I can honestly admit that I have not actually sat down and graphed out items to see whether or not this is actually the case, but it is something that indeed interests me and is on my "to do list", for interests sake really...we find that if a particular item is not on sale at a certain Grocery Chain, you should be able to find something similar at another one at any time.
Having said that, if you trust that sales occur on a rotational basis, You will be less apt to go into "Panic Mode" and buy more than you absolutely need for your home. Many people spend way too much money on sale items. They forget about all of those canned goods collecting dust at the back of the pantry that are edging their way past the expiry date; resulting in waste.
***If you are planning for the Holidays or a special party, chances are that you are going to have some advance notice, at least a 4-6 week period. Start watching those Grocery Flyers. You can stock up on canned or dry goods, freezer items and certain dairy products like cheese in those weeks leading up to your special event. The savings will be amazing if you do it this way.
I am planning a Valentine's Tea Party for my daughter and we are watching for sale items which will help determine our menu. Simple and Super Smart!
Now, since many people go overboard whenever something goes on sale. Find comfort knowing that there is a rotation to those flyers. There is a smart way to shop for grocery sale items that I will outline and help you to save your sanity and your money!
First things first: Interior Designers love to decorate in 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. It's definitely an oddity that keeps things interesting without looking too paired or staged.
***It is important to use this same principle when buying grocery sale items without going over the deep end.
As we are a small family, we are more apt to buy these items in 1s and 3s. For larger families, you would want to buy on a 5s and 7s basis. Don't buy any more than that because there will be a sale again at just the time you need to replenish your stock.
We tend to buy 3 of each sale item that is $0.99 or cheaper and will buy 1 item that is $5.00 or more in cost.
Here is a simple outline of the sale items and the numbers that our family will buy:
Flour - 1 (we consider this to be a high ticket item)
Cooking Oil - 1 (another high ticket item)
Rice - 1
Toilet Paper - 1 (we use cloth wipes and save toilet paper for our guests)
Fresh Fruit & Vegetables - 1 individual or 1 pound of each (other varieties will be on sale next week)
Canned tomatoes - 3
Peanut Butter - 3 (we love peanut butter)
Pasta - 3
Canned Fruit - 3
Apple Juice - 3
Tuna - 5 (this is one of the exceptions because we eat a lot of it)
Salmon - 3 (more expensive than Tuna)
Frozen Vegetables - 1 (we prefer fresh)
Margarine - 3
Butter - 3 (buy it when the price is low, low low. You can freeze butter!)
Sugar - 3 (does not go on sale often)
Since we make our own bread, rolls and tortillas, I don't even bother checking the prices. We buy our eggs from a local farm, make our own yogurt and drink powdered milk. Powdered milk hardly ever goes on sale from what I've seen.
If you find that you've stocked up on an item and you see it on sale again in a couple of weeks, don't fret because if you don't need it, you can use the extra money towards a different sale item. After a period of time, you will find that you start spending less and less on your grocery bill because you won't need as much. Super Savings!
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