Ever wonder what the person ahead of you in the checkout line is buying — and why? Here’s my grocery haul this week.
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One of my first official blog posts back in 2008 looked a lot like this. Different house, same table. Groceries were expensive back then, even though they were less than they are now.
I thought it would be fun to bring back an old school Grocery Geek post, my recession version of a grocery haul, a budget grocery haul, to be precise.
Today when I loaded it all on the table, I asked how much he thought it cost. He thought right, but only in 2008 money. Back then, this Ralphs grocery haul might have cost about $150.
Got any guesses how much it did cost? Here’s what I bought:
I paid full price for the bananas because seriously when do bananas ever go on sale? And who really cares?
If you do, they were 69 cents/pound.
The rest of my produce purchases were on digital deal, sale, or clearance.
- Boxed lettuce because I’m lazy and like the convenience – $2.08 to $2.63 marked down
- mushrooms – $2.94/lb marked down
- campari tomatoes – $2.49 digital deal
- roma tomatoes – $0.99/lb on sale
- xl avocados – $2.49/ea digital deal
- cuties – $3.99/3-lb bag on sale
- sandwich bread – $1.75 marked down
There were loads of sales and clearance items in the meat and dairy. The only thing I paid full price for was the milk at $3.99/gallon.
Whenever I see cheese at $3.50/pound or less, I stock up on the limit. I don’t need a reason because with seven people in the house, we eat cheese. I don’t spend more than this target price, with the exception of fancy cheeses, like the swiss.
I also stock up on meats that I know we will use on a regular basis, like pepperoni that we use in weekly grilled pizza, diced ham for this ham egg bake, breakfast sausage for this sausage egg bake, and pancetta that I like to use instead of bacon on this potato pizza.
I always keep some cake mixes on hand for Game Night Snacks. I’m sad to see that they’ve reduced the size of the cake mix. Shrinkflators!
And while I love homemade pancakes, I did grab a few boxes of mix because eggs and flour are so expensive.
- Fage yogurt – $5.99 on sale
- chobani yogurt – $2.49 digital deal
- Kroger cheese – $3.49 digital deal
- Sargento sliced cheese – $2.49 buy 5 deal
- pepperoni – $1.08 on clearance
- diced ham – $1.08 on clearance
- pancetta – $3.69 on clearance
- turkey sausage – $2.09 on clearance
- natural deli turkey – $3.29 digital deal
- cake mix – $1.19 on sale
- pancake mix – $1.99 on digital deal
I don’t typically buy a lot of pantry staples at Ralphs, usually just items we can’t get at ALDI where those items tend to be the cheapest. However, these were good deals and/or not at ALDI.
I only buy bagged pasta because I’ve had issues with bugs in the boxed kind. ALDI doesn’t have a lot of options. While I typically make my own Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce, I will stock up on “no sugar added” jarred kind when it’s under $2/jar.
The cereal is for my son, so he’ll be reimbursing me for it. We normally buy sparkling water at Costco Business, but this was FREE with a digital coupon from Ralphs.
- pasta – $1.25 on sale
- Ragu no sugar added – $1.79/24 oz when you buy five
- seltzer – FREE plus $0.60 CRV
- Kashi Go – $3.99/box
Hiding in that picture is a small bottle of dried basil that I paid a ridiculous $3.69 for. Normally, I would get a jumbo carton, but I haven’t been anywhere recently where they sell them, so we’re making do on that count.
The meat department is where I really cleaned up. I’ve found that the more expensive things get, the less people buy so the more the store marks down.
I ran this theory by the meat manager this morning and he agreed.
I buy whatever’s under $5/lb for beef or $4/lb for pork, turkey, or chicken and either cook it that day or stash it in the freezer.
I have never tried the Randall Farms Fiesta Taco Kit, but $5.25/3 pounds of meat works out to be a killer deal, $1.75/pound to be exact, so I figured we’d try it and see.
