Thrifty Shopping: Real Deals

Just a few miles from my house is one of my favorite places to shop - Real Deals.  Real Deals is also a favorite of Mrs. P's.  The flowers for her St. Patrick's Day wreath came from here.  Real Deals is a surplus and dollar store.  They sell what the usual dollar stores sell, but they also stock surplus and closeout items at a great discount.  You just never know what they'll have so I like to stop by every week or two to check it out.  The majority of what I buy there is groceries.  Everything but cold items is a dollar or less so I've been able to find some exciting deals!

Here's what I found today:

This came to $6.10.  (Refrigerated and frozen items are $1.10.)  Estimating using similar products at my local grocery store this could have cost me $17, $12 if I had purchased generic versions.  That's a great savings!

Though their inventory changes frequently, there are a few things I can almost always find so I rarely buy them anywhere else.  I get many of our spices there.  Real Deals is a good place to get cereal and oatmeal.  This is just some of what I have in my pantry from Real Deals.

Some of my favorite finds at Real Deals have been Ghiradelli chocolate bars, Chobani yogurts 3 for $1, 6 packs of sparkling water, big tubs of Trader Joe's organic animal crackers, and frozen organic vegetables.

Something to pay attention to at Real Deals is expiration dates.  Some of the items are there because they are close to their expiration dates, so you should consider how much you can use by the out date before you stock up.  Refrigerated and frozen foods I try to use by the expiration date, but dry goods I give a little more flexibility.

As with all dollar stores, you have to know your prices when you shop.  A can of soup or a box of Jello aren't good things to buy at the dollar store because they're less expensive at the regular grocery store and probably have a better expiration date.  Just because it's a dollar doesn't mean it's a good deal.