Frugal Friday - Super Bowl Edition

Friday, February 05, 2010

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last post. I'm glad to know there are a lot of other frugal shoppers out there. I'm going to try to keep a steady schedule of useful content coming to you, as well as have some weekly features, one of which will be this Frugal Friday column, sharing what's going on at Grocery Outlet and what I'm excited about.

This week I want to talk about Super Bowl. Entertaining can be tough when you're on a budget. I know it is for me, because I want to make sure I have enough food and drinks on hand to take care of all my guests. The Super Bowl is a long event too, so that doubles the cost.

I know I work for Grocery Outlet, but seriously, it's so great to be able to shop for big events at the store. We had Premium Brand (so good, I can't tell you which!) chicken strips this week, $4.79 for 2 lbs. I liked the Honey BBQ flavor. We also have 2.5 lbs of Party Wings for only $4.99 (I saved $3 on them). We’ve also got Chicken of the Sea cooked tail-on shrimp, 2 lbs. for $7.99—super easy, since it’s already cooked.

Chips and salsa are always a big hit at my house, so I got some Santitas tortilla chips (20 oz. for $2.49) and Pace Picante Sauce (24 oz. jar for $2.49), mild for me, medium for my husband and his friends. Kettle Organic Chipotle chips were on sale this week, and I thought they'd be worth a try for the boys at only $0.99 for 5 oz.

Most importantly, we're set on beer. I asked one of our wine and beer buyers which beer they'd recommend and they sent me over to get the Widmer Brothers’ Best Craft Brew Beer, 12-pack for $10.99 (you save $4!). This popular beer is a best-seller and a fantastic value. We also have Mendocino White Ale, 6-pack for $4.99 (you save $3) and Pabst Blue Ribbon, a 16 oz. can 6-pack for $3.99. In the malt beverage category, (where I live!) there’s Mike’s Hard Lemonade Variety Pack, $10.99 for a 12-pack (you save $4!). I know, I'm a "girly drinker" but that's fine—I'm loving my Mike's Cranberry Hard Lemonade.

The best news is that I can now throw a fantastic Super Bowl party at a fraction of what I would have spent conventionally. When it's just the two of us, I can fudge it a little for a splurge I particularly want, but having this many people meant no room for error. It's times like this that I really see the savings.

And as for who I'm cheering for? Team Frugal, all the way!

Celebrate Frugal Living

Comments 2

susanne karr 7 Feb, 07:44 AM
I love you new blog format. But most of all I love the low prices in our Coos Bay store. The remodel of the store is great and the bathroom
makes me feel at home, so nice and CLEAN.
We have a little game we play with our receipt each time. I try to see how close my saved amount will come to my total cost amount. My closest is spent amount just over $100.00 and my saved amount just under $100.00 there was less than a $5.00 difference. We are oldsters on the fixed income so we love how your store stretches our food dollars and shrinks our cost. Thank you.
Susanne Karr
James Ing 25 Mar, 02:17 PM
Yiur old store used to have many sugar-free items including ice cream. Until recenyly your new store had at least a few sugar-free items. Since the new store opened I have been coming in weekly, mostly to buy Murray sugar-free cookies and I always wind up buying a lot of other stuff. You haven't had any the last 3 weeks so this week I sent my son to see if you had sugar-free cookies and when he reported that you didn't, I decided not to come at all. Is there any way I can check online to see if you have them before I make the long trip?