Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Soda Wars Episode XXVI: June 29th - July 5th


































Welcome to Soda Wars Episode XXVI for the week of June 29th through July 5th.
Soda Wars is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List.
Every Wednesday we illustrate which store has the best price on your favorite brands of soda. 
We price compare PepsiCoke and 7up in the 2 liter, 12 pack and 20/24 pack packages at King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons. With this blog you'll 'know before you go' who has the best deal on your favorite brands of soda each week before you head off to the stores.




Happy Independence Day everyone and a big happy birthday to the 
United States of America!

Ahh July 4th how I welcome your arrival. The BBQ's, camping, picnics, baseball, concerts and fireworks... all of the things that define summer rolled into one long and warm weekend. 
Aside from all of that, I want to give a big shout out to Thomas Jefferson! Thank for taking the time to write the Declaration of Independence some 235 years ago, you rock!


Today is June 29th, just 2 days until the big weekend and only 5 days until the explosive night of the 4th. With all of the activities this weekend also comes a lot of great deals at the grocery stores and, like most major holidays, soda is at some of its best prices of the year.



  • 12 packs are priced to sell this week...

12 pack winner: Pepsi, Coke and 7up at Kings and Safeway. ($2.40 WYB5)

No matter which store you head to this week you'll find that almost every name brand 12 pack on the shelf is under $2.50. 
King Soopers and Safeway are running the same ads this week with Pepsi, Coke and 7up priced at 5/$12. This price tag makes each 12 pack a mere $2.40 each which is just about as low as it gets for a 12 pack these days.


When you're out in the stores...

  • Look for the signs and check the ads!
  • The shelf tags at Kings say 4/$12 and nothing about a FREE 5th 12 pack, but there are signs hanging that display the $2.40 price WYB5. 
    • I stopped 7 people today at the store who only had four 12 packs in their carts and told them about the 5th free one. Then I stopped a couple from buying a 20 packs at $5.99 and helped them to five 12 packs. 
  • At Safeway the shelf tag reads Buy 2 Get 3 FREE. So you pay the full shelf price of $5.99 on 2 and then get the other 3 for free, which is 5/$12 or $2.40 each. 

The 12 pack winners' circle this week is jam packed with Kings and Safeway both offering the same price of $2.40 on Pepsi, Coke and 7up. Check each stores print ads this week and see which store has some of your other items at their lowest prices to decide which store you want to shop this week.


As for 20 packs...
20 pack winner: Don't buy 20 packs this week. 

I'll post the graphic up here but please for the sake of Thomas Jefferson don't buy a 20 or 24 pack this week. Stick with the 12 packs or maybe some 2 liters.


2 liters at their best!
2 liter winner this week: Coke at Kings (.89¢ WYB10)

Hopefully some of you were able to catch my post this morning on Facebook or saw it in the ad. Pepsi and 7up 2 liters are on a one day sale for today only (6/29) at Safeway. They are priced at .69 cents each. After today I'm guessing they will be priced right around the Coke price of $1.25 WYB4 but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to know for sure. 


Coke drinkers can get their 2 liters at Kings for just .89 cents WYB10. 


In my opinion, the 2 liter winner for the week would have to be Coke for .89 cents at King Soopers. Well, unless you happened to catch the deal for Pepsi or 7up at Safeway today. The Coke 2 liters went up on what's called a 'share builder' end cap. This usually means that it's going to be this price for 3 to 4 weeks, so you should have some time to pick those up in the coming weeks as well. 




Episode XVI Summary:
Soda goes on sale the week before every major holiday, the next holiday is Labor Day in September which is a little over 2 months away. If you can afford it and have the room to store some extra soda, stocking up this week with at least enough soda to last until Labor Day would save you quite a bit of money. 


Think about it, if you buy two 12 packs each week until September that's eighteen 12 packs. Buying all 18 packs this week would cost $43.20. On an average 3/$12 sale it would cost $72 to get the exact same amount of soda. So, you would be saving yourself $28.80 by buying ahead of time. Now imagine doing that all year long.


Eighteen 12 packs of soda doesn't even take up a whole lot of space to store it and even the diet brands have about 3 months until the expiration date. Fill the bottom of a closet or a small space in the garage, or even under the couch. Anywhere you store them, just remind yourself that these 12 packs are paying you $28.80 to rent the space they occupy. 


