I Try Online Grocery Shopping
by Katy on November 17, 2024 · 34 comments
I’d never done an online grocery shop before, but Safeway’s weekly circular had a few”online only” deals that were too good to pass up. Think 99¢ for one-pound packages of breakfast sausage, which made me decide to try something new.
I made sure to hit the $30 mark to bypass extra fees, which was easy as I bought the limit on each of these loss leaders.
Here’s what I bought:
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Five 99¢ one-pound packages of breakfast sausage.
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Four $2.50 five-pound bags of flour.
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Four 99¢ eight-ounce bars of cream cheese.
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Four $3.00 pounds of butter.
My total was $33.60, although I did tip the guy a couple of bucks for bringing everything to the car. I also had to pay for three 10¢ plastic bags, which I’ll reuse at kitchen bin liners.
I’ll freeze the sausage and butter and save the cream cheese for a pumpkin cheesecake. I’ll also freeze the flour, but just for 24 hours before transferring it into jars.
Retailers post these amazing “loss leaders” with the assumption that shoppers will add additional higher profit items to their shopping list to make up the difference. Of course, you don’t have to. This would be an extremely odd grocery list were I preparing dinner from these specific items, but I generally shop to outfit my pantry/fridge/freezer instead of for specific meals.
Amy Dacyczyn of “The Tightwad Gazette” fame termed this “the pantry principal” — essentially just shopping to keep an outfitted pantry which can later become specific meals. This is essentially how I shop. Gen Z calls this an “ingredient house,” as I have ingredients for most anything, but very few grab-and-go snacks or premade meals.
Will I continue to do my grocery shopping online? Very unlikely, at least on a regular basis. I do most of my shopping at Winco Foods, which is member owned and consistently cheaper than the corporately owned stores. However, I’m not too proud to jump through a few hoops for a bargain.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Stunned by the sticker shock of replacing ink in my HP Colorjet printer. The company wanted me to spend $1,000. WHAT?? I went with SmartInk at $150. So far no problems. I did have to disable printer updates to use off brand. I read some people are just throwing away the printer because new is cheaper than replacing ink. ERRRRRR!!!!!!
2. I signed up for a Quest A1C test for $32. The Dr’s test with my HSA was $200. I want to double check a slight rise into the pre-diabetic range. It takes so long to get into the doctor and this is much cheaper. My next appt. is not until January and I to have solid info and a good eating/exercise plan through the holidays.
3. I froze the pomegranate seeds I gathered because I couldn’t eat them quickly enough to travel. Now they will go into smoothies.
4. I tried a new plan for the romaine lettuce ( 6 heads) I bought at Sam’s. I struggle against food waste. I cleaned my humidity drawer. I washed the lettuce and put it straight into the drawer with paper towel layers. Hopefully it will last the week. I have had bad luck with bagged lettuce and am tired of throwing it away.
5. I have sold to date $1500 on Facebook / Ebay from salvaged RiverHouse renovation items. I am pretty proud of myself having never used Facebook before. There has been a learning curve. The good byproduct is now I am looking for items on Facebook to furnish rather than buying new. I have a year before I even think about moving in so I have plenty of time to search. I am making lookbooks to get ideas of the type of furniture I need to fit some unusual spaces in this 1912 house. I am determined only things I love will go in it.
$3 butter? Wow. I just paid $8.99 for a pound of Land O Lakes, nothing fancy.
Also, you could make biscuits and gravy with the flour and sausages and butter.
I’m planning to enter my local library’s fruitcake contest, just so I can be bitterly angry when I don’t win. That’s a lotta butter, pecans, sugar, flour and more!
@Rose – I got a good chuckle and yeah, lots of not inexpensive ingredients.
@Katy $3/lb is not bad. I paid $4/lb of quarters not on sale – trips to the dairy might not happen for a while – for years I’ve spent little to no money in states who vote against their own best interests.
1. Making collard greens in the crock pot today with clearance greens and a ham hock from the freezer. Bonus is that the house will smell so good while it cooks!
2. Finished one of the free books I got at the library swap. It was a really good psychological mystery! The House in the Pines. It was a good distraction.
3. Watching Shazam on one of our streaming platforms. Surprisingly funny for a D.C. movie.
4. Sold a Home Interiors wall decor for $20. Trash picked for free.
5. I’ll be listing a few more items on marketplace today.
Returned from a couple days in a now seasonally quiet summer tourist area. Still fun to be there and enjoy the perks of less traffic and local entertainment. Got some great apples (a new variety) at a local farm market – candy crisp. So good.
Stopped at a friend’s church bazaar and got very reasonably priced canned and baked goods and a couple interesting things at their rummage sale. I hadn’t been to a holiday bazaar in years because I usually volunteer on Saturday mornings – it was a win win for me.
I am sorting through clothes and costume jewelry- trying to lighten my load – as the seasons transition. I brought a box of jewelry along on my trip to have friends look through and take what they wished. The remainder will be donated to the upscale thrift store where it will be displayed and appreciated.
Have been listening to audiobooks for free on Hoopla and Libby. I rarely find fiction that I love so “free” reading/listening is so nice as I have nothing but time invested.
