The Lowdown on Costco - Part 2

Today we continue on with the lowdown on Costco. If you missed Part 1, click HERE.

The Cons of Costco

• $100 Rule – As a rule of thumb, it’s very difficult to get out of Costco without spending more than $100. You’ll also have a limited variety of items in your cart for $100 because of the larger quantities. If you were to do all your shopping for the week there, you total could likely be even higher.




• Large Quantities/Limited Variety - I would estimate that we do about 50% of our regular shopping at Costco. We still need to go to a regular grocery store for the items we only use in smaller quantities and for more variety than what’s provided at Costco.




• Coupons/Bags – Costco does not accept manufacturer coupons (but they do send you Costco store coupons occasionally), and they do not provide shopping bags. They usually have a supply of boxes available for free.

What Works for the Diva Family

We limit impulse purchases. Costco makes a lot of money from members who make impulse purchases. Although we love to try the samples, we consider whether it’s something we need before purchasing sample items.

Finally, as I mentioned before, we use a pricebook to compare the Costco prices to other stores. We focus on buying the items that are cheaper per ounce at Costco and pass up the items that are more expensive per ounce. Over time, you’ll begin to recognize a good deal without having to reference a pricebook. For our family, some of the things that are consistently a better deal at Costco are: milk (usually equivalent to Aldi), bread machine yeast, rice, flour, sugar, spices, butter, and cheese.

Our Best Deal: The Diva Boys were recently enamored with a twin sized Lightening McQueen racecar trundle bed on display at Costco. The Costco website price for the bed was $799. In the warehouse, the price for the bed was $499. (Costco Tip: There's a wide selection of items available on costco.com, but the prices tend to be higher than in the warehouse.) Baby D is almost ready for the transition to a "big boy" bed, yet we didn't want to spend an excessive amount of money on a new bed. (As a side note, in true "Deal Diva" fashion, we purchased Junior D's bedroom set on Craigslist in excellent used condition for a fraction of the furniture store cost.) So, on a recent Costco trip, when we spotted the racecar bed marked down to $199, we decided to make the purchase. In talking with the manager, the price had been marked down that morning, and there was only one left. (Another Costco Tip: Items that do get marked down tend to go VERY fast.) In the end, we got a high quality bed for well over half off the regular price.

Now it’s your turn. Are you a member of Costco (or Sam’s Club)? What is your approach to shopping at a warehouse store? What items are the best value for you? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail with your feedback.

The Lowdown on Costco - Part 1

Today we begin a new series on Costco. Over the next two posts, I'll share tips and tricks for shopping Costco. I'll also talk about the pros and cons of the store. Finally, I'll explain why the Diva family loves Costco and share with you our best deal ever - one that saved us several hundred dollars!

The Pros of Costco

• No Hassle Returns – If you have a food item that goes bad too quickly or you do not like for any reason, Costco will return it with no questions asked. I have returned a few items over the past year and have not had any issues. Clothing can be returned as well, since you can not try it on at the store before purchasing.

• Electronics – Costco offers a free customer support phone number for electronics questions or troubleshooting. They also provide a 90 day return period if you are not satisfied with the product.

• 2% Rebate – At Costco, you can choose from a standard membership for an annual fee of $50, or an executive membership for $100. Executive members receive a 2% rebate each year on their purchases (excluding gas and a few other items). If you do not spend enough in the store in a year to earn a rebate of $50 of more ($2500/yr), then Costco will give you back the difference up to $50 by simply inquiring at the membership desk. For instance, with an executive membership, if I spend $1500 at Costco in a year, I would receive a $30 rebate, making my net membership cost $70. In this scenario, I could request the additional $20 back that I paid above the standard membership cost of $50. So it’s a no-lose situation. In our first year, we opted for the executive membership, and then ended up buying a computer there, in addition to our regular grocery purchases, and we received a rebate back of $62, thus netting our membership fee at $38 for the year.

• Quality Produce – We’ve been very pleased by the quality produce we’ve found at Costco. Buying in bulk directly from their suppliers helps ensure quality produce at a low cost. We try to buy what’s in season to get the best value on produce, as some out-of-season items can be costly, especially when purchasing a warehouse-sized quantity.