I also want to remind you that both Pepsi and Coke have announced that they are going to raise their prices by 3% - 5% by the end of July 2011. Here's a link to marketwatch.com and adage.com as a few of the many sources for this information.
With that in mind this may be the last time we see a 5/$12 ad in a long time, or ever again. Just a few years ago, the holiday ads were 5/$10. That's about .50¢ rise in cost at its best sale price per year. 


If you have the extra space in your garage or house and drink a lot of soda, you may want to stockpile this week and cash in on the $2.40 price points. If you own a vending machine route or a store front that sells cans, buying your soda in any brand would be a wise and safe investment to make this week. 
Just check the dates as you buy, diets should have a good 3 months left and sugar brands should have at least twice that and up to about 9 months shelf life left.


In conclusion, if Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would be buying a crap load of soda this week and burying it all over his property like treasure. 


Thanks again for checking out Soda Wars, see you next Wednesday evening!
Happy July 4th!!



Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Soda Wars: Episode XXV June 22nd - 28th


































Soda Wars is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List.
Every Wednesday we illustrate which store has the best price on your favorite brands of soda. 
We price compare PepsiCoke and 7up in the 2 liter, 12 pack and 20/24 pack packages. With this blog you'll 'know before you go' who has the best deal on your favorite brands of soda each week before you head off to the stores.


This coming weekend puts us just one week away from July 4th.
Some of the stores and soda brands have jumped out early for putting up a good sale to capture this weekend but some have decided to wait a little longer before the big price drops that usually happen around the summer holidays.

Let's have a look at the 12 pack prices this week...
Pepsi drinkers may want to scoop up the deals this week with Albertsons and Safeway both just under $2.50 per 12 pack. That makes cans only 0.21¢ per can and just 1.7¢ per fluid oz. which beats just about every other brand and package this week. 

King Soopers has a slightly better price on the Sierra Mist and Brisk brand names from Pepsi. These items offer a 2/$6.00 deal on select flavors making for $3.00 12 packs. So, if Albertsons and Safeway didn't exist this week, that might be a fair deal... but they do exist, so grab your Pepsi brand soda from either of those stores this week and save your self .50¢ per 12 pack you buy. 

Coke and 7up drinkers might want to hold off and see what next weeks sales brings us for the 12 packs. This close to a holiday, no one should be paying above $3.00 for a 12 pack. 

Honestly, even when we're a long ways off from any holidays, no one should be paying over $3.00 for a 12 pack.

12 pack winner this week... 
I'm going to go with Pepsi products at Safeway. It's 2 more cents per pack but it's a WYB4+ deal, this means, When You Buy 4 + (or more) you get each one for $2.49 each. Whereas Albertsons deals of $2.47 WYB4 calls for a limit of 1 per transaction. 

Now let's view the 20/24 packs for the week...
Pretty standard pricing for the 20 and 24 packs this week. Nothing really stands out as the clear winner this week. 
Coke drinkers, your best deal is at Safeway with a $5.49 price tag. At .27¢ per can, this is the best deal this week on Coke products (in a can) in all 3 store chains. 

20 / 24 pack winner this week...
I'd have to say Coke 20 packs at Safeway stores takes this one... even though it's kind of a crappy price and you're pretty limited on the flavor variety. 

Hopefully you guys saved some of those coupons that were stuck to the 20 packs last week or perhaps there are still some available on the cases at the stores. That would bring the price down to $5.00 each WYB2, which is a reasonable price at .25¢ per can. 

On a separate note: At Safeway today I saw several people buying a Pepsi brand 24 pack for $7.99 instead of buying the 12 packs for $2.49. They are paying almost twice as much for the exact same product and the better price is available in the store they are currently at.
It really stresses me out to see that, I don't know how much more I can take. They just gave the store $3.00 for absolutely no reason at all. Even if this person was a $500 per hour super lawyer... that's like 22 seconds of his time at work just wasted! I would definitely not want to have this lawyer defending me that's for sure.

Now that I've thrown my tantrum, here's what 2 liters looks like this week...

Finally the Coke and 7up drinkers catch a break, this has not been a good week for you so far.
You can find Coke 2 liters for just a buck at both Safeway and Albertsons WYB4 and 7up 2 liters at Safeway are only .89¢ each. 

For Pepsi drinkers, it's actually mathematically cheaper to buy 12 packs this week over the 2 liters. This is fairly rare but it does happen... so if you're a Pepsi drinker and allergic to aluminum, hold off until the next set of sales before you rush out to the stores for your Pepsi fix.

