FREE MILK for only $3.50... wait, what?

Good evening PBL friends.
This past Tuesday King Soopers posted a sneak preview of one of the sales in their ad this week. Who wants FREE MILK?? At first glance I thought, "WOW what a great deal!" We have 3 kids and 5 people at our house and we drink 3 to 4 gallons of milk every week at least, so the idea of getting milk for FREE made me look twice. I decided that before I run to King Soopers and stock up on cereal and milk, maybe I should check out the other stores prices and see just how good of a deal this actually is.
Here's the Facebook post from King Soopers...

King Soopers

SNEAK PREVIEW- Who wants FREE MILK?? In tomorrow's ad when you buy 4 participating General Mills Cereals you will get 2 FREE gallons of Colorado Proud Milk Instantly! Do you "like" free milk?

Wall Photos

Now keep in mind that this was not a full scale investigation and more of a quest of curiosity, so I didn't gather all of the prices on every variety of cereal included to get an exact level of overall value.

Here's what is posted in this weeks ad at King Soopers for the FREE milk. There was quite a few GM cereals included in this deal, so the flavor selection was there.
The milk is Colorado Proud milk and has a shelf value for the week of $2.49 which gives this FREE deal an added value of $4.98.
The problem I had when I got to the store was that all of the GM cereals are at full retail shelf price with a range of $2.99 all the way up to $6.69. The only cereal I found with the $2.99 shelf price was the 11.8oz Cocoa Puffs. The other varieties went up to $3.49 and $4.00 until the 21.25oz box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for $6.69.
Based on everything I saw, I set the average of all of these prices to be $3.89 each. This makes the purchase of 4 boxes of cereal to be $15.56 + 2 gallons of milk free. When you take into consideration the value of the milk your final value would be $10.58 or $2.65 per box of cereal on average. The per item price value at Kings would be $2.59 per item. You could buy only the $2.99 Cocoa Puffs for $11.96 and a final (after milk) value of $1.75 per box (or $1.99 per item)to really maximize on this deal, but for the sake of having a variety of choices for breakfast I'll use the average price instead.

Next stop was Safeway, they usually have pretty good deals on their dry goods especially cereals. I found the range on GM cereals here to be as low as $2.49 for some and all the way to $5.79 for the big box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Cocoa Puffs (11.8oz) sat at $3.19 per box.
The average price of GM cereal at Safeway came to $3.39 each. If you bought 4 boxes, you'd spend $13.56. Add in the value of the free milk at Kings that you would need to purchase at Safeway and your total comes to $18.54 making the cost per box $4.64 in comparison to the Kings Soopers Deal. Even if you counted in the milk as a factor in this, your cost per item on this deal would be $3.09 each.

My last stop on this cereal tour was Albertsons. I grabbed an ad on the way in and the first thing I see on the front page is...

General Mills Cereal

View Larger Image

$1.77 thru Aug 2 + Add to Printable List 8.9-12.8 oz. Select Varieties

Limit 6

I checked the shelf and found that pretty much all of the GM cereals within the size range posted were at $1.77 each. They still had the Cinnamon Toast Crunch (21.25oz) for $5.99, but who would buy that one when you can buy 2 small 12.8oz boxes and get 25.6oz for $3.54?
Obviously at Albertsons the average price per box was $1.77 and $7.08 for the purchase of 4 boxes. Adding in the value of the free milk at Kings brings the total to $12.06 and a per item price value of $2.01.

So what does all of that mean?
I will break it down as a per item price value. This is your out the door price for 4 boxes of cereal and 2 gallons of milk at all 3 stores using the average price for a variety of cereals and milk valued at $2.49.

King Soopers... average price per box $3.89 and a per item price value of $2.59 each.
The total cost at Kings.... $15.56.
Safeway........... average price per box $3.39 and a per item price value of $3.09 each.
The total cost at Safeway... $18.54.
Albertsons........ average price per box $1.77 and a per item price value of $2.01 each.
The total cost at Albertsons... $12.06.

Save $3.50 on the same products at Albertsons!

Even if you only bought the $2.99 cereal at Kings to get the free milk, you are only saving .10¢ over the Albertsons deal, and at Albertsons you have a much wider selection of flavors at the lowest price.

