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I'm just not seeing them. When I lived in Arizona, all the main stores would have some fantastic buys on loss leaders each week. It was easy to get chicken breasts for $1.69/#, chuck roast for .99/#, ground beef for .99/#, whole chicken for .49/pound etc. I'm now in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and I can't get over the food prices!
I'm so used to stocking up on meat specials and loading my freezer, I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on much of anything to stockpile.
I know that Arizona has more competition with grocery stores than many other places. Is that the reason? Have food prices just increased so much in general recently that I can no longer recognize a bargain??
I'm just not seeing them. When I lived in Arizona, all the main stores would have some fantastic buys on loss leaders each week. It was easy to get chicken breasts for $1.69/#, chuck roast for .99/#, ground beef for .99/#, whole chicken for .49/pound etc. I'm now in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and I can't get over the food prices!
Yep.
That is why threads about "What do you spend on groceries?" are really dumb.
Food prices vary widely throughout the USA.
I have recently made the same observation. I am in Florida right now, and after checking out the "weekly flyers" for the two chains we have here, I thought to myself, gee, I don't see to much in the way of bargains here. So I pulled up my home in another state that has lots of competition just for the heck of it to see what they were advertising. Same deal. Maybe a small reduction in the price of a chicken or rib steaks, but nothing to make me rush to the store to do my shopping.
I am thinking that the grocery chains have decided that as long as they stick together (price fixing ) there is little need to offer these loss leader deals. In a way you can't blame them. How many have come on here before and made the statement, "I plan my meals around what's on sale". I know I have done that, where I have gone on line to look at their weekly flyer and selected at least 75% of what ever was on sale over paying more for another brand. Now I know there is not supposed to be a very large mark up in groceries, so maybe too many people are doing this now, and they have decided it just is no longer profitable.
In fact I think that most people plan their major shopping now to save as much money as they can. I will plan a trip to Costco when I need paper products, cleaners, coffee, cheese, meats and fish, dog food, frozen vegetables and fruit and my sinful large bag of Ruffles Potato Chips for $5.99 which gives me three times more for the money than a regular size found in my neighborhood stores. In fact I purchase most of whatever I need from them first, then use the closer neighborhood stores for fill in groceries I run out of and usually check out anything they have on special.
I know of a man back in my home state (2 mil.population) who plans a whole saturday around doing major shopping. Now he is a chief and though he certainly knows good food, he is also is keen on bargains as well.
He will go to the Dollar Store for some items, the Asian Food market for fresh fish, the Mexican Market for produce, The International Market, and I believe he goes to Costco too. He obviously must make the rounds with a large cooler in his car. He has other haunts as well, like a good butcher etc, but the point is he has no problem making a day of it getting the best he can, sometimes at a bargain, and sometimes just because he likes it and wants it. Now I don't think he does this every Saturday, but the point is he obviously thinks it's worth his time to shop like this.
I am in So CA and we do have competition, but the best deals for loss leaders are around the holidays. The other good deals are in bulk, such as chicken legs with thighs attached for 69 cents a pound, but sold only in ten pound bags. Or must buy 4 deals for cheese gives 33per cent off the regular price. Right now hamburger prices are higher than steak, so we just ask the butcher to grind up some London broil, etc. cuts that are on sale and have very low fat hamburger.
I use to get eggs for 99 cents a dozen but now once in six months I might get them for $1.50 instead of $3 plus and the eggs are the size of a Robbin's; agreed that ship has sailed.
Grocery prices in Indiana have been on the rise for awhile now and every week a little higher than the week before. We really don't see the great deals anymore.
I use to get eggs for 99 cents a dozen but now once in six months I might get them for $1.50 instead of $3 plus and the eggs are the size of a Robbin's; agreed that ship has sailed.
The dollar store sells eggs...1.00 a dozen. I'm doing more and more shopping for my mom there. Cheaper than Walmart. (for quite a few things if you really compare prices)
I think deals are still out there. You just have to buy at that time.
If grapes are on sale that week -- buy grapes, not the peaches or watermelon you had thought you'd get.
You've got to shop the sales.
My shopping 'style' is NON-perishables are always bought in bulk...as in AT LEAST a year's worth at a time. So...toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, aluminum foil, etc....I don't even need to notice sales on those things during the year. I last bought TP, trash bags. light bulbs, etc.....3 YEARS ago.
It allows me to 'budget better.' So I know when I go shopping or look at a sales circular or receipt I'm only interested in food prices, no 'household or toiletries stuff.
As for food, I have noticed that meat/protein source prices have gone up quite a bit -- and OMG -- produce. Grapes, cherries.....did you see the prices for those this past summer? 5.99 a pound!
And since produce is perishable you can't stock it up but so much. So produce is one thing I do 'see what's on sale' and make sure to get some of that. I might still by what I wanted that wasn't on sale. But I also get the sale stuff too. Might as well get some of that and maybe less of the stuff that wasn't on sale.
I USED TO shop sales at FOUR different stores every week or so. But I don't do that anymore. Just got tired of the run around. I also don't fool with coupons. I have toyed with it over the years. But for a few years now have just stopped with the coupons.
So for me I have two main stores....and once every few months supplement with Trader Joe's or other organic stores.
For my mom I shop the Dollar Store and Walmart, supplemented by the nearby Shop Rite.
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) there is little need to offer these loss leader deals. In a way you can't blame them. How many have come on here before and made the statement, "I plan my meals around what's on sale". I know I have done that, where I have gone on line to look at their weekly flyer and selected at least 75% of what ever was on sale over paying more for another brand. Now I know there is not supposed to be a very large mark up in groceries, so maybe too many people are doing this now, and they have decided it just is no longer profitable.
