We are a family of 4 who will be full timing within the next few months. We will be on a tight budget. Here in our area we have a grocery store that sells dented canned items, soon to be expired items at GREAT prices. If you know of any across the US could you please post where. I would love to be able to shop as we travel. Thanks in advance!!

Don't know about dent stores, but I do know that you can save money on groceries by shopping at Dollar General. They have better prices on some things than the grocery store does.

Also, if you pick up a Sunday paper, for the coupons, you can call and ask if the grocery store doubles the coupons all the time or on a certain day.

Save-a-Lot is one chain that advertises up to 40% off regular prices. The link is for their store locations page.

I can't help with right now.... but if you find yourself in Quartzsite Arizona during the winter months there are at least 3 Discount Grocery stores that sell those types of items.

2 of them closed up this month and I think the third will be here for at least another month.

As kokomomo posted Dollar General usually has a pretty good selection of canned goods and there seems to be one in every small town. Farm markets are also a good source of fresh reasonably priced produce.

There is a great dent & bent called The Silver Dollar. It may be a small chain, but the one I know about is just across the Mississippi border from Red Bay, Al. (home of Tiffin)

Another is east of Silver Springs, Fl. north of Hiway 40 on county road 314 (about 5 miles).

Yes, farm markets are great! Fresh frutis and veggies, better than you have ever tasted from the grocery store.
Try looking at these sites:
Local Harvest:
http://www.localharvest.org/

Pick Your Own
http://www.pickyourown.org/index.htm

I have had good luck finding farms and pick your own veggies places with these two websites. It would be wise to call ahead to find out if they are still in business, what their hours are, and what is currently in season.

Just thought of another place...not in all parts of the country but worth a stop when you see one: Big Lots (store location page).

Grocery Outlet is another good scratch and dent chain. They have stores in the Western states.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobcatkitty:
There is a great dent & bent called The Silver Dollar. It may be a small chain, but the one I know about is just across the Mississippi border from Red Bay, Al. (home of Tiffin)

Another is east of Silver Springs, Fl. north of Hiway 40 on county road 314 (about 5 miles).

"Silver Dollar Sales" is located in Golden MS about 2 miles from the AL line on MS 366.


Another such store is "The Dented Can" located on SR119 between CR9 and SR19 in southern Elkhart County, Indiana.

ALDI Foods has many good deals on every day items, stocking mostly house brands.

I have a home in Lancaster County in SE PA. There are many of these types of stores in our area.

The largest volume one is called BB's. And when I say large, I mean REALLY big! People come from a couple states away and line up 100 or more deep an hour or more before they open in the morning. Their flagship store is located outside Quarryville, PA, and they have 2 other locations near here (Morgantown and Schaefferstown) and a 3rd location 80 miles farther west of here, just outside Shippensburg, PA.

We buy a lot of meat that is on sale and about to go out for date. Just throw them in the freezer until ready to fix.
How did we ever live whenever groceries didn't have an expiration date?

Joe

As LOU SCHNEIDER mentioned .. the grocery chain called "Grocery Outlet" is great ..

But you still need to pay close attention to the prices.. While most of the items are a pretty good deal...
Some of the prices are the same or even a little higher than the other grocery stores.

This is especially true in the produce and cookie/candy department.

Also,,, with the Grocery Outlet stores... if you find something you like... better stock up on it right then... because you may not find it there tommorrow..and they may never have it again.

I do about 60% of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, 25% at Grocery Outlet, 10% at Smith's Foods (part of Kroger chain) and 5% at the "Dollar Tree" store..

The Dollar Tree stores are different from some of the other "So-Called" Dollar stores...

Dollar Tree never has anything priced over one dollar... no matter what it is..

Some of the other "Dollar Store" chains have prices ranging from $1 all the way to $10...

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There are two very important things you can do to save money..

#1. Remember this... "A short pencil is better than a long memory".. so make a shopping list with everything and I mean everything that you use in your household...

from spices to toothpaste, from aspirin tablets to bacon and canned foods...from toilet paper to underwear and socks...
everything and anything that is expendable through every day use....

Each time you use an item and/or need to replace an item ... put a check mark along side it on that shopping list...
and buy only the amount you need to replace and maintain the inventory level in your home/RV.

Example... lets say you like to keep 4 cans of tomato paste on hand...

if you use one can today... place a check mark on the shopping list for each can used, if you use 2 cans, put 2 check marks on the list. etc...

If you open a new tube of toothpaste today, place a check mark on the list and buy it on next shopping trip..

By doing this, you will have a known quantity of items always on hand and you don't end up running out of something ...

Nor will you open a cabinet one day to find you have 19 of the same items and half of them are outdated and need to be thrown away..

#2. When doing your shopping look at the little shelf tags under each item and choose the cheapest "Per Ounce", "Per Pound" ... etc...

Example... tomato paste by a name brand company may cost 3.8 cent per ounce while the store brand may cost 2.3 cent per ounce..

just because it's a larger sized can or package does not mean that it is cheaper than the smaller size can or package... that's one of the oldest sales gimmicks in the business..

Another gimmick is to place a large display of something near the front of the store so that you will not compare prices back on the shelves.

The marketing people know that the average shopper will think that the display means it's on special sale..

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Store Brands -vs- Name Brands

In MOST cases.. the store brand is just as good as the name brand and you cannot tell the difference in taste or texture.

Ahhh yes, I can hear you and you are right.....

and its true that some of the "off brands" or "Store brands" are still not as good as the name brands..

but more and more store brands are being either bought from the big name companies and packaged under the store's label or the stores have improved their products so that they are now a carbon copy of the name brands..

Example... Wal-Mart's "Great Value" brand Mayonnaise is now exactly the same in taste and texture as the "Best Food" and "Hellman's" brand.

Did you know that the "Hellman" company created the "Best Foods" brand as a way of increasing their sales through competition with themselves..
They are the exact same mayonnaise made in the same pot in the same place using the same exact recipe..

Every since Wal-Mart started buying some of their store brands from the big name companies.... it's almost impossible to tell the difference not only between the mayonnaises, but lots of other food items as well.

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I use the shopping list found in MS Works and simply modified it to fit my personal needs.. and then I print out several copies of the list and keep them handy..

if I need to add or delete an item from the list, I simply go on the computer and do it and then print out a couple of copies of the revised list.


Best wishes,
John

John, your checklist is an approach that I need to institute. When in the stix/brix, I was a sale shopper and when I saw a good sale on anything we used, I bought several. That was all well and good but now I have too much of that backlog. I need to get OUT of that habit and get my current supplies depleted. Then I can institute your method..thank you for posting it!

Just my .02 worth...

An Aldi's just opened near our home and I love it. Produce is a fraction of the cost at other grocery stores and even beats WalMart prices.

Also- in Lebanon, TN, there are two dented can stores that are great fun. But I must be careful that I don't buy things that I won't use in a reasonable amount of time. And of course, with our house closing the end of this month, my shopping habits are about to change. (We're having some rather bizarre meals around here while I clean out the cupboards.)

On shopping lists- I have a list according to the store layout. This really saves me time and helps keep me focused. It is a fact that the longer one stays in a store, the more they spend. ("Why We Buy" by Paco Underhill is a fascinating read.)

I keep my list posted on the fridge and everyone knows when we're running low...they need to check it off. (At least in theory anyway...I alone seem to have the magical vision to see when the toilet paper is running out! )

We have a Cash and Carry here in Washington state. The prices are pretty decent. Also we have Saars Market where I shop. Great deals with coupons