- beef rib roast – $4.78/lb marked down
- tri-tip steaks – $4.19/lb marked down
- fiesta taco kit – $5.25/3 lbs marked down
- ground turkey – $3.99/lb on sale
- ground beef ranged $3.73 – $4.12/lb marked down
- angus patties – $5.04/lb marked down
- Kobe burgers $$4.05/lb marked down
- spicy turkey sausage – $3.15/19.5 oz marked down
So the grand total of this Ralphs grocery haul was $250. Before all the coupons and discounts applied, it was $340.
It’s not 2008 prices, but I’ll take it!
Before anyone asks, yes, I did get eggs, just not at Ralphs. The last time egg prices went bonkers, Sprouts was my go-to for affordable eggs. When this whole thing started, I told the kids we’d have eggs as long as I could find them for $5/dozen.
Blessings to Sprouts for selling 18-packs for $6.69! This works out to $4.46/dozen. You’re allowed to buy two packages. I bought two last week and another two this week.
And we’re spending them carefully.
Kelly
My small town has one grocery store and people complain about the prices being high. My budget is considerably under the USDA Thrifty plan so I felt like they just like to complain. Seeing your prices may change my mind. Generally southern California prices are much higher, but I’m seeing similar prices as my store. I’m glad I can go to Costco and Trader Joe’s, and take advantage of Azure Standard!
Jessica Fisher
It’s so great that you’ve got it dialed in. You’ve worked hard, Kelly!
Debbie
Enjoyed this post, Jessica. It’s very helpful to see what deals can be found in the grocery store, as well as prices on the west coast (we’re in NC). Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Fisher
Glad it’s helpful!
Jennifer
I recently found a bunch of marked down meat and loaded up! It was exciting lol
Jessica Fisher
It’s like a huge rush of dopamine, isn’t it?!
Beth W.
Thanks for sharing! I love seeing what other people buy and the deals they get!
Erin in Ontario
Wow, meat is much less expensive than it is here in Canada! That same size roast, marked down 30%, was almost $30 at our local grocery store last week.
The cheese seems like it’s only slightly more costly than ours. As for the eggs, I feel for our friends across the border! Not sure what they go for here because we have our own hens, but definitely nowhere near what you’re being charged.
Thanks for this post, Jessica. I’d be very interested to see more of your hauls if you’re up for it.
Amber
Thanks for the post! Helps build my motivation. I need to figure out when stores in my area mark down their meat & dairy items and try to hit a store at that time. For example I noticed a Smart & Final near me often had meat marked down first thing in the morning and I had to go early before it was gone, but there were some amazing deals. Now I moved and I’m not in a good routine anymore. I need to get my freezer meal making & grocery shopping routine back on track. That’s on my to-do list for this week!
Jessica Fisher
Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Jessica Fisher
I will try!
Tasty
I just paid $3.99 a dozen. Yes, it’s more than they used to be but it’s still a very cheap protein., We are in our 70s and a dozen eggs would make a couple of meals (quiche/omelets/eggs on toast) for us – I can’t complain at that price.
Jessica Fisher
$4 is my target price. I’ve not paid over $5.50 but that’s been hard to come by.
Sara
I find these posts inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Fisher
Glad to hear it. Thanks, Sara!
Diinaus
Glad to see these back.im always curious to see what things cost in other countries. Does this price include the taxes? It Always frustrated me travelling overseas to have to factor in tips and taxes onto the sale price of things. In Australia it’s marked price is generally all inclusive.
Jessica Fisher
Every state is different. We don’t pay tax on groceries in California, so none of this was taxed. If I had bought non-food like paper towels, that would have been taxed.
Diinaus
Thanks for the clarification. Good to know. Prices here are roughly the same when not marked down. Cheese and butter and other basics never go on sale like they do in other parts of the world. Markdowns have not been very good. 5% off is not a mark down.
Have started again to look at alternative sources of grocery supplies.
Jessica Fisher
Good sourcing is the key.