Grocery Savings

I have been doing comp (competitor) ads for years at Wal-Mart. For those of you new to that concept, I will explain. Wal-Mart is guaranteed to meet any competitor's price on any item in their store as long as it's brand for brand and size for size.

For instance, if Brookshire's has Bush's brand (15 oz.) refried beans on sale for .59 cents a can then Wal-Mart will match that price as long as you present the ad verifying proof of the sale, it's the same brand and same size. They will match not only grocery items, but household items as well; storage totes, shampoo, band-aides, light bulbs, etc. What if it's a store brand grocery item? If IGA has their brand of cheese on sale, then Wal-Mart will match it with their store brand (Great Value or Sam's Choice). Produce doesn't have a brand per say but if Diamond has regular avocados on sale then you can't comp ad Wal-Mart's jumbo avocados. Easy as pie!

It's takes a little more effort to check the weekly ads, but the savings are worth it. The big Sunday paper puts out their weekly grocery adds to all the local grocery stores. My mom subscribes to a local paper that puts out Diamond and IGA adds plus she gets the local Brookshire's add each week in the mail. The money she spends on the paper each year is minimal to the savings she reaps on groceries. We even share the ads between us so we don't miss out on anything.

Why go through all that trouble you ask for a few grocery or household items? When you are on a limited grocery budget as we are then every cent helps. Even if you don't have a grocery budget because money isn't an option, grocery money saved can be spent elsewhere or given to missions. God desires each of us to be a good steward of the money He has given us whether you're on a budget or not.

Like today. I had three different ads I was using to comp groceries. I will list the few things from those ads. 5 lb bag of russet potatoes for $1.79 (regularly $3.97). WOW, that's a $2.00 savings. Roma tomatoes for .50 cents per lb (regularly .97 cents a pound). Bell peppers were 5/$1.00 (20 cents each) (regularly .68 cents each). Green cabbage was .38 cents per lb (regularly .97 cents per lb. Avocados were 5/$1.00 (regularly .68 cents each). Rotel was .68 cents a can (regularly over a dollar per can). I saved nearly ten dollars!!

That's just a few things. I saved so much money just on produce alone. It's too good not to take advantage of. So it takes a few extra minutes. It's so worth it. You might not need five bell peppers. Use two then slice the other three and store in the freezer to use for fajitas or some other recipe later. That's what I do. Plan your meals around the sales. If cabbage is that cheap, find a few meals to use cabbage for that week. You will save more money in the long run and it will make you feel good that you were able to be thrifty and be a better steward of God's blessings.

If you have any questions about comp ads, I will be glad to help you. Like I said, I have been doing them for years so I guess you could call me a pro by now.

Try it and see how much you save!! Happy Shopping.