Salvage Grocery Shopping Saves Money Without Coupons!

 

For those that have been staying in touch, you know that my family has been saving mega money using coupons.

I wish I could say I was one of those kids that learned to do so from my parents, but that is not the case.

My parents did shop the sales in the circulars, but rarely did they use coupons. If they would have had any clue how much they would have saved, I bet they would have.  My parents had some good years, but most years our family struggled. While my family was not 100% saving savvy, they often bought items used from pawn shops, thrift stores, flea markets and sometimes yard sales to save money. They also shopped dollar stores and scratch and dent stores better known as salvage stores now.

I did coupon for a bit when I was out on my own and also saved money at dollar stores. Eventually I stopped couponing and I am not sure why either. Even though I was not as hardcore as I am now, I was still saving $25-$75 on each trip. Silly, crazy and wasteful me for stopping!

I could have saved a ton and have graduated collage without debt or very little which would be long gone by now!

I’ve been recouponing (yup, I just made that word up) 110% since April of 2011 and we have saved literally thousands and have been able to donate, which is such a blessing for us and those we can help out.

So, if you are still on the fence about being a frugal shopper, regardless of how much you make, be wise with how you spend your money, jump in the savings are fine and if you plan accordingly it will only take you a several hours a week to save 60%-100%!

Back to the original topic, now that hopefully you are pumped up to save more and be a faithful provider for what He has provided you with…

When we moved to Benson, NC about 3 years ago… I decided to try and find a salvage grocery store. I had not been to one in way too long and knew I should have never stopped in the first place. I was ready to save again, finally!

I did find one listing, but unfortunately the Banana Box had been closed down for months. I searched on google for anything else near by but found none even relatively close by.

banana box

Bummer…

While I have been able to find good deals a the Dollar Tree and Big Lots on all natural and/or organic foods and personal care items from time to time, it was still not as good as having a scratch and dent/salvage grocery store around.

So, a few weeks ago while driving in downtown Benson, I seen a discounted grocery store… It was about 8:30pm, so they were already closed. My heart jumped with joy and I just knew that it would be a true discount, scratch and dent, discontinued, overstock type of store.

Today, after Jaya and I had some Waffle House, which we do occasionally to munch on some pecan waffles and have some laughs… I decided we should check that store out. She and I both feel special going out and spending a little time together.

When we got to the store, I opened the door and seen exactly what I was hoping for… Mega bargains with no coupon required!

 

salvage grocery shopping saves money

We were met by a warm and friendly lady named Della. I soon found out she enjoys the simpler things in life too as she told us she was smiling and laughing as we ran across the street in the rain. She asked Jaya, “Isn’t it fun to run in the rain?” We all agreed it was, we had fun racing across the street and our joy was apparently apparent.

As we were shopping my heart leaped with joy again as I seen so many organic and all natural goodies at super frugal shopper prices.

Some other locals came in to look around and Jaya greeted them with hellos , smiles and laughter, which they all marveled at how she appears to have never met a stranger and how that is a rare quality in children these days.

I let them know that it depends on the person, she is pretty intuitive at reading people and their intent and sometimes she just plays shy to be silly.

Della and I started talking and I found out we have a lot in common. She is all about organics and keeping things as natural as possible. Her and her husband have their own organic farm, raise honey bees and homeschool their children! Where was this lady 3 years ago? I have not had a single friend locally since I’ve been here and now I am about to leave and will have yet again another long distance friend. Though that part is a bit sad, I am still feeling highly blessed and favored that we got to meet Della today. It was so refreshing to meet someone that had similar beliefs in person and is already doing things I aspire our family to do (organic farming and raising honey bees).

She is taking the unschool approach to homeschooling, which is basically what I have been doing with Jaya for some time now and only recently found out there was a name for it. That’s another blog post for another day though!

I got Della’s info and will be stopping by the farm before I head out to get some raw, organic, local yummy honey. If you suffer allergies like I use to, no matter how bad, get some, eat 1-2 tbsp. daily in your smoothie, yogurt, oatmeal or by itself and you will not have any allergies or so little it won’t even matter. Even if you don’t, still get some, because there are so many great healing properties in honey. Just make sure it is raw, organic as possible and local if possible.

So not only were we blessed with awesome savings, but we also made a friend. Keep in mind I got these savings sans coupons, which meant it took me no time to prepare for this shopping trip.

I also was about to shell out $6-$9 for some all natural diaper crème for Jaya, like Burt’s Bees or Weleda, but  YaHuWaH blessed me not with just one, but two bottles of organic diaper crème for only $1.58!

 

Here is what we got from our local salvage grocery store…

  

Amount

Item

Paid

Regular Price *Used lower Price at regular stores like Walmart, Walgreens or CVS

Saving %

1

Clifford Tummy Tickler 100% Apple Juice (bottle and spot are reusable & BPA free)

.99

$2.00

51%

2

Earth’s Best Organic Every Day Lotion – Lavender 7 oz.

.69 x 2 = $1.38

$8.45 x 2 = $16.90

92%

1

Earth’s Best Organic Shampoo & Body Wash – Lavender 8.5 oz.

.69

$8.45

92%

3

Jason Tea Tree Conditioner 8 oz.