Will be making applesauce with some grocery store apples that taste wise pale in comparison to the farm stand apples.
Congratulations on your Online grocery bargains….and they were indeed bargains. Such good shopping. There is such comfort in having a well-stocked pantry full of loss leaders. It gives you breathing room to shop wisely in the future knowing that you still have stock on the shelf.
I’ve never done an online grocery shop either. I was just talking with two of my nieces about their Target online shopping. They use it for everything but produce and love the convenience. They prefer to select their own produce.
Katy, it sounds as if you did very well on these items!
Of course, everyone’s mileage will vary, depending on where they are and which grocery stores’ loss leaders they’re shopping. Here in Central NY, I recently snaffled a 5# bag of King Arthur all-purpose flour (which is so high in gluten I use it as bread flour in my bread machine) for $2.99 at Price Chopper after loss leader and e-coupon discounts, and I’m about to get another 5# bag of Wegmans house brand all-purpose flour for $1.49.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen butter here at your price for some time now, and I haven’t seen sausage at your price even at Reduced for Quick Sale prices anywhere. So, as you always demonstrate, it pays to shop around and to keep an eye on those loss leaders–especially at this time of year.
Those are some awesome deals, Katy. I never see butter on sale here and started buying it in the two stick cartons because the four stick ones are eye-watering expensive.
I had a morning tidying up the fridge and freezer, which resulted in me making a pot of beef and potato soup to use up some chopped chuck, a small amount of beef broth, three aging potatoes and the trimmings from chopping up a big onion. It made a quart of delicious soup.
After that, I went to Food Lion with a very short shopping list. Found the fancy ground meatloaf mix on yellow sticker sale and bought two packs to freeze.
Got a load of towels drying in the sunroom. I put a bunch of white hand towels in to soak in water with a little bleach while doing other chores. Used water from the dehumidifier to water a big potted plant outdoors.
Good job on filling the pantry! I have yet to buy online as my niece works at Safeway and picks up loss leader items for me and delivers! Yes, she gets wildly tipped.
I have a house full of guests and they are hiking all over the coastal range and come home with hearty appetites. I made healthy oatmeal protein cookies, boiled eggs for their breakfasts, homemade oat/honey bread for their packed lunches, apples from the larder. They carry my homemade electrolyte drink in their water bottles. Last night I made 4 huge pizzas for about $10 in cheese and toppings.
Tonight is Chicken Fried steak, green beans, butternut squash roasted, green salad and slab apple pie. Tomorrow is enchiladas, home made refried beans, mexican rice and mango salsa, Texas sheet cake with cherry topping and ice cream if they want it. The next night is still to be determined: brisket or pork butt with coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans. slab cheesecake for dessert.
I spent $37 total for ingredients to feed 9 adults for 7 days, 3 meals + snacks.
I vacuum/mop/dust/clean bathrooms/kitchen and mudroom everyday, it’s been rainy, so I’ll need a vacation after their vacation! Ha! This get together happens every year for the last 40 years. Priceless.
Okay, that reads like a passage from “Farmer Boy,” which always jolted my appetite!
Remember when butter was sometimes $0.99/pound at the holidays? And when 5 pound bags of flour were also sometimes $0.99?
Those were some good stock-up times! And probably never to be seen again.
I paid 99¢ for 5-pound bags of Bob’s Red Mill flour just a couple years ago at Thanksgiving!
We’ve seen loss leaders for $1.99/lb. Honestly… .99 is unsustainably cheap and probably involves tradeoffs I’d rather not make.
This is a dumb question but if you don’t subscribe to the newspaper how do you see the grocery ads every week?
I no longer subscribe to my local rag, for many reasons. But I look up my favorite stores’ weekly ads online. Wegmans no longer runs weekly ads, but I get their emails about specials. So it can be done.
Karyn, you can look them up online, but also they will email them to your inbox if you sign up.
Signing up for most stores reward cards give you a lot of good deals
Not at all dumb! Most stores have them on their websites now. If you shop at a chain, you may even be able to click coupons directly from the ad into your loyalty account. You can also try googling the store name + coupon blog – you may find one specializing in coupon deals for your store. When I have time, I check out Krazy Koupon Lady, which covers my nearby stores and does all the math on the best deals each week – for instance, store coupon + manufacturer coupon + Ibotta moneymakers.
We get the Safeway circular in our mailbox every week.
1. Love seeing what every one is paying regionally for groceries. I just used 68 00 in Sam’s Cash that I earned by using our credit card on our out west trip.
2. I use the pantry principal, too. My kids always hated that we didn’t have ready to eat snacks and now my oldest told me that they are an ingredient household!
It’s one of the things that allowed us to retire early.
3. Found a quarter at the gas station.
4. Just went on a mission to rescue my parents when their car broke down. Not frugal for us, but saved them the cost of a tow and they would do the same for us!
5. Worked 3 days last week at my new sub job. Loved it
It’s interesting how grocery prices can vary so much.
My kids also probably wished they’d grown up in a garb-and-go snack household, but there was always food to eat and they’d complain if I didn’t cook enough for leftovers.