• Low Prices – To ensure you are getting a good value for your money at a warehouse club, it’s very important that you consider the per ounce cost of the items. I keep a pricebook with the common items our family buys on a regular basis, and I can determine whether certain items are a better value at a warehouse store, a discount grocer (like Aldis), or my regular grocery store. Whenever you consider an item at Costco, you also must consider whether you need a large quantity of the item. If you won’t use it all up before it goes bad, then the cost per ounce savings goes out the window.

• Abundant Samples – Our family loves to try before we buy. This is particularly true for items in larger quantities. Who wants to be stuck with a $10 jar of salsa that nobody in the family will eat?

• Entertainment Value – A trip to Costco is always an entertaining experience for the family. Between the samples, the crowd, and the interesting, ever-changing selection of limited purchase items, there’s always something new to see or try there, and the kids are easily occupied throughout our shopping trip.

• Additional Services – As an added bonus, warehouse clubs offer services to help their members save money on a variety of things – gas stations, cell-phones, pharmacy, vision centers, photos centers, auto and home financing, vacation packages. To this point, the only service we have used is the Costco gas station. We don’t go out of our way to get gas there every time, but when we are heading to Costco to shop, we always fill up. Their gas prices save us an average of 5 cents a gallon.

Up Next: In Part 2, I’ll talk about the downsides of shopping at Costco, and then will share with you why we love Costco and what works for the Diva family.

After the Deal Spin: Paper or Plastic?

As the deals pile up in your home, what also often piles up are the bags that carry all the deals home. So what does a deal spinner do with all the paper and plastic bags? While saving some “green” by finding great deals, you can also save some “green” in terms of our planet. Here are some suggestions on how the Diva family recycles paper and plastic bags:

Stinky Diapers – Phew! We keep a supply of plastic bags in Baby D’s room and use them to “contain the stink” and dispose of poopy diapers.

Kitchen Recycling – Our city provides a large, wheeled recycle can which we keep in our garage. For years, whenever we had something to recycle (a paper, a can, etc.), we would walk it to the garage - one item at a time. As you can imagine, we would sometimes get lazy and throw recyclable items in the kitchen trash, to save the trip out to the garage. In addition, during winter months, each time we opened the door to the garage, we’d loose a bit of heat as the cold air rushed in. To kick our kitchen recycling into high gear, we now keep a paper grocery bag in the kitchen cabinet next to our garbage can. Recycling is now much more convenient, and when the paper bag is full, we simply toss the whole thing in the recycle can in the garage. As a result, our recycle can is always brimming full whenever the recycling truck comes around to collect the recyclables.

Artwork – Here’s a tip I learned from Grandma Diva. We keep a plastic bag in Junior Diva’s backpack. Whenever he makes a “messy” project at school, the project is sent home inside the plastic bag which protects other items in the backpack from any glue, glitter, or wet paint on the paper.

Donate Them – Every year our church has a huge garage sale. We donate our excess bags to the church along with our regular clothing and household donations. The church goes through hundreds of bags to package up garage sales shopper’s purchases.

In addition to finding creative ways to reuse paper and plastic bags, the Diva family is also making a greater effort to bring reusable shopping bags with us to stores. I keep cloth shopping bags in my car, and they come in handy, particularly when shopping at Costco or Aldi.

Your Turn: What do you do with your paper or plastic bags? Leave a comment to share your tips.

Free Juice - Holiday Gas Station

Click HERE for a coupon good for a free 16 ounce Holiday Pantry juice (up to $1.39 value) with any purchase at participating Holiday Stationstores. Expires 3/31/09.

OnStar Service - Money Saving Promotion

Here's a classic example of "It never hurts to ask!"





The Diva family has OnStar in both of our vehicles. We have subscribed to it ever since our initial free year ran out a few years back. For two vehicles, we currently pay $18.95/month each for the OnStar Safe and Sound package. It's one expense we justify, as we believe it's hard to put a price on safety, and we have used the service several times over the past few years - from changing a flat tire, to notifying police in a fender-bender, and even to determine what was wrong through remote diagnostics when the "service engine" light has come on. Although we feel we have received fair value out of what we pay for the service, it still never hurts to see if we can save a few dollars.


