Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Buying Out of Season Part Deux

Amazing how even the price of everyday grocery items change! Before Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had my eyes glued open, waiting for the price of Libby's canned pumpkin to come down so I can stock up on it. Generally, it is at its' lowest price every year at that time.  This past season though, the lowest price I saw anywhere was about 78 cents for a 15 oz can.  Not really anything to write home about, so I gave up and didn't buy any, since it was not worth stocking up at that price.  Back then, I think I would have stocked up if they had them offered at 2 for a dollar.

Today, when I went to Walmart to buy some lunch items for my sons' school lunches, I hit jackpot! They were 25 cents a can. I had to look twice, as the sign above the shelf said $ 1.25, but the price on the shelf itself said 25 cents.  I double checked the price at the baking aisle to make sure, and it was really 25 cents.  According to the reciept, Walmart's regular price on this item is $1.50, so I think what happened here was that the store had a supply glut over its' normal level and wanted to move it quickly to clear shelf space. I happened upon a small window of opportunity before Walmart jacked up the price again.  Thank you grocery shopping fairies! (BTW, I had to go back inside the store after I checked out to get a couple of items I forgot, and they were ALL gone!)

I bought 4 cases, which comes out to 96 cans.  Yes, that is a LOT, but as I said before, buying groceries for me is a two pronged approach; trying shop smart day to day to not waste money, but also stocking up on non-perishable items so I have a food storage supply "just in case." I spent $24.00, and that bought me peace of mind.  I will be using it in the future to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, etc.  In addition, it is supposed to be a good substitute for oil in many baking recipes, so the end result of my baking will be healthier!

Now, I am on a quest to find a good price for canned tuna. A little over a year ago, I purchased around 70 cans when they were on sale for an incredible price (which I don't recall). The other day, I opened the last can (yes, I like tuna). What are the chances that I will find an equally incredible deal?



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