Though this is a very enticing sale in the Kings ad this week, it turns out that Albertsons has a far better deal on the very same products. You'll save yourself $3.50 total and have a better selection of cereal for the kids. Very clever marketing for the King Soopers guys, but they weren't counting on the Peanut Butter List!

  

Soda Wars Episode XXX: July 27th - August 2nd

Welcome to Soda Wars Episode XXX. 

Soda Wars: Revenge of the Thirst 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 packs at ALL Colorado  King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons locations. 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. 

Today is Wednesday, July 27th. The summer is approaching its' end and there's just a few short weeks before the kids go back to school. People are scrambling to try and get one last camping trip in before the long nights of homework begin. If you do make one more trip up the hill, make sure you pack plenty of sunscreen and a wet suit. The weather has been near 238 degrees during the day with a nice rain in the evening with just enough moisture to increase the humidity so that tying your shoes makes you sweat. 
As with the weather, these soda prices are just as chaotic and random. One package has set a new lowest price level while others are priced so high the Brinks truck has to deliver the shelf tags and signage. 
If you missed last weeks blog, the numbers in the colored bubbles are each items SCORE. This is our system of scoring each items sale price for the week. The higher the SCORE, the better the  deal. Check last weeks Soda Wars blog for more details on the PBL SCORE. 


Here's the 12 pack breakdown for this week:

12 pack Winner: Pepsi at Safeway ($2.69 WYB10 (M&M) / SCORE 93)

Safeways' ad looks a little scary when you look at the shelf tag and it reads "When You Buy 10." This is part of their 'Big Beverage Event' and this package is part of the Mix and Match sale on selected beverages. You can buy ten 12 packs if you want to, and that might not be a horrible idea at a $2.69 price point, but you can also buy some of the 32oz Gatorade or 24oz Propel for just .49¢ to get your 10 items. 
With a SCORE of 93, this wouldn't be a bad time to buy the Pepsi you need to last until the Labor Day sales come out in a few weeks. If you grab your Pepsi 12 packs anywhere else, you'll pay $1.31 more at Kings and $1.98 more at Albertsons for each 12 pack. That may or may not be a ton of money on this one trip, but make decisions like that throughout the year and you just over spent hundreds of dollars on one simple item. 
If you find yourself at Albertsons and you just have to buy your Pepsi, grab the Pepsi 20 packs instead. They are the item that set a new low price level in its category. 


20/24 pack breakdown:

20 Pack Winner: Pepsi at Albertsons ($4.47 WYB4 / SCORE 100)

  Albertsons and Pepsi set a new historical low price this week with this sale. It has been lower in the past, but those sales are a bit too rare to consider in calculating the SCORE. 
This price actually matches the Safeway price for 12 packs at $2.69 and a per can price of .22¢ each. So, if your a Pepsi drinker, you can go to either store to nab these prices but the flavor selection will be far greater to head to Safeway and grab the 12 packs. 
For you Coke drinkers out there, Safeway is offering the 20 packs at $4.99 (SCORE 90) which, compared to the rest of the can prices on Coke out there, this feels like a clearance item. Any other store or package will cost you an extra nickel per can at minimum. In fact, at the very same store (Safeway) you'll spend an extra .12¢ per can if you grab Coke 12 packs over the 20 packs. 
These Coke 20 packs are part of the 'Big Beverage Event' so you will need 10 qualifying items to get this price, but again, this is Mix and Match so you can split the difference with some of the .49¢ items as well.


2 liter breakdown:

2 Liter Winner: Pepsi at Safeway (.99¢ WYB10 (M&M) / SCORE 70)

  
I'm beginning to think that Pepsi forgot that they announced they were going to raise prices. For one cent more you can grab your 2 liters at Albertsons and you only have to buy 4 instead of 10, but depending on your beverage needs this week, Safeway might just be the place to go for all of your Pepsi needs. 



Keep an eye out for those 1.5 liter bottles of Pepsi. They should still be priced at 2/$1.00 at most locations, but the stores seem to be having some trouble getting them in stock. If you can't find them anywhere, try asking the manager about them and see if you can get a rain-check to lock in that price until they get re-stocked.  


In closing...
Pepsi took it in all 3 categories this week and offer the lowest prices for your soda. If you are truly a Coke fan and must have it, You can try searching online for instructions to build a Flux Capacitor, mount that puppy to the nearest DeLorean and drive 88 MPH to your nearest grocery store. 

