Price-matching helps us eat real food. That’s all there is to it.
Some people live in a big town with many big grocery store options. I do not. Well, it’s more than what tiny towns offer, but still. The closest big name store is an hour away from where we live. In my town we have a Wal-mart and two locally owned stores that have decent deals sometimes.
Before I discovered price-matching at Wal-mart, I skimped on fresh produce purchases. I didn’t even realize I was skimping because I was just doing my best to stick to the budget. I bought the fruits and veggies I could afford, then we rationed them out to make them stretch.
About a year and a half ago I discovered price-matching. I don’t know why I hadn’t checked into it before.
Yes. I do know why. I assumed I could only price-match processed foods like boxed cereals and hamburger helper. Therefore I figured it wouldn’t help me much.
Enter: Aldi. The city an hour away from us built its first Aldi store. That’s when I started hearing my friends say things like, “I price-matched Aldi avocados and got them for 39¢ each.” Wai-wai-wait. You did what??
And that’s when I finally started paying attention to what price-matching was.
Wal-mart accepts price-matches from stores that are as far as one hour away. This is a huge benefit to me, because not only is there an Aldi an hour away, there is a Super Saver, a Hyvee, and now a Fresh Thyme Market! (Several other stores too.) I check Price-Matcherz every week because they do the hard work for me by providing a list of all the best deals. Sure, there are plenty of processed foods to wade through. But the produce!!!
I used to have to pay at least $2.48 for a pound of strawberries in season. Now I can often get them for $1.29! I often get pineapple for $1.29 and cantaloupe for 99¢. I’ve price-matched asparagus for 88¢/pound and 3-pound bags of apples for $1.50.
Not only am I now able to buy oodles and gobs of fresh produce for my family each week, I sometimes even have enough room in the budget to buy some for our local Mission. Price-matching saves us loads of money and ensures that our home is filled with nourishing food.
Read the how-to of how price-matching helps our family.
What grocery store options do you have where you live? Are you a price-matcher or is that something you haven’t needed to mess with?
A couple of other produce money-saving options:
- I love the savings and quality of Bountiful Baskets. If you’re brave, you can watch as I unpacked our latest BB box. (Beware because out of nowhere I started to boohoo at the end because it was the day before Mother’s Day and I can’t talk about Mother’s Day without crying no matter how hard I try. Facebook Live makes a girl vulnerable. It’s a good thing we’re friends.)
- I clip coupons when I find them. They are rare.
- I’m trying to get the hang of Ibotta. Usually there are produce rebate offers! I use the app on my phone to make it easiest. (If you want to try it out, you can get an instant $10 rebate if you sign up through my referral code and redeem a rebate within 2 weeks).
Some of these links are affiliate links.
Christine says
Our Walmart and Aldi are scary. You’re fortunate that you have nice produce to buy from them. I’ve looked at organic delivery services in our area. The organic prices on produce delivery are the same as what I pay at the grocery store. Getting a good deal on produce in NJ is almost impossible. :(
Laura says
I’ve heard that the eastern states have much higher prices on groceries. Boo!I will say that while the Aldi produce prices are good, their quality is not. But Walmart’s is pretty good, so when I can use Aldi prices at Walmart, I’m golden. :)
mrs.p says
I have no luck with produces at walmart ande Aldi. With Aldi produce dont last. You got to use the day you buy it and Walmart produce does not even make it my cart. I usually go to meijers.
Laura says
I’ve never been impressed with Aldi produce, but our Walmart produce is pretty good. I’ve heard of Meijers. We don’t have any of those stores close to us, but sounds like a great option!
Megan says
I just want to say thank you. Sometimes I forget how fortunate we are to live in an area with numerous options for healthy, affordable real food. I spend too much time and energy focused on what we don’t have and not enough being grateful for all the ways we are blessed.
Dixie says
Our Aldi produce is WAY better than what I can get at Walmart. I’m thankful I have one close because I’d much rather just go there than price match. It is awesome that you can use it though (I grew up in Bradshaw, so I know exactly what you’re talking about!). ;)
rachel Dawson says
please stop the pop-ups.
joyce says
are you referring to ads that pop up on the site? i use a free blocker called adblock, and it really helps a lot! there are probably other free blocking sites out there, too, this is just what i found a year or so ago when i did a search for ad blockers.
Monica says
I have planned my vacation route around stopping at Aldi! Crazy! I have never heard of Price Matcherz! I can’t wait to check it out! Thanks!
Karen says
There is no pricematchers for Illinois. Was really wanting to use it. I did send them an email about adding more states. Thanks for the great information!
Jenn says
Thanks for the tip! Walmart & Aldi in my area have good options fortunately, but it helps not to make more stops just to save on a few items.
Carolyn says
I printed out an aldi ad and went to Walmart today to price match for the first time after reading about it from you. When I got to the check out there was a sign that said ‘as of June 9th our ad matching policy has been discontinued at this store location.’ Boo! Two days before I try to start!