2 liter winner of the week...
7up takes it at .89¢ at Safeway. Coke follows close behind with only a dine in difference.

Episode XXV Summary:
Last week I called it by saying it was a horrible week to buy soda. If you did buy your soda last week, I just want you to know... you spent $1.50 to $2.50 more than those who are buying their soda this week. I'm not saying I'm always right and I should be listened to at all times, but that's a pretty big chunk of change to lose per 12 pack. I know if I were me, and I just saved myself $2.50 or more, I would high five myself at least one time.

Pepsi drinkers: Great prices this week so now is a good time to fill up the garage with your favorites. Next week, it will probably be about the same and possibly just a bit higher. More than likely, this price is the lowest it will be for this coming holiday.

Coke and 7up drinker: Either wait until next weeks ads come out or start liking Pepsi. Next week should definitely bring some more competitive pricing our way from these 2 guys. If you absolutely can't make it until next week, make sure you scour the shelves for instant coupons attached to the various packages and see if you can drop the price even just a little before you finalize those loan papers.

Thanks for checking out  PBL's Soda Wars series, we'll see you next time.

Adam H.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Soda Wars: Episode XXIV June 15th - 21st

Soda Wars is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List.
Every Wednesday we illustrate which store has the best price on your favorite brands of soda. 
We price compare Pepsi, Coke and 7up in the 2 liter, 12 pack and 20/24 pack packages. With this blog you'll 'know before you go' who has the best deal on your favorite brands of soda each week before you head off to the stores.
These prices are good from today (June 15th) through June 21st. From the looks of things, this isn't a great week to run out and buy your soda. You might want to hold out until the July 4th week sales come out. 
Here's the result from this weeks Soda Wars...

12 Packs:

The clear winner of the ads this week is 7up at all stores with the lowest price in Albertsons at 4/$11.00 or $2.75 each. ($0.23 per can)
Coke drinkers can get a fair deal at Safeway with a 3/$12.00 deal ($0.25 per can) while Pepsi drinkers may want to wait this week out with the lowest price anywhere is at $4.00.

20/24 Packs:
For 20 and 24 packs this week there's no one that really stands out over the other. Just about anywhere you go or any brand you choose, you'll pay around $0.33 cents per can. 
However, there are some coupons out there at select stores where you can save $1 off your 20 or 24 pack. Some of the coupons are for $1 off of purchase of one, while some are $2 off of the purchase of two. 
These coupons are Instant Redeemable Coupons (IRC's) as stickers put directly on the products, so keep your eyes out for these on both Coke and Pepsi products. Don't forget to use the IRC at check out!
Still might not be the best week to buy a 20 or 24 pack, but it can help while the sale prices are higher. 
You didn't hear this from me, but who says you can't grab a IRC or two and use it when there's a better sale. Just be sure to check the expiration date on the coupon so you don't miss it... shhhhh!

2 Liters:
Only buy a 2 liter this week if you absolutely have to.
Same deal with 2 liters this week as the 20/24 packs. There's nothing that really pops out as a good price. 
Everything is over $1.00 and above $0.20 cents when calculated as per 12oz can. 
General rule of thumb for the 2 liter buyers out there: Never pay more than $1.00! 

Conclusion:
This week is a horrible week to buy soda no matter what brand you drink. 
$2.75 twelve packs of 7up at Albertsons is the best deal this week. 
The closest thing to that will cost you $3.00 and not one brand or package is priced under $0.20 cents per can. 
We're only 2 weeks out until July 4th weekend, and as everyone knows... holiday weekends bring great soda ads. Wait this week out and maybe even give water a try again, who knows you just might like it!

Thanks for checking out this weeks Soda Wars.
If you want me to add more packages to the list or want me to make any changes, just let me know in the comments and I will see what I can do. 
What's the lowest price for a 12 pack you can ever remember paying?

Adam H.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Soda Wars: Episode XXIII June 8th - 14th

Soda Wars is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List to illustrate which store has the best price on your favorite brands of soda pop each week. We price compare Pepsi, Coke and 7up in the 2 liter, 12 pack and 20/24 pack packages. With this blog you'll 'know before you go' who has the best deal on your favorite brands of soda.
This is the launch post for this weekly series. This one will be slightly more wordy than the next ones in order to explain how it works and why buying your soda at it's best price is important.

