Maximize Savings: CVS vs Walgreens Couponing Tips

With food prices continuing higher, looking for deals, coupons, sales, etc. is even more important now than in years past. I’ve written about seeking out supermarket deals. But a lot of us turn to drug stores for personal care items. So you need to work every available deal in those as well.

The two national chains, CVS and Walgreens, each have extensive couponing programs. But after trying both, using tips I found online from extreme couponers, CVS is the clear winner in offering deals to consumers.

The Walgreen’s program has more conditions, fine print and road blocks than does CVS. It really seems designed to be a bait-and-switch system, luring you to shop at Walgreens but then forcing you to spend more than you expected.

One recent example I ran into — I bought something there that offered me a $5 register cash reward. Walgreens register rewards are printed coupons that normally come with the restriction they must be used in seven days. So they basically draw you back, likely before you need to shop there again otherwise.

But the coupon I got was even more convoluted. It was for $5 off a future purchase. But it was only activated after I shopped there again and spent a certain amount (I think it was $20). Only then would it be activated — and for my next trip!

So I would need to make three shipping trips to get that $5; the first one, the second to activate it and the third to spend it! It’s an insult to shoppers, really. Shame on you Walgreens.

Continue reading “Maximize Savings: CVS vs Walgreens Couponing Tips” →
0

2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find

Target 93% lean ground beef

Nutritionists constantly encourage us to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. But some of those healthy picks will be harder to find this year, as will some other foods like domestically raised beef, reports Tasting Table, mostly because of lower production.

For one though, cottage cheese, increased demand is creating shortages.

Continue reading “2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find” →
0

Recall-0-rama: 5 recalls to know about

Food-related recalls seem to be everywhere at the start of 2026.

Eating Well magazine’s website has a roundup of five recent ones that involve everything from fried rice to dietary supplements. And more than 20,000 peanut butter items are being recalled in 40 states by a processor called Ventura Foods. LLC.

The five items reported on by Eating Well include:

  • Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken with Japanese-Style Fried Rice and Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice sold in Canada and the U.S.
  • Frozen meatballs sold by Aldi in 32-ounce packages.
  • Rosabella moringa powder capsules with impacted expiration dates through November 2027.
  • Two-pound packages of salmon sold at BJ’s Wholesale Club locations in seven states.
  •  Turmeric supplements in 30 states under the Qunol Extra Strength Turmeric (1,000-milligram) label.

For the peanut butter recall: “More than 20,000 single-serve peanut butter items and peanut butter-and-jelly combo packs are affected. Some were distributed by DYMA Brands, Inc., US Foods, Sysco Corporation, Gordon Food Service and Independent Marketing Alliance, among others,” People reports.

I’m feeling good about not liking peanut butter right now.

0

Why Iceberg Lettuce Deserves a Second Chance in Your Salad

Ever notice how nutritionists balk when you say you like iceberg lettuce? I had one audibly scoff at me once.

A pre-Covid Costco salad, now that was a salad worthy of the name. And it featured iceberg and other lettuces.

But a recent piece in USA Today says all lettuce is good for you, even the maligned iceberg.

Turns out it’s not as good as lettuce that more deeply green, and so higher in good things.

But “choosing darker, red-leaf varieties or mixing in baby greens or microgreens can really boost the nutritional value of your salads,” one nutrition expert tells USAToday.

So let the salads begin and enjoy the type of lettuce you enjoy.

0

The cheapest groceries aren’t at a grocery store

Grocery prices have reached the stratosphere and we’re all scrambling to lower our food bills. Enter Consumer Reports which recently looked at where the cheapest groceries can be found.

My advice to lower your food bill — wherever you shop, plan weekly trips, search out deals and then plan your meals accordingly. I save between 30-50% on weekly trips, as this receipt shows.

Surprise, the winner wasn’t a traditional supermarket or even Walmart, it was Costco.

“Only six chains nationwide had lower prices than Walmart, and the cheapest grocery store in America was none other than Costco. According to the study, groceries at Costco cost, on average, 21.4% less than at Walmart,” reports Delish in analyzing the Consumer Reports study.

But before you run to Costco, keep in mind there are some downsides to shopping there. You have to buy a membership, to start. Costco also doesn’t stock as many grocery products as traditional stores. And you likely have to buy in large quantities, more than a small family might need.

But you could join with neighbors, splitting the $65 membership fee and dividing up what you purchase.

BJ’s Wholesale came in second, another warehouse concept store.

My advice for getting lower prices — shop sales, use coupons and plan your weekly trip, and your weekly menu to maximize your purchasing power. I rarely pay full-price for any grocery item.

My goal each week — to save at least 33 – 40% off full price for my weekly shopping list.