A few days ago, I read a comment on Refund Cents that mentioned they called OnStar to cancel and were offered a lower promotional rate of just over $12/month. I did a little research online, and I found that others have recieved the $148 annual promotional renewal rate, too. Currently, we are paying $228 annually per vehicle.


Using the approach I read about in my research, I called OnStar, asked to be transferred to the renewal department, and told them I was interested in renewing both of my vehicle plans if they would offer the $148 annual promotional renewal rate for both vehicles. The renewal sales rep agreed. This lowered my annual OnStar service cost for our two vehicles by $160!


Now I'm off to add an extra $160 in savings to my 2009 Saving Tracker!


Your Turn: Have you ever received a better deal on an existing service just for asking? If so, leave a comment to share your story.

Mail Call - Freebies Galore

Today was a great mail day. I received an offer for a free digital thermometer and a chance to win a free Nintendo Wii system/Wii Fit prize from Fairview. Click HERE. Open to Minnesota residents only.

I also received my grand prize from the Kraft "So Good Together" Instant Win Game. See my original post HERE. Included in the prize package where 3 coupons good for a total of $15 in free Kraft/Nabisco products.

Free 3 Year Subscription - Country Life Magazine

Click HERE to sign-up for a free THREE YEAR subscription to "Living the Country Life" magazine. It's a magazine published by the Better Homes & Gardens publishers.

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the deal alert!

The Lowdown on Aldi - Feedback

I’ve received a great deal of feedback on the Aldi series. Please keep sending your feedback via e-mail or leaving a comment to share your thoughts.

In Part 2, I posted a photo of my last Aldi trip.

Here’s the actual breakdown on what $76 bought me at Aldi:

24pack Fruit 2-0
Honey Puffs Cereal
Raisin Bran Cereal
2 Boxes Facial Tissue
Baby Carrots
Hummus
Cocktail Sauce
4 Jars Spaghetti Sauce
6-Pack Plain Bagels
Dole Bananas
Wheat Bread
Red Baron Pizza
2-Pack French Bread Pizza
Crackers
Sports Drink – 64oz.
Can of Pineapple
Can of Fruit Salad
Chocolate Syrup
6-Pack Raisins
Breakfast Sausage Patties – 2lbs
Sour Cream
4-Pack Pudding Cups
Paper Plates – 70 pack
Pizza Rolls – 20oz.
Cranberry Juice Cocktail – 64oz.
Doritos (Aldi’s brand)
2 Bags Chex mix (Aldi’s brand)
Instant Oatmeal – 10 pack
Lemonade Drink Mix
Animal Crackers
Navel Oranges
12 Yogurt Cups – 8oz each
Smoked Bone-In Ham – 7lb
Gallon 2% Milk

Wow! That’s a lot of stuff! Read this post HERE to see what we did with the ham.

Up next: I’m working on a series about Costco – one of my other favorite stores. If you happen to know any tricks, tips, or have any favorite items from Costco, please send me an e-mail. I’ve only been a Costco member for the past year, and I’d love to hear feedback from other Costco shoppers to share with everyone.

The Lowdown on Aldi - Part 2

Today we begin the second half of “The Lowdown on Aldi” series.

Low Prices

There are several reasons Aldi prices are so low:
-Limited Selection: Because they only stock a limited assortment, they are able to concentrate their purchasing power from suppliers, which drives down the end cost to the consumer.
-Limited Staff: I often see only 2 employees at the store – one cashier and one manager. Employees are not needed to gather carts from the parking lot, like at regular grocery stores.
-Limited Services: Aldi does not accept credit cards, which saves them the processing fees. They do not provide free grocery bags. They do not publish a store phone number, which saves them the cost of having to hire a person to answer it. Customers bag their own groceries.

These measures help Aldi cut costs and keep prices low.

Downside of Shopping Aldi

There aren’t many negatives of shopping at Aldi, in my opinion, but here are a few things to be aware of.
-Manufacturer’s coupons are not accepted at Aldi. Since the store is mostly their private label brand, there aren’t many items in the store that you would have a manufacturer’s coupon for anyway, and because the prices are so low, it doesn’t matter much that coupons are not accepted.
-Selection: The Aldi website claims that you can do 90% of your weekly shopping at their store. They sell the run-on-the-mill staple items that the majority of households purchase on a regular basis. If you’re looking for regular cow’s milk, you can choose between skim, 2%, whole, or chocolate milk. However, you won’t find lactose-free, goat, or organic milk selections there. Also, if you’re looking for a unique recipe ingredient or spice that you would find at a regular grocery store, you likely won’t find it at Aldi. They do not have a deli like a traditional grocery store, although they do have some pre-packaged deli items - lunch meats, etc. So, you will still need to do some shopping at a regular grocery store.

