I want to go shopping with you!
A few days ago I asked you to guess the total cost of all this yumminess, plus a couple more items not shown. I thought I got some very good deals on my produce downtown, but some of your guesses were so low that I want to go shopping with you!
The guesses ranged from $9 to $46. A surprising number were very close to the actual price, so I'm wondering if many of you have similar opportunities near you. I paid $29.20. southern was the winner with a guess of $29.25, just five cents off! Great job! southern wins a copy of Backyard Homestead, one of the few books that I read cover to cover the day it entered my house. Of course, she gets her own. There's no way I'm giving away mine. :)
Let's compare prices, shall we? I'll give the list of what I bought with my downtown prices, followed by what I would have paid at the local Stuff-Mart. How do prices in your area compare?
- 15 lbs. of finger bananas, also called baby bananas. Very cute. I pounced on these as soon as I walked through the door. Not everything is this cheap. Paid $3. Grocery store price (for regular bananas): $7.50
- 2 extra large heads of cauliflower. Paid $.99 each. Grocery store price: $2.19 each
- 3 heads of iceburg lettuce. Paid $.99 each. Grocery store price: $1.07. Not much savings here, but I needed it.
- 3.5 lbs. of tomatoes. Paid $.69/lb. Grocery store price: $1.29/lb.
- 4 large cantaloupe. Paid $.99 each. Grocery store price: $1.89 each
- 10 lbs. potatoes. Paid $1.99. Grocery store price: $2.99
- 1 bunch green onions. Paid $.33. Grocery store price: $.59
- 4 large cucumbers. Paid $.33 each. Grocery store price: $.59 each
- 3 green bell peppers. Paid $.33 each. Grocery store price: $.59 each
- 1 head Romaine lettuce. Paid $.79. Grocery store price: $1.29
- 2 bunches of celery. Paid $.79 each. Grocery store price: $1.37 each
- 3 nice fat heads of garlic. They weigh 1/2 lb in total. Paid $.50. Grocery store price: $1.29
- 4 - 1lb. clamshell cartons of strawberries. Paid $.99 each. Grocery store price: $2.49 each. This made some people very happy.
- 6 oz. clamshell of raspberries. This was a rare splurge because they are a favorite of Deanna, who was with me. These are not in the photo because they didn't make it home. Paid $1.50. Grocery store price: $3.50. There's a reason I never buy these.
- 10 lb. bag of ice, which I used to keep the produce cool for the rest of day. Paid $.99. Grocery store price: $1.79.
My total: $29.20
Total if I had shopped at Stuff-Mart: $54.16
Saved: $24.96. There was no extra gas because I combined trips - I was already downtown for another errand.
For those who were curious, we can easily eat this much produce in 3 days. And that's not counting the 35 lb. watermelon or the bags of apples. We like food.
As you can see, none of these (except maybe the bananas) were an absolute steal. They didn't give me anything for free. There were just some good solid deals across the board, all conveniently crammed into one small shop. Much nicer than driving all over town to find the loss leaders!
So tell me: where do you normally find your best deals on food? Do you have a farmer's market? A local chain? A day-old outlet?
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3 Responses to “I want to go shopping with you!”
August 31st, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I’d say double the prices of everything to get the costs here. I shop between 2 stores and a farm stand.
September 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Sounds impressive to me but then I’m in expensive England.
My only thought, and it may not work as your temperatures are higher, but wouldn’t it be cheaper, in the long term, to carry the fruit and veg in a cool box with freezer packs than to buy ice?
September 4th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Annaelisabeth,
You’re right, but our freezer space is very limited so I can’t keep freezer packs in there. I would have to plan ahead and put them in the night before shopping, when the freezer is nearly empty.
Most of the time I don’t buy ice, though. I do use an ice chest, and the cold foods insulate each other.
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