Fighting the Impact of High Gas Prices at the Grocery Store

With the increase in fuel costs we’ve all felt at the pumps comes an increase in the cost of goods and services that require transportation. It’s like paying the higher gas prices over and over again. For the majority of us, price spikes have been most noticeable in the cost of food.

Going forward, Frugal Family will be focusing on grocery prices, sales and more, sharing some of the advertised specials each week. We’ll also continue bringing you a weekly household, money-saving tip. Stay tuned as Frugal Family features key items and deals to help reduce your grocery bill bottom line.

Following are some of this week's best sales:  

Vons – This week Vons features what it calls Hoppin’ Daily Deals. Each day of the week has a featured special price item as follows: Beef tri-tip for $1.99 per pound on Wednesday; on Thursday, you can buy an eight-pound bag of navel oranges for $2.49; Friday brings tw0-liter bottles of Pepsi or 7-Up for 69 cents and Saturday features 1 pound of Oscar Mayer bacon for $2.99.

Albertsons – Deals this week include Quaker cereals at $1.75 each, but you must buy four. Del Monte canned vegetables are 10 for $5. Chicken packages of drumsticks, thighs or whole legs are on sale for 88 cents a pound. Red seedless grapes are also 88 cents a pound. Inside this week’s mail flier is also a variety of coupons for a variety of products at reduced prices. When these coupons are used, the shopper is rewarded with an additional dozen eggs for free.

Ralph’s – Ralph’s is featuring 50 percent off beef and chicken products, iceberg lettuce for 88 cents each, broccoli and cauliflower for 88 cents a pound and two-liter bottles of Big K sodas for two for $1.

Fresh & Easy – Specials include English muffins and variety loaf breads at two for $3 and 77 cents a pound for a half Smithfield ham. The store also has an everyday price of $1.99 per pound for boneless, skinless chicken breast. The Fresh & Easy mail flier's weekly coupon this week is for $3 off any $30 purchase (excludes alcohol and dairy).

Smart & Final - Featured deals this week include four pounds of strawberries for $4.99, Eggo waffles and pancakes for $1.49 and a 24-pack case of 20 oz. bottles of Gatorade for only $12.99. 

Household Tip of the Week – Creating a price book for food items can be quite an eye opener. Just when you thought your favorite food store carried the best overall prices, a price book will reveal the rock bottom prices and where they truly exist.

Your price book does not need to be fancy. Using a simple notebook, include food categories, store name, regular prices, and sale prices with dates of sales. Write in pencil because prices change all the time. If you add a few items per week, (we’ve given you four below), over the course of time you will have a very valuable tool to help you decide when and where to buy your needed items—and at the lowest possible prices.

Here are everyday prices for four standard dairy items.