1. My dad had knee surgery last week so we went to visit (CT) him yesterday and help my mom out. Hubby and I moved some furniture around because he needed more room with the walker. I brought him 2 puzzles from my library’s free shelf that I have already done. I brought my parents muffins, ham and lentil soup, chili, sauce with meatballs, applesauce and we made chicken tacos for dinner. Everything was made by me. They now have several meals. Dad has PT 3 times a week. They are both not getting a lot of sleep. My mom doesn’t need to worry about cooking.
2. My sister gave my mom a winter jacket that no longer fits her for me. It fits great.
3. Today was a cooking day. I grilled up a bunch of chicken cutlets. I made hard boiled eggs. I made chicken noodle soup. I chopped up several days worth of salads for me for lunch.
4. My son came over to do 2 loads of laundry. He was running to Aldi while they were going so I asked him to pick me up more celery, cream cheese, bananas and grapes. He got his shopping done. I stayed out of the store and got cooking done and rotated his first load.
5. My son’s bedding was washed on a cold, short cycle and hung to dry. We are still using laundry detergent from collage move out day that I dumpster dived. Most of his clothes were also hung up but he needed work clothes for tomorrow so they got tossed into the dryer. Fabric softner was also from college move out.
Love that you were able to dumpster dive detergent!
The nearby college has a spot where departing students can leave free things, but it’s very limited given the size of the student body, and so much is still trashed. I don’t think anyone’s organized pickup for cleaning supplies, etc., which can be especially difficult for people on super tight budgets. I wonder if the local church that does a Laundry Love ministry would be interested.
I haven’t had to buy laundry detergent or softener since I started doing college dorms. Or towels. The amount that gets tossed is sickening.I share with a few families that I know can use the help. In case anyone wants to try it out, don’t go in the dumpsters. I bring a step stool so I can reach things and bring a partner.
I used to be a passionate dumpster diver and had a grabber and a broomstick with a hook on the end for reaching in.
I do miss all greats things I’d garbage pick when my kids were moving out of their dorms. I still joke about my $24,000 bath mat!
You’ve inspired me to do some cooking today, as everything you wrote about sounds so yummy.
I called my parents on the way home from work and they had eaten some of the ham and lentil soup for dinner after PT. When I cook I always double the recipe and freeze some. We don’t get takeout often because of allergies so that is my version of take out.
Also whoever invented the crock pot is a wonderful human being.
My fitness plan is to go on a long walk and pick up any cans I find. It’s free exercise and I usually come home with a few cans that I’ll redeem for 10 cents each. Yesterday, I went out for my walk and found 15 empty cans, a full can of breakside beer (that someone must have dropped when getting in their car next to the liquor store), AND A $20 BILL!!!
We had a great dinner last night, and my husband enjoyed his free beer!
Okay, you win for trash picking this week. Gold medal!
The freebie greens loved the two straight days of rain and look like they’ll do just fine over the winter. I still haven’t planted the herbs and perennials, but we have some time before a freeze and they’re all the kind of plant that wants to live.
The dealership sent a coupon for a free oil and filter change… my car is 12 years old. Maybe they think I’ll want to look at a new car? …snort. Anyway, it’s time, and there’s some great thrifting in the area. I’m not thrifting much overall these days, but the season’s changing and it’s easier for me to declutter marginal things (excess ratty sweaters, threadbare flannels) if I know the replacement is covered.
Drove up to work on our old house again today. The four hour drive is getting easier, and I didn’t need to stop at all. Hate the gas usage for a short trip, but my schedule is complicated and decent weather is increasingly rare. I used fuel points to get .40 off per gallon and brought cheese, almonds, and water bottle for the road. …I also got a chocolate shake from BK. Shhhhhh long roadtrips are the only time I go.
Staying with a friend again; for a hostess gift, I turned in all of my glass honey jars to help offset a splurge on specialty honey and chocolate from a local shop that gives a discount for the used jars. Still one of the more expensive ways to buy honey, but neighbors own the shop, and that’s why I’m frugal the rest of the time.
I brought food my husband won’t eat for my blunch, and some to share. There won’t be time to eat out, which is how I usually thank her, so I’ll make dinner.
Borrowing a couple of tools I don’t have to avoid renting. I’ll return them clean, with new belts/bits/blades as needed.
I love that you can turn in the honey jars, such a nice hostess gift.
The one time I tried using Safeway online it did not go well. I was to get a certain dollar amount off for meeting a spending threshold. They were out of some items so I didn’t receive the discount which made the items they had in stock expensive. I’m glad Katy had a better experience.
This week butter is on sale at Aldi for $3.49/# and at Lidl for $3.00/#. Neither is a big savings. I also have not seen good sales on chocolate chips yet this year. I like to buy the mini size chips when they mark them down for holiday baking. Sales on groceries seem much less generous than they use to be.
I have used the Pantry Principle of shopping/cooking for years. It’s good to know that it has been rebranded “ingredient house”.
That’s frustrating with your Safeway order, I would have been super frustrated as well.
Yeah, I’m not seeing the same level of grocery sales either.