They would have a sale on something but the rest of the stuff you needed to make a recipe or meal would not be on sale. You ended up paying full price for that stuff if you didn't already have it on hand.

~I shop the sales and add them to my 'inventory'. Sale items along with anything else that's in my 'inventory'(pantry and freezer)become our meals. I substitute items in recipes all the time. I cook without recipes. My meals aren't permanent 'sets' of food. If I make turkey I don't have to have potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I can have wild rice and broccoli instead if that's what I have on hand.
I also shop at multiple stores. I pick up the loss leaders at four grocery stores twice a month and fill in with items from Aldi.
Both strategies are thinking outside of the box the stores are trying to make you think inside of. I think it's great you've discovered one of their many tricks. The small store is probably not being 'considerate' so much as trying to steal your business from the bigger stores. They are a business too. They want your money. As long as you get the sales and only the sales you'll beat them at their own game. Bwahaha!~

[cheles2kids]

Nuisance26 & I shop similar.

I use the weekly loss leader sales to supplement my menu or stockpile.
Take for example, last week our local Food Lion had those Freschetta pizzas on sale for $3.99. Normally I don't buy them because they run around $5.79 a piece at our local Wal-mart.

But because they were such a good price, I bought 6 of them to put away in the freezer.
That doesn't mean we'll eat pizza every night until something else goes on sale, but that I will have those in "reserve" for those nights that no one really feels like cooking.

Sometimes the Kroger has 10/$10.00 sale on items. Just this week their frozen veggies are included in this sale.
I bought 10 bags of different stir-fry veggies and put them away in the freezer.
This should be enough to hold us over until the next sale comes around in about 4-6 weeks or so, and during this time, something else will go on sale that I plan on stocking up on.

So in other words, I don't make my menu each week from the sales flyer, I plan it from what I already have on hand in my stockpile and *maybe* something to go along with it from the weekly sales that week, depending on what's on sale that particular week.
The whole "supplementing" thing.

[Momto2Boyz]

I shop sales ads every week. We have 3 grocery stores, 1 that I use more than others. I check for basics on sale, like coffee, flour, sugar, etc. And if I find the basics, then I hit that store. I also search meats, then somewhat stock up, but since we got rid of our chest freezer to save the electricity, I don't have a ton of room. So I buy as much as I can to fill up the freezer. I haven't paid over $1.49 for meat in over 2 years (this includes steak and roasts). I buy when it is on sale, then plan my menu around what is on sale and what I have in the freezer!

Like right now, brats are on sale. I got Johnsonville fully cooked polish sausage on sale for 89 cents a package. I bought a BUNCH of them, and we might eat them once in a while, but mostly I'll keep them until grilling season and we'll use them then!

Then, to supplement what I need that I can't get cheaper elsewhere, I buy at Aldi's. So all of my canned goods and breads that aren't HM come from there!

[Judi Dial]

Well, if I decided I wanted beef this week, I'd check my freezer list to see what I had. RIght now, I don't have anything as all the meat in my freezer thawed and then was refrozen, so it was cleaned out! But normally, I have at one or more of the following meats sausage/bacon, pork, chicken, and beef in my freezer. There's stew meat and others available this week from my markets for reasonable prices, so I"m likely to buy 2, use one and put one in my freezer and on the list.

Right now what I have in stock for fresh veggies are celery, potatoes, red, yellow, and sweet onions, and celery. Of course I also have various canned and frozen things too. Given what I have, I'd make stew, soup, steak (smothered with onions or with potatoes) or....

The idea of shopping the sales means that you use what you have first, as others have said above, that's always the best sale, you've already paid for it! But it is also the idea that you have a collection of general recipes you use, rather than specific recipes you buy for.

If you're not comfortable doing this, try using recipezaar.com's website. You can look for a main course using beef, celery, and onions. PUt that in, do the search, and look at the recipes. When I do that, I usually look for recipes where I don't have to buy anything else, I already have the other ingredients on hand.

IHTH!
Judi

[MommyBliss]

I shop the sales, but I'm just adding items to my pantry. I make up my menu for the week and that help evolves what I need to pick up at the store, if it's not in my pantry.

[nic4549]

I shop at Walmart all the time. I use the ads to price match items I need. If one of my stables is on sale for a good price, I price math it and stock up. If something is B1G1, I usually hit Walmart first, see if the item is cheaper there (even without the get 1 free). If it is around the same price, I will stop at that store and stock up. I find with the
B1G1, some stores prices are outrageous. It is not worth going. For example, Winni Dixie has bacon B1G1 and you save $4.99 when you buy 2. Why do that when I can buy it at Walmart for $1.89 a pack. It is just not worth my time and effort. I have found that shopping with the ads it an art that takes time and practice.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I'll use the sales flyers for both stockpiling and planning my meal plan. If there's a really great sale on meat, I'll definitely make use of the sale. Whether I use the meat for stockpiling or meal planning all depends, really, upon my family's cravings for that particular time period.

You need to stockpile and then plan the meals around what you get on sale in the flyer for the week. That's the best tip I can give.

[mombottoo]

I shop the ads to get the best price and to add to what I already have on hand. Then I plan my meals from everything I have...does that make sense?

I rarely pay non-sale price for anything...except bananas they rarely go on sale around here and we love them. For everything else I stock up when it's on sale or we do without.

[shoiji]

I always check the sales with coupons and if there is anything I would normally use I will try and stock up a bit on it. Other than that I am buying as much produce in season or checking the meat section for manager's specials. I love manager's specials!!

[dcompton]

Like most, I don't plan meals around ads. Produce I'll use at once, but I rarely cook meat or anything else I get on sale at that time. It all goes to the pantry or the freezer, and I plan meals out of what I have.

Shop for the stockpile, cook from the stockpile.

[IntlMom]

I don;t plan meals around the ads anymore, rather, I plan around my PANTRY AND FREEZER.....which gets stocked around the ads, so I guess indirectly, I am planning them around the ads..............