Why I Love Aldi (i.e. What Works for the Diva Family)

I do a lot of my shopping at Costco and Aldi. Both store concepts have limited selection, but they can save you a great deal of money. I tend to shop Costco and Aldi on a rotating basis for variety and go to a regular grocery store once a month to get the rest.

Buying different sizes of items at different types of stores can make it difficult to determine which is the better value. To make it easier, I keep a price book to track the per ounce cost of our top items. For our family, Aldi is the cheapest the majority of the time. Often Costco is comparable on an ounce-for-ounce basis, but that entails buying a larger quantity, and therefore, is only applicable to items we consume in larger quantities.

In the end, the value I get on a cart-load of quality food is what makes me love Aldi. I can fill a cart with food items to prepare a wide variety of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for well over a week for a family of four for less than $100.

In conclusion – An excerpt from the Aldi website:

Shopping Smarter:
It begins the day you decide to become a smarter shopper. The moment it occurs to you that thumbing through newspapers for sales or clipping coupons or using your preferred shopper card is costing you more in time and trouble than the money you're saving. Then it hits you. Smarter shoppers go to smarter stores.

Smarter shoppers know better than to pay extra at stores where baggers bag groceries and employees chase carts in the parking lot, or the cost of national brand marketing raises prices. They know where to buy private label brands that actually exceed the quality of national brands at a fraction of the cost.

So smarter shoppers shop where select inventory increases buying power and lowers prices, saving them up to 50% over supermarket prices. That's a smart cartful whether you're a growing family, a working single, a senior on a fixed income, or a baby boomer socking it away for retirement.

Smarter shoppers just "get it." And they get it at ALDI.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment and share your tips about shopping at Aldi. If this series has convinced you to shop at Aldi for the first time, leave a comment sharing your experience on your first trip.

I Saved $70 At Walgreens

As you can see from this picture, today was another great day at Walgreens. You may find it hard to believe, but I haven't made a bargain-hunting trip to Walgreens since the end of last year! With the holidays, work, and the kids, there just hasn't been much time for deal spinning. (And that's ok. It never hurts to take a break every now and then.) So, over the past 6-8 weeks, I've been letting my coupon sections from the Sunday paper blissfully pile up without so much as a glance through them. Now that things are beginning to slow down slightly, it's time to get back on track.

Here's what I got today. I made a quick trip to snag the February Easysaver Free After Rebate items, as they often go out of stock if you wait until later in the month. Before my trip, I checked Refund Cents to see what coupons were available for the rebate items, making them not only free, but profitable. Then, I headed to the store with my list and coupons.

Revlon Spa Concealer: $9.99 - $9.99Easysaver Rebate (ESR) - $1(ESR 10% bonus) - $2coupon = $3 profit

Fructis Conditioner: $3.99 - $3.99ESR - $0.40(10%) - $1coupon = $1.40 profit

Revlon Cream Lip Gloss: $9.99 - $9.99ESR - $1(10%) - $2coupon = $3 profit

Zucol Cold Medicine: $7.99 - $7.99ESR - $0.80(10%) - $2coupon = $2.80 profit

Thermacare Heatwraps: $2.49 - $2.49ESR - $0.25(10%) = $0.25 profit (no coupon - gasp)

Fusion Power Razor: $8.99 - $6 Register Reward = $2.99 paid (no coupon again)

Hershey Valentine Kisses: sale price 2 for $5 - $2coupon - $1.22Wags Ad coupon = $0.89 each

Pert 2 in 1 Shampoo: $3.49 - $1coupon - $1.50Wags ESR coupon = $0.99

Loreal Foundation: ($10.99 x 2) $21.98 - 10.99Buy1Get1Free - $3coupon - $2coupon = $2.99 each

Total Before Coupons (after sale prices): $73.91

Total Saved - Sale Prices & Coupons: $32.71

Total To Get Back With Easy Saver Rebate: $37.90

Total Register Rewards to use on next purchase: $6

So, I paid $49.91 with tax. I will get $37.90 back from rebates and $6 off for next time, which bring my net out of pocket this trip to $6.04. That's a total savings of $70.

