Today’s Costco trip and items to stock up on.

I love Costco. However, is it worth the membership price for everyone? Probably not.  I share a membership with my parents, so for us it is 100% worth it.  It might not be for you if lack self control because they are experts at getting you to buy things not on your list! It also may not be for you if you don’t have the space to stock up on items, or you don’t have enough people eating the food for it to be consumed before it goes bad.

Today I was able to buy 8 pizzas, 4 loaves of bread, 32 gogurts and 18 sleeves of Ritz for $40.97.  I think that’s a pretty good deal!

Here is my list of items I ALWAYS buy at Costco.  I buy them even if they are not on sale! They may not always be cheaper, but when you factor in the quality of the items they are a great deal:

• Green beans (Usually about $10 for 12 cans)
• Kirkland brand trash bags (They never break!)
• Sliced American Cheese (I split it up into smaller portions and freeze)
• Kirkland brand sticks of butter (I keep one package out and freeze the rest)
• Finish Dish tabs (These go on sale a couple times a year and I really stock up)
• Bread ( 2 loaves for about $3.00!)
• Frozen Pizza ($12 for 4 pepperoni and $10 for 4 cheese)

Items I buy when they are on sale:

• Bug spray
• Gogurts
• Juice boxes
• Crackers
• Peanut butter
• Toilet paper
• Paper Towels

Items I NEVER buy because they NEVER come out cheaper:

• Diapers (I’ll do a post soon on how and where to get brand name diapers & wipes for cheap)
• Baby Wipes

How do I find out if something is a great deal?  The Costco coupon book can be a great way to pull you into the store, but sometimes the deals won’t actually save you any money.  I use THIS SITE to check prices before I leave home!

Grocery deals this week & a GREAT deal for teachers!

After scanning the ads, I think I will be doing my shopping at Martins and Food Lion.  I try to stick to only one store per week, but this week both stores have a few good deals on things I need.

Kroger 

• The only deal that caught my eye was a dozen eggs for $0.77.  That’s a great price, but not worth it for me to make a special trip.

Martins:

• Fresh Corn is 8/$2.00.
• Potatoes and Onions are buy 1 get 1 free.

Deals when you spend $25 in one trip: Be sure you pick up the flyer on your way in so you get the coupons

• Strawberries are $1.99 for a 2 lb package when you spend $25!!
• Tostitos chips are $1.98 when you spend $25
• Triscuits are $1.88 when you spend $25
• Italian Sausage value packs are $0.99/lb when you spend $25.

Buy theirs, get ours free deals:

 

• Buy 1 Hidden Valley salad dressing for $3.19 get the store brand free.
• Buy 1 Mott’s fruit snack for $1.99 get the store brand free.  There is a coupon in the 4/9 smart source for $0.50 off 2 which Martins doubles to $1.00 off . So if you buy 2 Motts, and 2 store brand you get 4 boxes of fruit snacks for $3.00!!

 

 

 

Other deals:

Cake mixes are $1.33 each, but if you buy 4 you get $2.00 off which brings each box to $0.83 which is pretty good! Yes- making your own cake is probably cheaper, but honestly, I don’t make a cake that tastes as good as the box mix 🙂

 

 

Food Lion:

• Chicken drumsticks and thighs $0.79/ lb Good price, but not stock up price
• Food Lion brand chicken nuggets $3.99 each. Tyson nuggets often go on sale for cheaper, but I’ll probably buy a few bags since we are almost out.
• Food Lion brand potato chips 2/$3
• Food Lion brand salsa 2/$3 Not a stock up price, but we eat a lot of salsa
• Green Cabbage $0.49/lb Great to use in salads, coleslaw, egg rolls & stir fry.  You can also freeze it if you plan on cooking it later!
• Red Delicious Apples $0.99/lb We go through about 6 lbs of apples a week! Yay for when they are on sale!!!

SUPER AWESOME FOOD LION DEAL!!! On Tuesday May 2nd, teachers, school staff and faculty get 5% off their total purchase!!! You must have your teacher ID and MVP card though, and the ad says there are exclusions…probably alcohol and cigarettes.