I want everyone reading this blog to know, that I'm not bias to any soda company over the other. My drink of choice, and just about the only soda I drink, is Dr. Pepper. The Dr. is owned by 7up and distributed by whichever company has large enough pockets to buy the rights for their city. For example, in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, plus the surrounding areas, Dr. Pepper is distributed by Coke. While in Denver and the surrounding bits of land, Pepsi distributes Dr. Pepper. I can't begin to explain why it is the way it is nor who has it where and which company stocks it. I just know that the particular combination of those 23 flavors is completely delicious. 

Sad thing about this weird distribution of Dr. Pepper, here in the Springs we can not get the 'Throwback' or 'Heritage' Dr. Pepper made with real sugar. That particular bit of goodness is only available in areas where Pepsi is the deliverer of Pepper. So I send this out to any Ma & Pa convenient or grocery stores who might be reading this... If you happened to be going to Denver, you should grab some of this Heritage Dr.Pepper and sell it to me here in Colorado Springs. Thanks! 


Well that's it for Dr.Pepper Wars... I mean Soda Wars. See you here next week late Wednesday with new prices and with any luck, better prices. Have a good week friends, see you in 7.


What's you favorite soda? 

Soda Wars Episode XXIX: July 20th - 26th

Welcome to Soda Wars Episode XXIX. 

Soda Wars: Revenge of the Thirst is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List. Every Wednesday (and sometimes a little later, sorry) 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 packs at ALL Colorado  King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons locations. 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. 

I know, I know... this is not Wednesday and I'm sorry about that. Wednesday was dinner at Grandma Marylin's house, (thank you Marylin, love you) and Thursday turned into a very long day at work. Please forgive me for being a few days late on Soda Wars and understand that I truly do make every effort to get this published for you by Wednesday evening.


Today is Friday the 22nd, so hopefully you get a chance to read this before buying any soda this weekend. There are some pretty good deals out there but they're kind of scarce. When you 'know before you go' this week, you could save substantial money as some prices are at or near their best deals while others are close to their highest historical prices.


Before I break down the packages this week... 
I'm implementing our PBL SCORE system to the prices on this blog. This SCORE allows for a quick snap shot of how well this item is priced for the week. 


The SCORE is determined with an algorithm using the following variables:

• Current sale price versus the items historically lowest price in all stores.

• Current sale price versus the items current available options in all stores.

The higher the SCORE, the better the sale. The goal would be to buy all of your items at a GREEN or BLUE level and stock up when an item is GREEN. 
Avoid the RED items at all costs because they are priced far higher than what they're worth.


 Let's take a look at this weeks soda prices and our new SCORE system...
12 packs

12 pack winner: 7up at Safeway (4/$10 WYB4)

For the SCORE system I've set the lowest historical price at $2.50 even though it is slightly higher than a few of the rare sales. $2.50 is a common sale on 12 packs and the best sale and price that comes up regularly. 

The 7up 12 packs at Safeway are the only GREEN item this week in all categories. It also gets marked with the 'running man' icon to indicate that this item is at its lowest historical price.

Coke drinkers can get a good deal at Albertsons this week, with a SCORE of 91, you're paying only $2.75 per 12 pack.

Safeway has an interesting ad for Coke 12 packs and might very well be the best deal out there this week even over Albertsons. They are priced at 4/$11.98, which by itself scores a fair 63, but when you buy four 12 packs of Coke you also get a FREE Oreo cookies. I did not take the value of the Oreo cookies into consideration when calculating the SCORE, so the actual value of this deal might be closer to that of $2.50 and a SCORE of 98 to 100.  

Does everyone who likes Coke like Oreo's? I'm willing to bet that there's a few people out there who don't like the Oreo's. These people are probably rare as Oreo's are filled with deliciousness, but because of these few people I couldn't include this deal as part of the overall value for the Safeway ad.  

I was on the Safeway Facebook page where they posted about this sale and read some of the comments. People are really upset over this ad and letting Safeway have it on Facebook. As if this was just the last straw and now people need to speak up... that's just too much sugar in one special price deal! 

 Safeway

Buy two 12-packs of any Coke product, you'll get two more free. But WAIT! That's not all! You'll also get a free 11.3 - 16.6-oz box of your Nabisco Oreos. Load 'em up!

