Comments on: Save on Groceries with ‘Strike-Point Shopping’

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 23:32:16 +0000

POP or Soda Its Called Most Places. Is killing the people we know and love. their out here fighting a “drug” war when presrip[tion drugs and food is killing more people than cigarettes, drugs alcohol combined.

By: A.J. - IAmFacingMillions.com

A.J. - IAmFacingMillions.com — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:52:42 +0000

I’ve been doing this for years but never called it by a fancy name like “strike-point” shopping :). I have a near photographic memory. I can quote the prices at all the different stores of nearly all of the items I regularly buy.

Imagine how offended I get when Wal-Mart does a roll back on the item I normally buy for $7.97, but the sign says $9.97 rolled back to $8.97. I got so fired up about it that I took a copy of my receipt from the week prior and pulled the roll back tag off the shelf and brought them to the AG’s office in person. The sad thing is, they only have to sell 1 at $9.97 to be able to legally make that claim. This practice is more common than you would care to imagine…

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 21:33:39 +0000

I do the same thing! I keep a small notebook in my purse, and any of my regular staples that are on sale for less than the regular price, I stock up on! Works even better when I can combine with coupons!!

By: Link for Weekend Reading - 7/27/07 | Smart Saving and Investing

Link for Weekend Reading - 7/27/07 | Smart Saving and Investing — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:29:01 +0000

[...] Save on Groceries with ‘Strike-Point Shopping’ [...]

By: probloggermom

probloggermom — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:56:26 +0000

Funny, I just wrote a similar article last week on my Pennysqueezer blog here:
http://pennysqueezer.blogspot.com/2007/07/grocery-shopping-stockpile-method-with.html

I also use bulk coupons, buying them in lots of 10 or 20 on Ebay, to make the savings go even further.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:50:26 +0000

To further extend this concept, many grocery stores will let you order by the case at 10% off. We’ve had instances where we got the 10% off the sale price. Additionally, this can help for those high consumption items that rarely go on sale. Typically you can ask the store manager. Some managers are more open to this than others. We have Ingles locally and some allow ordering at a discount while other’s do not. Also, we have a local GreenLife grocery (we buy a fair amount of organic food) and they have this policy as well.

Also, on a similar note, stores are not allowed to sell expired foods. If you see eggs or dairy products, the day before they expire you can typically get them at a substantial discount and most of the products keep for several days or (in the case of eggs) even weeks after expiration.

By: This Week’s Links on Frugal Living - Around the Sun: A Blog About Saving Money

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:34:07 +0000

[...] And a reader at Get Rich Slowly Saves on Groceries with “Strike-Point Shopping” [...]

By: Tommee

Tommee — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:32:37 +0000

10 cases of Diet Pepsi?

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

By: Mark Andersen

Mark Andersen — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:32:48 +0000

I think it is more a matter of stocking up on things you buy regularly, (hopefully) you know the price you paid on those items.

I wrote a similar piece based off of this post on my blog as well.

By: More Shopping Tips by Financing Your Family

More Shopping Tips by Financing Your Family — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:28:29 +0000

[...] is from Get Rich Slowly called Strike Point Shopping which is based on a reader-submitted [...]

By: Brip Blap

Brip Blap — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:18:52 +0000

I agree with Lazy Man - it’s a great idea within reason. I bought 5 things of 12-roll paper towels and I was tripping over those things in our storage room for weeks. And forget about buying spring water gallons in bulk.

Great idea, though. I may try to apply that to more than just groceries - you could apply it to cell phones, new technologies, etc. For example: I’ll get Vonage when it hits $9.99/month.

My only other question is how do you keep track of this? You say you don’t have a printed list, but in your head? Seems like a lot to remember. I am like George Bush Sr. - I have trouble remembering the cost of a gallon of milk, much less a can of garbanzo beans!

By: Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:39:10 +0000

The storage space is always an issue. We’d like to do this for paper towels, but it gets out of hand.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:48:42 +0000

I’ve worked the coupon and sales cycle game to the point where I actually make money (rebates and such) on my shopping. And I have enough food in the house to last for 3 months after the next killer hurricane or snowstorm.

By: Don

Don — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:52:41 +0000

Dustin:
You’re kidding right? $36 invested for 9 weeks can earn you something like 31 cents.

By: Modern Worker

Modern Worker — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:52:48 +0000

Fantastic method for those that have the storage space.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:41:36 +0000

5% APY for $36 for 9 months = $.31
.05 * $36.00 * (9 / 52) = $0.311538462

IT IS WORTH IT!

By: Dustin

Dustin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:57:21 +0000

If I take to $4 from the Diet Pepsi for the next 9 trips to the store and invest it ($36 for the next 9 weeks), what am I giving up for storing those cases in my basement for the next 9 weeks to save $4.50?

By: Cheap Like Me

Cheap Like Me — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:40:33 +0000

The price book helps a lot with this process. I recently blogged about 9 tips for budget grocery shopping (on the thrifty food plan) — following up on the hype about living on a food-stamp budget with tips to save on groceries. I didn’t include stocking up in so many words, but it’s a great one.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:26:18 +0000

I too share your addiction to Diet Pepsi, but have never found myself in need of 10 cases. You are a true addict.

By: Mike Panic

Mike Panic — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:20:33 +0000

My mom has been doing that for years, stocking up on items when they are really on sale. A ways back I wrote Get the most from coupon clipping at the grocery store, an outline to really maximizing the use of coupons.

By: victoria

victoria — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:12:42 +0000

There’s a website called The Grocery Game (www.thegrocerygame.com) that basically does this concept as a database — they mark items on a weekly basis as good “stock up” sales or “rock bottom” sales. It’s not expensive — $1 a week for one store, $.50 for each additional — and it tags the databases to the coupons in your local newspaper so the prices are based on what you actually pay. I’ve been a member for about eight months now and it’s terrific. My average grocery bill has dropped by over $30 a week even though I’m celiac (so I can’t eat things like commercial cereals, soups, snacks, frozen foods, etc., that are often really good deals) and near-vegetarian (so I don’t use the meat deals).

Things that I will never pay more than sales tax for because they’re free with coupon more quickly than we can use them: toothpaste, toothbrushes, “women’s hygeine products,” baby shampoo, and deodorant.

By: J

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:03:42 +0000

thegrocerygame.com is a cool site that keeps track of the cycles that most food goes on and tells you when it is @ that “strike-point”. Goes by the same theory. Plus they keep track of which coupons to use. It’s all about stock piling.

By: Personal Finance Guide 101

Personal Finance Guide 101 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:45:50 +0000

Coupons always works for me.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:01:10 +0000

This is the ONLY way I shop!! Great blog! I really appreciate all the great info!

By: Rachel May

Rachel May — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:30:44 +0000

I agree completely! I don’t have a typed-up list, but I do have a very good idea of what products that we use the most cost at various places (i.e. our grocery store vs. Wal-Mart vs. Target vs. drugstore vs. dollar store vs. any store/generic brand). Sometimes the drugstore ads run a really really good deal on a few things, and I stock up then.

It floors my husband sometimes. He’ll be with me out at the superstore or wherever and pick up a bottle of his shampoo, and I’ll tell him I can get it two dollars cheaper elsewhere.

Someday I should add up how much I save by visiting various stores instead of doing the one-stop shopping thing. (We live in a smaller town, so gas doesn’t factor into the equation.)