Raley's: Grocery shopping...

...no matter how much I hate doing it, it still must be done!  I don't really hate it, but if it was something I never had to do again, I don't think I would be mourning the loss.  That being said, my strategy for grocery shopping is pretty simple.  I shop the ads, which come out on Wednesday, and try to pair my purchases with an in-store or manufacturer coupon when I can.  I also compare prices, and I'm pretty good at remembering what store has a cheaper "regular" price of an item I usually buy.  I'm not sure why that is since I can't remember numbers to save my life, but I'll just count that blessing and move on.

I'm lucky that I live in an area where I have quite a few choices of where I can do my grocery shopping, and the stores are in very close vicinity to each other.  It saves on gas and allows me to shop at all of the stores in a very short time.

The bulk of my grocery shopping is done at Winco, but unfortunately they do not have weekly ads and I have to play it by ear.  They have excellent markdown sales and a huge selection of bulk foods.  I buy dried cranberry/almond granola in an 8.5 lb. box for $13.97.  So much cheaper than making it.

My Friday grocery shopping is done at Raley's, which is definitely NOT the cheapest grocery store, but I always find some good sales on things we use.  Here is a look at my list for this week:

Bulk - Fruit/Nuts/Seeds  
Dry Roasted Sunflower Seeds With Sea Salt Bin #531   $1.99 LB. (valid until 08/16)

Frozen 
Tombstone Pizza Selected varieties 20.5 oz. to 22.85 oz.   4 FOR $10 (valid until 08/02)
I’ll pair this sale with a coupon for $1.50/3 pizzas with a final price of $2.13 per pizza.

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Selected varieties 4.58 oz. to 11.5 oz.   5 FOR $10 (valid until 08/02) paired with a $1.00/5 will make them $1.80 each.  

Produce 
Fresh Limes  SAVE UP TO $2.04 on 6   6 FOR 96¢ (valid until 08/02)

Green Onions, Cilantro or Radishes  SAVE UP TO $1.68 on 3   3 FOR 99¢ (valid until 08/02)

Juicy Mangoes  SAVE UP TO 60¢ EA.   39¢ EA. (valid until 08/02)

Roma Tomatoes  SAVE UP TO $1.10 LB.   69¢ LB. (valid until 08/02)

Snacks 
Keebler Sandies, Grahams, Club Crackers or 100 Calorie Packs 11 oz. to 16 oz., 4.24 oz. to 4.62 oz. Buy 4 or more single item 2.49 BUY MORE SAVE MORE   $1.99 EA. (valid until 08/02)   I‘m pairing this with a manufacturers coupon for $1 off any 3 Keebler products, so my final price on 4 is $1.74 each.  (I don't usually keep these on hand, but we have a camping trip coming up and these are handy) 

Lärabar Selected varieties 1.6 oz. to 1.8 oz. In our Natural Foods Dept.   99¢ (valid until 08/02) I‘m pairing this sale with a coupon for $1.10 off of a purchase of 4.  Final price for 4 bars is $2.86, or 72 cents per bar.

Raley’s also has e-coupons, which are available if you register on their website.  They send a weekly e-mail with a link to the e-coupons and  Freebie.  This week if I spend $20 (and looking at the list above that’s taken care of!) then I will get one Oroweat Sandwich Thins free with the coupon.

I’m also using two of the other e-coupons, one for Jennie-O Turkey store Turkey Bacon 12 oz for 1.99, and I can purchase up to 2 at this price.   The other is $1.00 off 1lb. Bulk Banana Chips.

So, there's a peek into my Raley's grocery shopping experience.