Safeway - Save Time and Money with Online Weekly Specials

www.safeway.com

Yesterday at 10:42am via Safeway ·  ·  · Share

• 
  

  105 people like this.
  

  • Person 1 Crazy Safeway...all this fatting stuff...FULL OF SUGAR, SUGAR, SUGAR....did they miss the memo from Mrs. Obama - obesity is on the rise.....I buy 24 sodas and I get 36 and a package of cookies....okay get it if you are having a party, cookout, of social gather...you will save some money, but if it is for yourself...resist...resist​...resist the temptation.
    

    Yesterday at 11:00am ·  ·  1 person
  • 
    

    Person 2 Its not even SUGAR!! Just edible food-like high fructose corn syrup based products . I used to love the soda deals but times have changed, I dont want to be a part of the American statistics of diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, kidney and pancreas failure; to be dependant on toxic pharmaceuticals that create far more problems than solve. Give your customers better deals on HEALTHY FOOD, not cheap tax-subsidized processed JUNK.
    

    Yesterday at 11:02am ·  ·  3 people
  • 
    

    Person 3 I just wish you guys wouldn't make it where I have to by 4 or 5 at a time to get the sale price on soda, sometimes I only want ONE 12-pack, but NO, I have to get a pallet jack to put them all in my truck!
    

    Yesterday at 11:03am · 
  • 
    

    Person 4 How about milk coupons instead?
    

    Yesterday at 11:07am ·  ·  2 people

    
    

    
    

Those are just a few of the posts that were on there. I changed the names, well obviously, unless there's a bunch of people named 'person 1, 2 etc, just to be safe. Pretty funny stuff in there.

Moving on...
20/24 packs

20/ 24 pack winner: Pepsi 20 pack at Kings and Coke 20 pack at Albertsons. ($5.99each)

Nothing standing out in this category this week with the highest SCORE at 73. 

Coke drinkers, Albertsons has the best prices this week for both 12 packs and 20 packs but you'll pay only .23¢ per can with 12 packs and .30¢ per can when you buy 20 packs.

Pepsi drinkers, buy your 20 packs this week at King Soopers. The highest scoring Pepsi 12 pack is only 37 and .36¢ per can while these 20 packs are offering .30¢ per can. 

Also be sure to keep an eye out for those IRC's that are stuck to the package. If you buy 2 you can save up to $1.00 bringing the price per pack down to $5.49 each. 

2 Liters

2 Liter Winner: Pepsi at King Soopers (.89¢)

Week 2 of the Kings Mega Event still reigns as the best price in 2 liters this week. The SCORE might seem a little high as I've set the lowest historical price at .79¢ knowing that it can drop below this. This is a more common sale but will change it in the future If I need to.

Coke 2 liters at every store chain are priced to compete with jet fuel and Albertsons raised prices on all brands of 2 liters in an effort to not sell any of them this week.

New Pepsi Package!

Pepsi introduced a new package recently on a select few flavors. The new 1.5 liter bottles are available in Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mtn Dew, Pepsi Max, and Orange Crush. At most store locations these are not included in the shelf set and can be found throughout the store on a side stack, rack, or seemingly random space.  

Why is this important?

The normal price for this new package has been at about $1.00 per bottle, which is an okay price when compared to a 2 liter. However; this week, all 3 store chains are offering this package at 2/$1.00!!

At 2/$1.00 the cost per fluid oz. is only .01¢, which is equivalent to a 2 liter at a .65¢ sale. If you were planning to purchase any of the available flavors in a 2 liter package, you will save some cash by finding this display and buying this new package instead. 

I can only assume that the reason Pepsi went to this 1.5 liter package was to eliminate that last part of the soda in a 2 liter that tends to go flat. Whatever the real reason is, take advantage of these package launch prices and save some money buying your Pepsi.

In closing...

That's it for Soda Wars this week and again, I apologize for being a few days late. 

In the comments below, let me know if the SCORE system makes sense to you. Is it easy to understand? Read? Does it help?

Thanks and see you next week!

Soda Wars Episode XXVIII: July 13th - 19th

Welcome to Soda Wars Episode XXVIII. 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. 

Soda Wars Episode XXVII: July 6th - 12th

Welcome to Soda Wars Episode XXVII for the week of June 29th through July 5th.
Soda Wars is a weekly blog presented by the Peanut Butter List.