.59 x 3 = $1.77

$8.49 x 3 = $25.47

93%

1

Jason Tea Tree Melaleuca Satin Soap for hands & face 16 oz.

.49

$8.95

95%

1

Jason Extra Gentle Conditioner 8 oz.

.50

$6.29

92%

1

EO Everyday Body Lotion French Lavender 8 oz.

.79

$7.03

89%

1

Baby Avalon Organics Soothing Zinc Diaper Balm 3 oz.

.79

$7.96

90%

1

Weleda Baby Calendula Baby Cream 2.6 oz.

.79

$9.07

91%

1

Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gelly 4 oz.

.59

$4.29

86%

1

Skin Free After Shower Moisture Spritz 8 oz.

.79

$13.99

94%

1

Vickery & Clarke Jojoba & Vitamin E Facial Scrub 2.5 oz.

.75

$4.99

85%

1

Nature’s Gate Organics Fruit Blend Fortifying Conditioner 12 oz.

$1.19

$8.19

85%

1

Airborne Pink Grapefruit Effervescent Health  Formula – 10 tablets

.69

$5.99

88%

1

Hyland’s Vitamin C Tablets for Children – 125 tablets

.85

$5.99

86%

1

Similasan Dry Eye Relief   .33 oz.

.79

$6.99

89%

1

Nature’s Answer Organic Hawthorn Berry, Leaf & Flower Extract 1 oz.

.59

$6.50

91%

1

Rainbow Light Just Once Naturals Women’s One Multivitamin/Mineral – 90 tablets

$1.19

$17.97

93%

1

HeadOn Headache Relief Migraine Homeopathic .20 oz

.39

$6.24

94%

1

Ricola Natural Honey Cherry Honey Herb Throat Drops – 24 drops

.45

$2.29

80%

2

Main St Café Protein Smoothie Peach & Mixed Berry 11 oz.

.29 x 2 = .58

$2.39 x2 = $4.78

88%

1

Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate with Marzipan 3.5 oz.

.69

$2.79

75%

1

Duke’s Real Mayonnaise   32 oz.

$1.69

$4.99

66%

1

Amy’s Organic Soups Lentil 14.5 oz

.69

$2.50

72%

2

Amy’s Organic Soups Black Bean Vegetable 14.5 oz

.59 x 2 = $1.18

$2.99 = $5.98

80%

1

Gold Medal Organic All-Purpose Flour 5 lb.

$1.79

$5.89

70%

1

IAMS Health Naturals Premium Puppy Food 3.5 lbs.

$2.89

$5.76

50%

1

Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner 12 oz.

$1.19

$4.45

73%

TOTAL

 

$27.17 (There was no sales tax even on the non food items!)

$212.69 + (sales tax for non-food items $183.76 x5.75%) = $223.26 

88% Total Savings ($196.09 saved)

 

When I was picking out the items I was purchasing I was looking things I knew were good deals, which was the majority of the store, but I knew I would not know exactly how good until I got home. I knew it would be at least 75%, but am super happy it was even more 88%! Depending on where you shop these same items could have been a savings of anywhere from 70% up to 95%!

So, as you can see salvage grocery store shopping and scratch and dent stores can help you save money without coupons on good things for your home, pets and even car!

Now combine that with couponing, thrifting, gardening, making your own cleaning products (unless there is a mega sale on all natural cleaners of course), upcycling, bartering/trading and yard sales and you will be well on your way to being able to eliminate debt, save money and have fun paying your bills each month, knowing despite the economy you and your family can and will survive and thrive!

I should warn you I don’t expect you to take on all of this savings stuff at once. I know learning new skills can take some time. Start with one for a month and then start building upon that each month. I’d rather you get started and keep on saving and being a good steward of what YHWH has blessed you with than have you stop out of being overwhelmed. If you can handle doing all the above right now, then go for it! I look forward to hearing all about your savings adventures!

You can google for ‘salvage grocery store’, ‘surplus grocery store’ and ‘scratch and dent store’, just make sure to include your city in the search to find places close to you. Here is an online list to get you started: salvage grocery stored by state, it is probably not 110% complete, so make sure to do your own search as previously suggested. 

 

I hope you have found these resources useful, please comment below and let me know what you enjoyed, ask any questions, etc. Your feedback is a blessing! 

 

May YaHuWaH bless you & keep you!

 

Jamie Pelaez

Skype:
Jamie.Pelaez

‘I will bless the YaHuWaH at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.’ ~TehaleYAim (Psalms) 34:1

‘Test all things and hold firmly that which is good.’ ~1  ThessalonikiAH (Thessalonians) 5:21

 

 

2 Responses

  1. wow, amazing finds and prices. We don’t have this kind of shops in Italy but I love to read about frugal shopping anyway. 🙂
    The cheapest stores are the so-called “hard discounts” which are mainly german, no frills establishments, I guess like your Aldi. At times they have organic things and in general the quality is very good esp. on yogurt, cheese, pickles. For fresh vegetables I rely on my parents’ tiny farm.

    btw “thrifting, gardening, making your own cleaning products, upcycling, bartering/trading..” are quite fun and addictive! 😉

    hugs
    Anto

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