Why Soda Wars? Why not Bacon Wars, or Apple Wars? 
Soda is one of those items at the stores that is generally always on sale, or at least always about to be on sale. You will save tons of money throughout the year just by buying your drinks at the right time and right store. Soda also has a pretty good shelf life, so when it goes on sale for a really great deal, you can buy enough to stock up until it goes on sale again without having to worry about it going bad.
Think about how much soda your family drinks at home. Imagine how much money your family could save if every one of them was purchased at it's lowest possible price.

Let's look at 12 packs:

  • Full price hits $4.99 to $5.99 depending on the store.
  • That's $0.42 to $0.50 per can. 
  • On sale they can range from $2.49 to $3.00
  • Making each can $0.21 to $0.25
  • That's a 50% difference per can!
Now multiply those amounts by how many cans of soda each family member drinks in a day and multiply that by 365 per year.
I'll use my family of 5 as an example:
We each drink about 1 to 2 cans every day. We'll call that 1.5 per day.
I know, I know, but we drink water too! 

Example 1.) Paying $5.99 per 12 pack ($0.50 per can)
  • 1.5 cans per day multiplied by 365 days = 548 cans per year
  • 548 multiplied by 5 people in my household = 2,740 cans drank at my house every year. 
  • 2,740 cans multiplied by $0.50 per can = $1,370 spent on soda at home!
(Writing the math out like this is really getting to me. I think I need to call a family meeting!)


Example 2.) Paying $2.49 per 12 pack ($0.21 per can)

  • 2,740 cans multiplied by $0.21 per can = $576 spent on soda at home!
  • Buying at the right time and the right store saves us $794 each year!
I will admit that $5.99 for a 12 pack is pretty high and is really on sale for that price, but it does happen so you have to pay attention. Even if we use a $4.00 price tag, which would be a normal 3 for $12.00 sale, that's $0.33 per can. That comes to $904 total and we still save $328 by buying our soda at it's best possible price all year long.

Whether your family drinks more or less than that in your household, buying soda at the lowest prices all year is perhaps one of the easiest ways to quickly cut your grocery bill. Which is exactly why we are starting 'Soda Wars' and not Battle of the Buns. (Hmm... )




Without further chatty words...
Peanut Butter List presents:
Soda Wars 
Episode XXIII 
June 8th - 14th.






12 packs
King Soopers

  • Pepsi            $3.66 (0.31 per can)
  • Coke         3/$12.00 (0.33 per can)
  • 7up            3/$11.00 (0.31 per can)

Safeway

  • Pepsi            $5.99 B2G1 (3/$11.98 = 0.33 per can)
  • Coke            $5.99 B2G1 (3/$11.98 = 0.33 per can)
  • 7up               $5.99 B2G1 (3/$11.98 = 0.33 per can)

Albertsons
  • Pepsi         3/$12.00 (0.33 per can)
  • Coke         3/$12.00 (0.29 per can counting the extra 5 cans worth of soda)
    • Buy 3 get one free 8 pack 7.5oz bottles (worth 5 extra cans in ounces)
  • 7up            2/$9.00   (0.38 per can)
                                 

12 pack winner this week: 
Coke products at Albertsons for 0.29 cents per can!
Save as much as 0.09 cents per can on this deal!



20/24 packs
King Soopers
  • Pepsi 20 pack          $5.99 (0.30 per can)
  • Coke 20 pack          $5.99 (0.30 per can)
Safeway
  • Pepsi 24 pack           $7.99 (0.33 per can)
    • Pepsi 24 pack in ad for $5 on Friday June 10th (0.21 per can)
  • Coke 20 pack           2/$11.00 (0.28 per can)
Albertsons
  • Pepsi 20 pack        $3.98 (0.20 per can)
    • Also look for a coupon on Pepsi 20 packs for $1.00 off WYB2 
    • This makes each 20 pack $2.98 (0.15 per can)
  • Pepsi 24 pack        $7.99 (0.33 per can)
  • Coke 20 pack        $5.99 (0.30 per can)
20/24 pack winner this week:


Pepsi products at Albertsons for 0.15 cents per can with coupon (0.20 cents without coupon)
This is the perfect time to stock up on Pepsi brands! The can price would make a 12 pack cost $1.80 each! This is as low as it gets these days so if you like Pepsi and are able to buy a ton... do it!




