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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Making with the Grocery Savings (CB Redux)

via Modern Mechanix
Many times, fans contact me to ask, "Cheap Bohemian, what's your secret? How do you, an ordinary American on the short and dumpy side, manage to lop 30 percent off your grocery bills every week?"

No they don't. But if they did, here is what I would tell them.

Two words: Grocery delivery.

Five more: Peapod. Safeway. Netgrocer. Homeland. Schwan's. Who'd I leave out?

What? Don't those deliveries cost money? Don't you have to tip the driver? Isn't is a total violation of the Slow Food Ethic, and won't Cynthia Lane Schames come after us? Don't you go crazier online at the Internet grocery than a drag queen on Zappo's?

Yes, yes, it depends, and no.

In fact, grocery delivery is the reason I can aim myself at the sweet spot of $100 every week--the point at which the base delivery fee drops to $7.95, which can be further reduced by up to $3 depending on your payment method and choice of delivery time. I try only to shop the specials, and I plan ahead so I can stock up. I can research prices, locate coupons, and revise my order repeatedly right up until midnight the night before delivery. My delivery fee is usually only $5.95. I clip enough coupons to pay for the tip of about $5, and since I am saving between $30 and $40 each time now, I can still call the net gain pretty sweet.

I often use CouponMom to cross-reference the weekly specials in my neighborhood with the coupons in the paper that week. Their system is so straightforward, even I can use it. Peapod doubles the coupons under a dollar, so that's extra nice too.

Peapod is a better environmental choice for me and the customers it's serving, as a single truck will save perhaps a dozen trips in a day. I am less sure about Netgroceries and other delivery-by-mail outfits. One compromise might be to order dry goods through a net delivery service and buy fresh items locally.

Peapod often uses discount promotion to lure unsuspecting new customers into their web and reward stalwarts. Sort of like a cult. Since I am already a member, I cannot test-drive the first-time codes, so please email me if they do not work. You will likely be prompted to enter the email of the person who referred you. That's me: lisaschamess@gmail.com.

Refer-a-friend: You can save yourself and me $10 each when you use this link to start a Peapod account.

Other first-timer special: Since I like you, I'll tell you that you can actually get a full $15 off all by yourself by going directly to Peapod.com (is this like the Prisoner's Dilemma?).

The other sites I've gathered up contain information about areas they serve. I would not say I've provided an exhaustive list here, but I am happy to help you find out more.

Especially if I get a kickback.

[republished with new information on 7 February 2012]

5 comments:

  1. Ms. Schamess, would you have any ideas how I could not waste money at all the grocery stores here in europe? Euros don't even look like conventional money, like a toy, so spending it is a piece of cake. Gelato places are everywhere, tempting non-stop. the fact that my mother is obliged not to starve me doesn't help, so if i spend all money on chocolate, I get more :D And... I've tried everything... Today I bought a can that you can't open, unless you break it but that looks hard to do.. so i've stuffed it with change; guess it's a start. would you have any suggestions what I can do or how i could take saving money more seriously?

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  2. sweetie, it's a long process...especially starting college in another country. there's a lot to absorb. be patient with yourself.

    does your school have a meal plan? are you able to cook for yourself? if you tackle the problem one meal at a time that might help. Start with breakfast, have the same low cost breakfast each day: fresh yogurt and fruit, or cereal and milk. Try to make your breakfast cost only a little, then start working on a plan for lunch. Let dinner be expensive for a while if you have to.

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  3. Any tips you can pass along for grocery delivery in Afghanistan would be greatly appreciated. I have some small papers with squiggly lines and dots on them, not sure if they are coupons, and if so, from what century.
    Signed,
    Helpless in Helmand

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  4. i can see i'm going to step up the pressure on my stable of overseas researchers.

    the best advice i can give you is to join the military of a world power suffering from a huge case of historical exceptionalism. those guys deliver all over the world.

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  5. I did as you suggested and presented myself and one of my "coupons" to the military. Apparently my "coupon" indicated that I was a terrorist wanting to turn himself in. After the interrogation, they say they will feed me a re-heated corn dog and a re-heated hamburger made with USDA Prime Formed Meat-Filler. And the best part is, that it will be FREE FREE FREE! I definitely feel like I am on the right track since I began reading your blog.
    Gratefully,
    Hopeful in Helmand

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