Gotta love Walgreens!

Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll post "The Lowdown on Aldi - Part 2". If you missed Part 1, click HERE.

The Lowdown on Aldi - Part 1

Today we begin a new series called “The Lowdown on Aldi.” Over the next few days, I will share with you the history of Aldi, what to expect when shopping there, how they keep their prices so low, and why I love the store.

Background

We’ll begin with a little background on the store. Aldi is a German grocery chain that’s been around since the early 1900’s in Europe, and has expanded to America in just the past few decades. When I lived in Germany several years ago, it was (and continues to be) the primary grocery store where most families shopped. In fact, Aldi is Germany’s leading grocery store chain.

If you’ve never shopped at Aldi before, it’s likely that you either have never heard of it or you have preconceived notions about the store. Often people who have an Aldi in their neighborhood, and who haven’t shopped there, believe that it is cheap, that the food is second hand, that it’s a place for those who can’t afford to shop elsewhere. Although the food is “cheap” there, in that it’s a great value, the rest is definitely not true.

Aldi focuses on providing a limited selection of grocery items, as compared to a regular grocery store. While a regular store may stock 10,000 items, Aldi only stocks about 1/10 of that. You’ll find all your main items there – milk, eggs, bread, meat, produce, dry goods – just not 12 different brands and varieties of each. The overall brand make-up of the store is roughly 90% Aldi’s store brand items and 10% special purchase name brand items which rotate constantly.

Double Guarantee

Aldi offers a double guarantee on all store brand items. If you are not completed satisfied with the quality or taste of an item, Aldi will REPLACE the product and REFUND your money.

What to Expect

When you arrive at Aldi, you’ll first pick up a cart outside the front door. Carts cost $0.25, which is returned to you once you return the cart. Insert a quarter in the slot on the right hand side of the cart to release the lock.

Once inside the store, you’ll notice the bright lights and quiet atmosphere. There is no background music or intercom system, which saves the store energy and money. All locations are designed alike, and each has about 4 aisles. Dairy and meats are along the back of the store. Produce and bakery items are in the center of the store.

To save money and the environment, Aldi encourages patrons to bring reusable shopping bags. If you forget to bring your own bags, plastic bags are available for a small charge, or boxes are often available in the aisles or near checkouts for free.

With the exception of particularly busy hours, there is usually only one checkout open. The checkout process is very fast and efficient. Payments in cash or PIN-based debit card are the only methods accepted, saving Aldi money and saving the customer time as there’s no wait for checks to be written or credit card approvals. The cashier sits at the far end of the checkout. When it’s your turn to check out, the cashier will scan your groceries and load them directly into an empty cart. When you are finished paying, you take the cart full of your groceries and give the cashier your empty cart, which will be used for the next person in line. Across from the checkouts, there is a long counter for packing up your groceries before heading out to the car.

After you finish loading your car, just return your cart to the front of the store and reconnect the chain to the other carts, and your quarter will pop back out. Frequent shoppers just exchange a cart for a quarter in the parking lot, too, as one shopper finishes loading their groceries and a new shopper heads into the store.

In my next post, I’ll share with you how Aldi keeps their prices low, why I love Aldi, and what shopping strategy works best for the Diva family. In the meantime, here’s a few sample prices from my neighborhood location.

Average Aldi Prices
Strawberries (16oz – in season): $0.99
Bananas: $0.45/lb
Baby Carrots (16oz): $0.69
Milk (gallon): $2.69
Sour Cream (16oz): $0.99
Spaghetti Saurce: $0.99
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (3lb): $5.49
Parmesan Cheese (5oz): $1.99
Yogurt (8 oz): $0.43

Do you shop at Aldi? How often to do shop there, and what’s your favorite Aldi product. Leave a comment with your input.

Free Dr Pepper and Kraft Coupons

Here’s a few great freebies for today:

Free 2 liter bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper, click HERE.

Free $15 Kraft products coupons, by playing the Kraft Instant Win Game, click HERE. I won on my first try. Good luck!