Two weeks ago I did some shopping at my local grocery store and Target.
I noticed that Target is a lot cheaper on a great many things again. Not everything, but a lot.
Items that were cheaper at Target:
Tide HE in 100 oz bottles. About $12.50 each, where my grocery store had them for more like $15.00.
Pantene shampoo. For $3.79 vs $4.49 a bottle
Campbell’s Soup to Go. $1.20 vs non-sale prices. I only buy these at the regular grocery store if I can get them for less than $1.50.
Tylenol EZ tabs 100 count. $8.xx vs $8.xx. I forget exactly the prices, but the grocery store was very slightly cheaper. However, generic acetaminophen was still cheapest over all. But this time I had a coupon for Target and Tylenol-brand and so I got the bottle for less than $8 bucks.
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Some grocery saving websites tell you to keep a price book. I’m not that diligent. I’m rather lazy, but doing a side-by-side comparison every once in a while on your staple items will give you a good idea of where to buy what things cheapest.
I still get my OJ from the supermarket and my Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice from Target.
Laddie noticed that the cereal at Target was cheaper, but the selection was small. But the Target we went to carries Goya products! Woo! Usually I get my beans and lentils from Goya, however, Target did not have those items, just the Adobe seasoning, processed foods and juices. (I point this out because the Target near my office serves a different demographic, therefore, no Goya there, more frozen pizzas.)
I think being on the list not to get junk mail means I don’t get spiffy Target coupons. I see them on his coffee table and make him take me shopping there. Added bonus, he carries the heavy stuff!
How much did I save? A little over 10% of the bill. I ended up returning the Pantene shampoo because I did not need it and the coupon was not deducted as advertised. I complained to the customer service desk and told her either to take off the $1.00 for the two bottles or just return them. She just returned them. I was stockpiling so it wasn’t a big deal, just annoying to run back into the store to make the return. (It bothers me not to read the receipt when I leave and we had to fish it out of the trunk to make me feel better.)
Added note about the coupon and the Pantene. I did not buy the largest bottles of shampoo that I could. I noticed that I would save more percentage-wise if I chose the middle size of shampoo instead of the biggest size. Please read this article by Dawn at Frugal for Life under the Buy Small section. Sometimes getting your best deal is not from using the coupon to buy the biggest size available. Often getting the middle-sized package with a doubled coupon gets you the best deal. I had this problem at Target since they didn’t have 64oz Tide HE Free (unscented) available. They only had original scent, which forced me into the 100oz bottles of Tide HE Free. Bummer. (I have yet to get into ‘rainchecks’ from the grocery store.)
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I’ve always heard that non-food items are more expensive at grocery stores (i.e., detergent, shampoo, etc.), so I’ve genearlly gone to Target for those. I’ll have to check SuperTarget versus the grocery store for food, though…
am i like, a horrible person for hating the idea of clipping and babysitting coupons? i’m glad you found some bargains, though. i’ve found that buying the same items over and over at the same place, i don’t need a price book to know when i’m getting a great deal or a misleading deal ’cause i know how much stuff costs that i usually buy.
I hate coupons. But I’ll use them if I see some I like.
Sometimes you will find that Target is cheaper than Walmart.
I also don’t do well with coupons or price books. I do, however, try to memorize the price of our staple food (rice, canned beans, dried lentils, chocolate chips….) at our local store so I can buy cheaper or avoid buying if I happen to be elsewhere.