So this weekend I sat down with all 10 grocery flyers that we usually get on the weekends, and I read them all, cover to cover. It was exhausting, and took almost an hour. I even took notes. I’m so, so ready for ultrasound technician school now.

Anyway, in the end, after all that work, I didn’t really feel like it was all that useful an exercise. First of all, I still can’t tell if the flyers contain sale prices, or just their regular prices. I think maybe they are just trying to highlight stuff that is in-season, and therefore, at its naturally lowest price of the year. Certainly the majority of stuff in the flyers were produce and meat products, so I guess they have seasonal ups and downs to take note of.

Secondly, most of the advertised items were things that our family doesn’t usually eat. So I was left wondering, is it worth it to run out and take advantage of the fact that asparagus is now in season, even though we all hate it? Should I ditch our usual brand of toothpaste to get the kind that is on special this week? Should we become meat eaters because ground chicken is at an all-time low? Hm.

And thirdly, even for things that were advertised that I knew we would use, and were at a good price…we just don’t have the storage space to “stock up” on stuff. So I can’t go out and buy 30 boxes of granola bars, because only two boxes will fit in the pantry. And I can’t take advantage of the fact that bread is 10 cents cheaper this week, because our little freezer can only freeze up to one extra loaf. Basically, I can only get what we need for a week or so, no matter what is on sale or not.

So all in all, here’s what I learned: it’s most important to shop, on a regular basis, at a store that has generally lower prices, than to chase around town looking for the lowest price on every item on every given week. And a simple analysis of the flyers did teach me that the Superstore is a good place to shop, but the Loblaws, where we do about half of our shopping, is a BAD place to shop. So from now on, it’s the Superstore all the way. I’ll be shopping there as much as possible and taking note, as much as possible, of the price we are paying for all our regular items.

Also, although I won’t be buying foods that our family doesn’t normally eat, for the things we do usually buy, I won’t automatically reach for the familiar brand name every time. If we need granola bars, say, first I’ll have a look at what brands are cheap and/or on sale (which can be determined from just taking a few extra moments in the store, instead of poring over the flyers). I’ll check them for Captain Jelly Belly safety, and if they pass, then that’s what I should buy. Except for the KD, of course. When it comes to produce, try to buy stuff that is in-season, which should be easy to determine once I develop my “what is the usual price for stuff” skills.

For some bigger drugstore-type items — mainly, diapers, wipes, and baby food — it is worth it to watch the flyers, and then stock up if someone is having a great sale. So for those things, I’ll continue to check the basic stores that I go to all the time, and try to hit a sale.

And, we should consider getting a really big freezer, so we can buy some stuff in bulk and freeze it, and maybe devoting some basement space to extra pantry shelves.

Thus ends ‘s rules for grocery shopping!