0

Why Coca-Cola is Ending Minute Maid Frozen Concentrate

Breakfast takes on a light tone when you opt for low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar options. Pictured here is fat-free yogurt (regular and Greek), low-sodium English muffins, low-sugar orange juice, jams, fresh figs and Smart Balance instead of butter.
Orange juice is more likely to be in bottles on American tables these days, to in frozen cans.

Coca-Cola is dropping its iconic (at least for old people) Minute Maid frozen concentrate in the United States and Canada after a nearly 80-year run.

When it was first introduced, concentrate, essentially orange bits frozen in a can, was the height of convenience. Most people squeezed oranges for juice 80 years ago (it’s true, look it up).

With a can of concentrate, you took it from the freezer and dumped it in a pitcher of water, stirred and drank the stuff.

Today, though, people think nothing of buying big cartons or bottles of OJ and lugging it home.

Plus, I would guess with fewer people eating breakfast at home, home consumption is down as well. So Coke is concentrating on other, more profitable lines.

Coke and Pepsi are both scrambling to stay relevant for consumers who aren’t drinking their main soda offerings as much as in the past.

Pepsi just announced price cuts for some of its snack offerings, for example, worried that more people are gulping weight-loss drugs and turning away from snacks in the process.

0

Halfway measures won’t get you to your fiber-eating goal

I had to laugh at a recent New York Times piece titled 4 Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber. These might be easy for some, but they’ll also be distasteful to others and they won’t get you to your fiber-eating goals.

I resolved to eat more fiber years ago and went all-in with a fiber-rich breakfast. I eat Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal every morning, even taking it with me when I travel. Two-thirds of a cup has 9 grams of fiber. I eat an entire cup each morning, so roughly 13 grams of fiber.

That puts me well on my way to the daily recommendation of 25 grams. I also eat nothing but whole wheat bread and pastas and I grab whole fruit whenever possible, adding still more fiber.

Back to the Times piece and its recs. I don;t do smoothies, so blending fiber into smoothies won’t help me. I also don;t snack on trail mix or seeds or whatever, so that’s two of the four that don’t help. And I don;t believe in making gradual changes, the first recommendation. At almost 73, I don;t have time left for doing anything gradually.

0

Wendy’s hops on the thin mints bandwagon

Wendy’s is bringing back the thin mint Frosty in partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA which sell thin mint cookies this time of year.

Wendy’s will launch it thin mint Frosty, with either vanilla or chocolate soft-serve topped with thin mint sauce. The non-heart-healthy offering (sorry, I had to remind you) debuts Feb. 16, two days after Valentine’s Day.

Wendy’s also will be allowing Girl Scout cookie sales at its outlets.

0

Gold Star Food Recall: Over 2,000 Products Affected

A major food recall, this time from a distributor rather than a processor, is underway. More than 2,000 products are involved.

Minneapolis-based Gold Star Distribution Inc. has recalled food items, pet foods, beauty products and drugs that it distributes in three states, the Food and Drug Administration has announced.

First issued in December, the recall was recently classified as Class II by the FDA. Class II is used for products that “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the FDA’s site.

Among the products recalled are Pringles, Nutella and Cheerios. The original recall was issued in December due to “the presence of rodent and avian contamination,” the company said. Products had been distributed in Minnesota, Indiana and North Dakota.

0

Amazon Shifts Strategy: Goodbye Fresh & Go

A local Amazon Fresh store wasn't very inviting or exciting.

Amazon is pulling out of the grocery store business, sort of. The online retailing giant plans to close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores. It will focus instead on expanding Whole Foods and its online grocery business.

Amazon has conquered a lot of retail segments over the years, laying waste to smaller competitors. But food retailing is a different animal.

The modern American supermarket industry began after World War II, operating on the principle that large volume could make up for very low profit margins on items sold.

That model requires careful inventory management and pricing strategies since so much of a food retailers product can rot on the shelf if it doesn’t sell quickly.

In meat and poultry, an industry I wrote about for many years, it’s called “sell it or smell it.” That means if you don’t sell the products soon, they will stink, and lose you money.

Food retailing also requires point-of-sale marketing pizazz; you have to convince people to buy more than sale items to make any money off them.

I visited an Amazon fresh store in my area several times. It was dark and dead-looking inside with none of the excitement of a traditional supermarket.

Walmart has mastered the food retailing business. It ranks as the largest food retailer in the country. Kroger, a traditional supermarket chain, is number two and wants to be the surviving traditional chain when the dust settles in the segment.

Target, which has tried for many years to become a food powerhouse, ranks seventh, noteworthy but not overwhelming.

Amazon seems to think direct online food sales will be its future. Delivery is always the hangup with such sales. Home delivery is labor and cost-intensive. But maybe self-driving electric delivery vehicles will someday change that cost equation.

Until then, it seems that traditional supermarkets, and Walmart, have beaten back Amazon in food retailing, for now at least.

0

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