Comparison Shopping is essential to saving. the old adage, "it pays to shop around?" that's what i'm going to show you here. Keep in mind that there are NO coupons involved, this is just a comparison of hot ad items from 3 different stores. I've used Meijer, Kroger, and our local SpartanNash store VG's for comparison. All sales valid for Wednesday, December 30, 2015.
I compared the following items in quantities listed:
- 3 bags of Tostitos tortilla chips
- 3 fresh avocados
- 3 DiGiorno frozen pizzas
- 3 jars of Chi Chi's salsa (note, price was not listed for Kroger)
- 5 2 liters of pop; 3 7up products, 1 Pepsi, 1 Coke
- 3 bags of Tyson Chicken Strips
- 24 oz of chunk cheese
Meijer came in at $62.18. The Tyson strips and cheese are part of their Buy 6 Save $6 promotion so you save $6, and there is an mperk offer to save $5 off a $50 purchase. Your OOP would be $51.18!
Kroger is estimated at $57.36. The Chi Chi's salsa is not an advertised special and no prices were listed online. I estimated at 2.99/jar. (it could be high) The Tyson and cheese are part of their Buy 5 Save $5 promotion so you could save an additional $5 when you buy one more item. if another item was 2.49, your total would be 59.85. after instant savings you could pay $54.85.
VG's came in at $57.57. No special promotions, just advertised prices.
Or, you can pay $47.86 by shopping at 2 differents stores.
At Kroger,
- buy 3 tostitos @ 1.88 = 5.64
- buy 3 frozen pizzas @ 3.99 = 11.97
- buy 5 2 liters of pop (all varieties) @ 77 cents = 3.85
your total will be
$21.46.
At Meijer,
- buy 3 avocados @ 77 cents = 2.31
- buy 3 jars of salsa @ 1.25 = 3.75
- buy 3 bags of Tyson chicken strips* @ 5.99 = 17.97
- buy 3 8 oz chuncks of cheese* @ 2.79
Your total will be $32.40. You will save $6 instantly for purchasing 6 participating items (*), so you will pay
$26.40
Again, these were just random items that I took from local ads. Just trying to show an example of how to mix and match specials to your advantage.
- Emily
