Being a list lady I always have a running list of things we need and things we want; unfortunately money doesn't grow on trees (if it does someone let me know) so I am always trying to make my dollars stretch. This page includes the items I *try* to stock up on and the best price I can usually find. There are many of these lists floating around on the Internet but not a single one for Southern California.
Thankfully my husband used some rewards points from work to purchase a deep freezer for us! We can finally have a true stockpile and a true stockpile is the best way to lower your monthly grocery budget. We try to keep our grocery budget between $250 - $300 / month by keeping our most used products around the house so without further ado:
Toothpaste - Free but anything under a dollar is a pretty good deal in our area!
Toothbrushes - Free but anything under a dollar is a pretty good deal in our area!
Razors - Won't pay full price often $3-5 Coupons in paper or online.
Diapers - LOVE LOVE LOVE Target Brand Huge Box 13.69 (often $1 off coupons)
Wipes - Again Target Brand 8 Pack ~$10.
Tide HE Laundry Detergent (Powder 80 load) - $7.99 - 10.99
Other hygiene products - I am still learning prices on these!
Barilla Pasta - $1.00/box is absolute max I will pay.
Smart Taste Pasta - $1.00 but often have coupons for 25 cents or Free.
Diced Tomatoes - Store Brand (Ralphs) .79 for Fire Roasted about 1.29
Refried Beans (Rosarita) - 6.99 for 8 at Staters 6.29 for 8 at Costco (sometimes)
Hormel Chili No Beans - 10 for 10 Dollars.
Campbells Hearty Soups - No more than 1.25 per can
Frozen Veggies - Staters ?? Ralphs 88 cents.
Spaghetti Sauce - Rinaldi (LOVE) $1.00 and Hunts Canned $.89-1.00
Hilshire Farms Rope Sausage - 2 or $4 0r 2 for $5. Coupons 2-3 times/year.
Farmer John Breakfast Sausage - 89 cents - 1.00
Breakfast Bacon - Buy one Get One Free with Coupons
Johnsonville Sausage Links - 1.99 per four pack.
Jennio Turkey Sausage - Buy One Get One Free (Staters & Albertsons)
Pork Chops - COSTCO! Best quality for about $4/lb.
Chicken Thighs - Best quality and neat little packs for $2.39/lb
Whole Chickens - 39 cents to 69 cents per pound.
Cornish Game Hens - 99 cents per pound.
Shredded Cheese - Monterey Jack/Cheddar at Costco ~$12 (HUGE)
Block Cheese - Varies but Costco definitely has the best prices!
General Mills Cereal - 1.50 per box (2.50 for big box) plus stack coupons.
Fiber One Granola Bars - 1.88 (Albertsons every summer).
Nature Valley Granola Bars - 1.50 -2.00 per box.
Premade Pizza Dough - Fresh & Easy 1.69 (these are awesome I freeze them)
Sourdough Bread - 2 for $4 at Fresh and Easy and yummy!
Sheet Cakes - (For parties) 14.99 at Costco!
Tortilla Chips - ~2.50 for the huge bag of Mission at Costco
Flour & Corn Tortillas - COSTCO hands down.
Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns - Costco hands down - I freeze them in four packs!
Hoagie Rolls - 16 Rolls for Two something at Costco!
Peaches/Nectarines - .88-1.00 per pound
Grapes - 88 cents per pound
Green Bell Peppers - 1.00 or less per pepper
Watermelon - 39 cents per pound or less (they go as low as 10 center/lb)
Red/Yellow/Orange Bell Peppers - 1.25 or less.
Blueberries - 99 cents for small packs 2.50 for 18oz.
Lemons - Costco or 50 cents per lemon.
Limes - 10/$1 or 2/$1
Cantaloupes - $1 each but they go as low as 88 Cents each.
Pineapples - Costco otherwise look for Del Monte Coupons.
So I do the majority of my shopping at Ralphs with their new rewards program I receive points per dollar, rewards in the mail and coupons mailed to me based upon my shopping habits. They also double coupons (up to $1 except special double and triple days) and they have coupons on their website to upload to your card!
Albertsons has awesome deals on things as long as that is all you buy there.
Stater Brothers in my area is tiny so I only go for sale items like this week the Jennio Turkey Sausage is on sale and we love to eat that on Pizza, Dirty Rice, or just plain!
Fresh and Easy is good for breads and pizza dough. Also for anyone who doesn't use a lot of produce their prices are great! (The two packs are great for a single person or a couple).
And lastly I have a love hate relationship with Costco their prices are awesome on some awesome things but I usually can't leave without one extra thing in my cart sometimes more!.
Enjoy!
