Weekly Grocery Deals and More

This week Frugal Family is wrapping up our investigation into the advantages each grocery store has to offer. We’ve delved deeper into Vons Club, Albertsons, and Ralphs. Now let’s take a peek at Fresh & Easy and Smart & Final.

Fresh & Easy, on the average, is 10 to 15 percent less the price of the major grocery chains. Additionally, it offers organic foods for less than major chain stores. It offers specials on a variety of staples each week, including at least two produce items at a discount. The store offers green products for less, but the selection is not always what you might call wide. Fresh & Easy doesn’t accept manufacturer coupons but always has a store coupon in its weekly flier, as well as regularly providing an even higher-rated coupon for its online subscribers. Fresh & Easy also carries many of its own brand products—including dinner packages—at competitively lower costs than a comparable trade product on sale.

Smart & Final is the answer to not having a CostCo card. It now requires no membership card and provides the means to buy in larger quantities for stocking-up purposes at a lower cost. Sometimes purchasing larger packaging isn’t feasible. No problem. Smart & Final offers many selections in regular-sized packages, and still at a lower than average price. Smart & Final accepts manufacturer coupons for face value. They often compete with the buy-10-get-$5 off deals that other grocers offer and always have at least two produce picks at a rock bottom price.

Now for this week’s deals at all grocers; Keep in mind that these featured specials are just our favorite picks. Comb the weekly mail fliers or check each store online, for all of these stores' current deals.  

• Vons – Father’s Day brings us good deals on meats suited for barbecuing and Vons is right there with options. Vons is having a four-day sale including a $4 off coupon on any Rancher’s Reserve meat. Hillshire Farms smoked sausage or Ball Park Franks are buy-one-get-one-free. Kingsford Charcoal Briquets are $5.99 for a 12.5 to 16.6 pound bag. Prices are good Friday.

• Albertsons – Albertsons is joining the celebration in providing deals on the side items. Seedless watermelon is 39 cents a pound. Lay’s potato chips are buy-one-get-one-free. Extra values are being offered on General Mills cereals and snacks, multiple varieties, at $1.75 each. Prices good until Tuesday.

• Ralphs – If serving breakfast for your favorite father is in the plans, Ralphs is providing selected varieties of breakfast sausage and bacon at 50 percent off the regular prices. Red or green seedless grapes are 99 cents a pound. Juicy Juice 100 percent juice is a mere 99 cents a bottle.

• Fresh & Easy – Fresh & Easy’s best-deal staples include one gallon of milk for $2.99. Cartons of 18-count eggs are two for $4 when purchased in multiples of two. Fresh & Easy 14 to 16-ounce pizzas are now $2.99. Four cheese pasta or penne in creamy tomato sauce is $2.49 for a 12-ounce container.

• Smart & Final – Smart & Final often has chicken on sale. This week is no exception. First Street store brand drumsticks or thighs are 89 cents a pound. Beef for the barbecue includes boneless beef brisket at $1.99 a pound. Top round London Broil is $3.49 a pound. And those two produce items at rock bottom prices we mentioned above include iceberg lettuce for 69 cents a head, and cucumbers at three for 99 cents.

Household Tip of the Week – Frugal Family has been pleased to run across more online resources for saving money. It’s as though the World Wide Web is answering the call for solutions to anyone’s money woes. Mint.com is an online money management site. You can build a budget, obtain advice, and set financial goals – and it’s free!

Steve Gillman’s site, Unusual Ways to Make Money.com offers many ideas on how to earn some extra income. Some ideas you may have heard of, but many you haven’t. He provides other money-generating resources as well, and reading his site can be addictive.