Grocery Circular Roundup

All You is offering a new free grocery-saving service on All You.com that just launched today.

It is called Grocery Circular Roundup and lets you search by zipcode for all local circular deals, filter grocery deals by retailers and/or food category, and even pinpoint what’s on sale and where from an existing grocery list that you type in. Using the search features it’s also a great way to coupon stack, and you can print coupons directly from the list as needed. Here is the direct link – it should automatically “locate” you, or simply enter your zip code and it goes to work.

Behind the scenes, the site is powered by Grocery Server, a grocery search engine that pulls grocery deals from all across the US in real time. We have some good deals discussions on our Facebook page and the occasional giveaways, so swing by and join us if you get a chance.

The Depressing Grocery Budget

I started the year with such high hopes of maintaining a $300 a month grocery budget.  I came in under budget in January, but February and March were both "disasters" in my budget planning mind!  I continue to shop at Giant Eagle (with coupons), Marcs's, and Aldi's plus I am still playing the Drugstore Game at Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens.  I am really confused why I cannot come in under $300!  By no means are we splurging on steak and lobster!

I have noticed a spike in some grocery prices especially milk.  I did some research on inflation. 

U.S. food costs will rise as much as 4 percent this year after a surge in prices for farm goods, more than the 2 percent to 3 percent forecast last month, U.S. Department of Agriculture Chief Economist Joe Glauber said. “Higher prices for crops and livestock will again pressure food prices,” as increased commodity costs work their way through the food-supply chain toward consumers, Glauber said today during remarks at a government-sponsored agriculture forum in Arlington, Virginia. Global food prices rose 25 percent last year and set a record last month as world grain inventories were headed for a 13 percent decline before the next harvest, the USDA estimates. Tighter supplies and higher costs have contributed to unrest in North Africa and the Middle East as rising demand causes isolated food shortages and accelerating inflation in poor countries, even as it boosts incomes for U.S. farmers. (source)

Estimates include:

• Corn up 80% from a year ago.
• Soybean meal is up 37%
• Wheat is up 73%
• Coffee — 45%
• Barley — 32%
• Oranges — 35%
• Cotton — 40%
• Salmon — 30
• Pork prices expected to rise 6.5%
• Eggs expected to rise 4.5%

Known as agflation, the continual, sustained increase in food prices has been an ominous trend in the U.S. economy, indicative of the disastrous effects of the Federal Reserve and its continued manipulation of American currency and consumer commodities. As food prices rise at a rate faster than inflation, companies such as Kellogg, McDonald’s, Kroger, and Safeway have been open about the economic dilemma faced by their consumers: The public will have to shoulder more of the higher costs for ingredients. For these companies, the big challenge will be how much they can swallow and how much they can pass along to consumers, in terms of offsetting the costs and benefits inherent in the inflationary food spiral. (source)

So what is the consumer to do with all of these prices out of control?  I am trying to refocus my efforts again this month to see if I can come in under $300.  My growing boys are eating more not less, so perhaps it is the season of life to increase our grocery budget?  Watch out Giant Eagle, I am on the prowl for some great deals this month!

Tired of Couponing – I Hope This Passes!

I am having a really hard time with couponing lately. I use to be so get-up and go when it came to couponing. In fact I was a bit obsessed. I thought I had to get every great deal that came around. Well, now that I look at my stockpile of 10 tubes of toothpaste and 10 bottles of men’s body wash I had to “redefine” my limits. Now I only buy items I have a lot of already that are money makers after coupons.


The past month I have somewhat lost my drive to coupon like a mad woman. I use to get so excited when I saved over $20 in coupons in one grocery trip, now not so much. Lately our shopping habits have changed. We have been going to Aldi a lot more often since milk is cheap as well are a lot of the household staples. The store is also close to our house and easy to get in and out of for a quick milk run. I have been doing a lot of price comparisons and more often than not, Aldi is the lowest price in town and you do not have to remember your coupons.

I am still making the occasional Giant Eagle runs, but last month I only went to the store two times. Once to use my accumulated foodperks and then another time to use the Catalinas I had from the previous trip before they expired. I still buy a lot of my meat at Giant Eagle since they often run BOGO sales on different cuts of meat. I do stock up at those sales. Giant Eagle is a lot more expensive for everyday items, but on the flipside when you pair up sales with double coupons, you can really score some great almost free to free items, which I love.

I have alot going on at work right now so my time has been limited.  Plus I would rather spend time with my boys after a hard day.  Right now I feel a lot more content since I am not obsessing over coupons and deals. However, I did see a slight rise in our grocery budget for October. Our previous three months we spent:

August - $287.31
September - $314.26
October - $371.32 (ouch!)

Our family goal is $300 a month for a family of four. I know we can do it. On the flipside, I looked at the money spent eating out for the past three months:

August - $204.39
September - $189.49
October - $144.56

So now I am seeing a trend, of course if we are eating out less, then we would need to buy more groceries for at home. When I combine the 2 amounts:

August - $491.70
September - $503.75
October - $515.88

So I still think October was a bad month, I am striving for November to keep the groceries under $300 and keep the eating out under $120. Wish us luck!

What’s Your Best Price – Tomato Sauce

These little 8-oz cans of tomato sauce are definitely a pantry staple for me. My favorite thing to use them for is when I use a jar of spaghetti sauce; I add one can to a jar a sauce to get a little more sauce for my money. So I have been price shopping this item and I find that it is cheapest at Aldi’s for $0.25 per can. What is your cheapest price on 8-oz cans of tomato sauce right now?

Milk Prices

Did you notice that gallon milk prices have gone down lately? Giant Eagle is now $1.99 every day and Marc’s is now $1.98 every day. CVS has had it in their add for $1.99 for several weeks now. It’s about time. Over $3 a gallon for milk was just killing the budget especially when you have young kids in the house! Have you seen any cheaper prices?