2 liters (67.6 oz.)
(2 Liters are compared to 12oz cans so there are 5.63 cans in each 2 liter)
King Soopers
  • Pepsi            2/$3.00 (0.27 per 12oz. can)
  • Coke            5/$6.00 (0.21 per 12oz. can)
  • 7up               3/$4.00 (0.24 per 12oz. can)

Safeway
  • Pepsi             $0.79 (0.14 per 12oz. can)
    • MB8 of any store wide Mix and Match items (otherwise they are $1.29 each)
  • Coke            3/$5.00 (0.30 per 12oz. can)
  • 7up                $0.79 (0.14 per 12oz. can)
    • MB8 of any store wide Mix and Match items (otherwise they are $1.29 each)

Albertsons
  • Pepsi           2/$3.00 (0.27 per 12oz. can)
    • Free Pepsi Max 2 liter with any frozen pizza purchase, in-store coupon.
  • Coke           2/$3.00 (0.27 per 12oz. can)
  • 7up              4/$5.00 (0.22 per 12oz. can)
2 liter winner this week:

Pepsi and 7up products at Safeway for 0.14 cents per 12oz can!
Both of these brands are part of the Mix and Match event going on at Safeway this week. There's over 3000 items on the list, so chances are that you will pick up at least 8 of them to receive the discounted price. 

Biggest Bang for your buck!
Safeway's Pepsi and/or 7up 2 liters offer the most soda for the least amount of money this week with the $0.79 Mix and Match event when you buy 8 participating items. 

There you have it. The first edition of Soda Wars: Revenge of the Thirst. We'll work on formatting and making this much cleaner in the future, so please be patient with us on that side of things. 
Thank you, and may the fizz be with you... ha ha, I couldn't resist.

Is there something you want us to add to the mix of packages? Let us know what you'd like to see in Soda Wars.


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

OMG! FREE PIZZA!

Hello Peanut Butter List friends.
First and foremost, we would like to apologize for the lack of activity with PBL over these last few weeks. We've been working a lot on the back end of the website and company and have neglected our friends in the process. In the coming weeks we'll be a lot more active as we gear up to launch our company for you. We are getting very close and things are starting to get very exciting!

As we get a little closer we'll be doing full weekly print ad reviews for King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons here on the blog. We are also going to start a weekly blog series called 'Soda Wars' in the coming months. This will be a weekly post to illustrate which of the 3 stores have the best prices on your favorite soda. Every week you'll 'know before you go' where to get the best deal on Pepsi, Coke or 7up and in a variety of packages. There's much more just around the corner, so stay tuned to this blog and our Facebook Page for all of the details.

  • Here's a link to the Facebook Page, or you can click the link in the 'PBL Around the Web' box to the right of this blog. Oh and, if you haven't done it already, please click the 'LIKE' button and become our friend. We get that warm and fuzzy feeling every time we make new friends. Thanks.

This weeks ads have brought some pretty good deals our way. Here's a great deal at Albertsons that started today (6/1/11) where you can get a FREE frozen pizza and a FREE Pepsi Max 2 liter at the same time.  We made this graphic to demonstrate this super deal...


The only thing better than saving money at the grocery stores is walking away with FREE PRODUCTS.

If you live near or drive by an Albertsons throughout this week, make sure you run in real fast and nab this deal. Just grab an ad at the front doors to get the coupon, pick up a frozen pizza and a 2 liter of Pepsi Max all for FREE. Your family will thank you and you don't even have to tell them you got it all for free.
If you do happen to spend $100 or more, be sure to use the $10 coupon from the same ad. 

I know that the Albertsons on Centennial and Garden of the Gods definitely has this deal available. All of the other Albertsons in Colorado should have this same offer also. If you can not find the Pepsi Max 2 liter coupon be sure to ask the cashiers or a manager about it. 

While we're on the subject of Albertsons... reminder that every month on the first Wednesday of the month it's Senior Day and anyone 55+ will save an extra 10% off of their entire grocery bill. The first Saturday of each month is Military Day where all active and retired military saves 10% off of their entire grocery bill. 
For the month of June:
  • Senior Day is June 1st (Today! Don't worry there's still time... go go go!)
  • Military Day is June 4th
Thank you for hanging in there with us as we build this company. We will make it well worth the wait once we've launched. Tell your mom, dad, grand parents, friends, pets, strangers, tell everyone... we are coming and we are going to save you tons of money on your groceries with just a few clicks. 

Until next time, may life bless you and your families... and enjoy your free pizza and Pepsi Max 2 liter. 

Adam Hebert