I had a rented a car the other day and needed to do some errands including buying some things, and I had a few choice of places to buy those things and decided to pick the place with a scratch and dent store so I could hit two birds with one stone- get frugal stuff, without hurting my body in the process. I’m glad I went, because I got some great deals. Total for this shop was just $53.42. If I had bought this shop at a regular grocery store it would have cost at least $135!

So, what did I buy?

Lemon juice usually costs at least $1.28 for the generic brand, and I bought 3 bottles for $0.95. I was out of lemon juice (since I’ve been using it a lot recently to make lemonade and guacamole) and buying it for this price was just a nice bonus.

I like to keep my house well stocked in olive oil, because it usually is quite expensive. Generic brand olive oil costs minimum $8 per bottle, and I bought 2 bottles for $5.14 each. 

I bought gluten free egg noodles. Regularly I cannot find any gluten free noodles for anything less than $2.85 for 350 grams, and the noodles I bought generally cost $5 per 250 gram package, and I bought 6 packages for $1.90 per 250 gram package, or the equivalent $2.32 for a 350 gram package. 

I like to use soy flakes to either extend my ground beef in recipes or to replace it entirely. My kids enjoy a meat free version of bolognese using TVP soy flakes which rehydrate into a huge amount, so a little bit goes a long way. A package of soy flakes costs $8.57, but I buy it exclusively at scratch and dent stores. I bought 3 packages for $1.90 each. 

I never purchase dried figs because they are quite expensive, especially factoring in per pound. But recently I found them at the scratach and dent store for $1.14 per package, which is awesome since they are usually $4.25 per package, and my kids loved them, so I decided to see if I could buy more, and the store still had them, but when I got to the counter they told me that the price was lower than what was labeled on them, and they actually cost $0.71 per package… so I bought 16 packages. 

They had pickles being sold for $0.95 per can when they usually cost $1.85, so I bought 3 cans. 

They had breadsticks for $0.95 per package when they usually are $1.71 so I bought 3.

We are big peanut butter eaters in our home and the cheapest I ever find peanut butter is $2.85 for the generic brand, whereas name brand like Skippy or Jif is $5 per jar. They had peanut butter for $2.38, including Jif! I bought 3 jars. 

Last but not least, they had sweet sesame halva spread for $1.71 when it generally costs $4. 

Overall I’m really satisfied with my shop and I’m glad I was able to fill my house with both staples and things my kids can take to eat as snacks between meals, and that I didn’t hurt my body in the process of buying frugal groceries.

Have you gotten any great deals grocery shopping lately? What were they?