Yes, I look at sales flyers every week to get the best deals. But sometimes, I need things that aren’t on sale. I make a point of checking them in the store anyway just in case there’s a sale that wasn’t in the flyer. There are often markdowns that can result in great surprise grocery savings!
These surprise markdown sales can come in any department but produce and meat are the ones I look for most. These items have to be sold by certain dates. So, when that date gets close, they start marking ‘em down like crazy. Gotta move ‘em out!
Super surprise savings on chicken!
I’ve been watching for a good chicken sale without much luck, meanwhile working through everything I had frozen. Then I suddenly found myself looking at several packages of chicken marked down with a couple of days left till their “sell by” (read that they can’t sell it any more) date. (For more info on the dating terms and what they mean, check out the article here) I was so ready!
Just to be sure, I checked the per pound price to be sure this was the deal I thought it was. See that middle price tag where the new price is $9.03? If you divide that price by the number of pounds (4.99), that’s a price of $1.81 per pound! SOLD…and as you can see, I actually bought 3 packages at that price.
For that much chicken, you have to be ready to freeze it or cook it. If I hadn’t had a full Saturday, I might have only gotten one package. It would still be worth it since the normal price is 2.99 per pound and on sale is $2.69 per pound. Rock bottom is 1.99 per pound and I don’t see that very often. So, this was a steal!
Salad savings too
Don’t you just love salads that are prewashed, and all you have to do is put it on the plate? The only problem is that the washing makes those greens deteriorate fast.
Recently I’ve worked on some of these specially marked down packages and had some good results when drying the leaves. Lay out paper towels, lay the leaves out flat, top with another paper towel, and press down into all the veins and crevices of the leave. Then repackage in several baggies so they have more room. Being compressed together AND wet just makes these greens turn to mush within days.
This spinach and the following spring mix both had a few leaves to toss already, but the rest lasted a few more days after I dried them. And the best bet with salad is to share with a friend if the sale package you want is over 5 oz. That’s just a LOT of salad so share the love!
Seasonal savings…and not just on candy!
My favorite deals after the holidays are on seasonal meats. I just saw whole frozen turkeys on sale now at my Aldi for 69c per pound! I’m still waiting to see if my favorite Appleton Farms spiral sliced ham gets marked down.
You have to wait through Thanksgiving and Christmas for those sales to pop up. Some also happen right after Easter. So, keep your eyes peeled!
Do you love surprises?
I’m not generally a surprise person, but this kind of surprise I really love! While we’re not hunter/gatherers anymore, finding a super sale like these and carting it home gives me a bit of that feeling of satisfaction. I did what I set out to do (feed me and my husband) and saved money at the same time!
For more on sales shopping, check out these posts…
