We went to our local grocery store today—Stater Brothers. We’re pretty systematic about it and go with a list and a plan every time we shop. So, while there I decided to check out the cheese prices.
We go through quite a bit of cheese. It’s healthy, adds flavor and we like eating it—although for the life of me I haven’t been able to get Mrs. CB to like cheeseburgers.
What I wanted to do was check out the prices of 2 cheeses we buy a lot—feta and American. Except we quit buying it at Stater Brothers. The store brand American cheese is $4.00 a pound and the feta is $3-$3.50 for 4 ounces.
We buy these 2 items at the store where we buy all of our produce—Frazier Farms which is kind of like Trader Joe’s. This store has fruits and vegetables that are both better quality and are cheaper so we make a “pilgrimage” once a week. So, why do we buy feta and American cheese at Fraziers—it’s simple.
At Frazier’s feta cheese is $3.99. A pound! Do the math, at Stater’s it’s $12 to $14 a pound. At Frazier’s it’s in a block sold by weight and we have to crumble it ourselves. We can handle that. It tastes better and Mrs. CB loves it on a tossed salad.
The American Cheese is the same per pound price at Fraziers. But, it’s cheesier. It tastes better. It melts better. It’s sliced, but it’s not individually wrapped. I can live with that for a slice of American cheese that actually tastes and acts like cheese.
We do buy shredded cheese at Stater Brothers. But I’ve taken to buying the large 8-cup bag for $7.99. Know why? Because the 2 cup bag is $2.50 when it’s on “special”. Regular price is $2.99. In other words 8 cups in 2-cup bags would cost between $10 and $12 compared to $8. And when I get home, I take out a couple of quart bags and divide the 8 cups into 2, 4-cup bags. Simple and I save between $2 and $4.
Save a lot on Feta just by buying it and crumbling it yourself.
Look, you have to save money where you can. Between these 3 cheeses, we’re saving about $10 to $15 per month. That’s between $120 and $160 a year. Now we’re talking real money.
So, the first lesson here is that even though one store is a bit more upscale, if you shop and compare prices you can often find some really good food cheaper than the chain grocery store. The second lesson is that by just doing some comparison shopping and some simple arithmetic in you head, you can spend less and improve the quality of your food at the same time.
What are you doing to save money?
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
