Memorial Day meal--Grocery ad Cherry Picks

Here's a grocery ad comparison of a basic Memorial Day menu. I tried to compare items as closely as I could, using only the ads.

As you might expect, Aldi came out with the lowest prices, so they have good buys if you aren't brand loyal. Fresh ground beef price was a tie between Aldi and Berkot's, but Jewel didn't list fresh ground beef so I used their frozen burgers as the comparison. The convenience of ready-made patties from Jewel might be worth the extra expense, especially if you're having a crowd.

ALDI

Prices effective Wednesday, May 20 through Sunday, May 24, 2009.

All Natural 80/20 Ground Beef lb. $1.79 (.11 oz.)

B-Bar Jumbo Hot Dogs 16 oz. 99¢ (.06 oz.)

Kyder Tomato Ketchup 36 oz. $1.15 (.04 oz.)

Briargate Mustard 14 oz. 69¢ (.05 oz.)

Great Gerkins Hamburger Dill Pickles 32 oz. $1.49 (.05 oz.)

L'oven Fresh Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns 12 oz./8 ct.  79¢ (.10 per bun)

Little Salad Bar Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, or Cole Slaw 15-16 oz. tub $1.25 (.08 oz.)

Sweet Corn 25¢ ear

Whole Seedless Watermelon $2.99 each

JEWEL

Prices effective Thursday, May 21 through Wednesday, May 27, 2009. Prices are given using Preferred Card.

Glenmark Cookout or Steak Eater's Burgers (frozen) 3 lb. $7.99 (.17 oz.)

Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich or Ball Park selected varieties Meat Franks s 16 oz. 2/$3 (.09 oz.)

Heinz Ketchup 46 oz. 2/$5 (.05 oz.)

Jewel Mustard 20 oz. $1.99 (.10 oz.)

Mt. Olive Kosher Dills or Bread & Butter Sandwich Stuffers 16 oz.$3.99 BUY 1, GET 1 FREE  (.12 oz.)

Jewel Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns 8 ct. 88¢* (.11 per bun)

Chef's Kitchen Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, or Cole Slaw 4 lb. tub $6.99 (.11 oz.)

Sweet Corn 19¢* ear

Whole Seedless Watermelon $3.99 each--Limit 2

*Special 3-Day Sale Item (Thursday, May 21 through Saturday, May 23)

BERKOT'S

Prices effective Wednesday, May 20 through Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

Berkot's Extra Lean Fresh Ground Chuck (3# or more)  lb. $1.79 (.11 oz.)

Bar-S Reg., Bun Size or Turkey Hot Dogs 12 oz. 99¢ (.08 oz.)

Heinz Ketchup 40 oz. 2/$5 (.06 oz.)

Plochman's Mustard 19 oz. $1.29 (.07 oz.)

Vlasic Pickles selected varieties 16-24 oz. 2/$5 (.11-.16 oz.)

Wonder Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns 8 ct.  10/$10 (.12 per bun)

IN THE DELI Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, or Cole Slaw 16 oz. $1.49 (.09 oz.)

Sweet Corn 10 ears/$3  (.30 ear)

Whole Seedless Watermelon $3.99 each

Pam's Grocery Ad "Cherry Picks*" for May 7, 2009

I used to layout grocery ads for a living, now I try to stretch our budget by using the ads to make up my weekly menu and shopping list. Here is a summary of the best values I found in ads for my shopping trip this weekend in the Lincoln-Way (New Lenox, Manhattan, Frankfort, Mokena, far southwest Chicago suburbs, IL) area of Illinois. 

Although I'm targeting ads in this small area of Illinois, some of the stores and products are national, and you may see similar products/trends wherever you are.

Berkot's

• Dutch Farm Fancy Shredded Cheese (excluding swiss & parmesan) 99¢ 8-oz. pkg.

• Cottonelle Ultra Toilet Paper 12 pk. dbl. roll  $4.99 with $1 off instant coupon

• Broccoli Crowns 79¢ lb.

• Extra Lean Ground Chuck  (3# or more pkg) $1.79 lb.

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.79 lb.

Jewel-Osco

• Jewel Large Eggs doz. 99¢ (one of their "Big Relief Price Cuts")

CVS --not a grocery store, but drug stores and discount stores offer much better

values on some items than grocery stores typically do.

• Dawn Dish Liquid 10.3 oz. (w/CVS customer card) 99¢ (limit 5)

• Colgate MaxWhite Toothpaste $2.99 (w/CVS customer card), receive $2 in Extra Bucks Reward, "like getting it for 99¢ after extra bucks".  (NOTE: I clip coupons from the Sunday inserts in the Chicago Tribune and from inserts which come in weekly papers. I have a $1.00 off manufacturer coupon which I'll also use for this. So, after all is said and done, it's as if I am PAID 1¢ to get a tube of toothpaste.)

*A "Cherry Picker" is someone who picks only the best sale items for purchase.

Push mowing: whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger

I grew up mowing grass. Summers meant many hours spent on the riding lawn mower, a relaxing way to get a tan and earn a little spending money. 

Now that I'm much older (maybe that should be "much, much, much older"--just ask my knees and back), I am using a push mower. It doesn't run on gasoline or electricity. It runs on human power. It doesn't cut nearly as well as our old gas mower, but it does get the job done. Eventually. I mow in sections now, following the advice in the time-honored saying, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." 

Actually, I feel better each time I mow.  My surprised muscles respond well to the task, as long as I don't take on too many sections at a time. These days, no one pays me for the task, and I mask off my skin from the wrinkle-inducing sun, but I still enjoy mowing. Mostly. Especially when I finish.