Does anybody order any groceries from Amazon to save money? I'm thinking about doing this for any items that I find will be cheaper at Amazon versus buying in a store. I earn free Amazon gift cards every month, and our income is about to take a significant drop when my husband comes home from his deployment, so I figure why not use the cards for free groceries! :)
What groceries have you found on Amazon cheaper than in the stores?
Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm still in the same full-time job I had before he left. But, we moved to a bigger, more expensive apartment while he was gone (for school zones & safety reasons). And when he comes home, he won't have a job. He's going to go to college full-time (paid by military) and will only be getting a small allowance for housing every month. It was tough before he left (couldn't find a job - that's why he volunteered for the deployment) and I was just looking for a different way to help out with necessities. I usually get $25 a month in free Amazon gift cards, so I figured why not get something we NEED rather than just stuff we want? :)
I was thinking about getting maybe cereal, pop-tarts, canned items. Can't get stuff in bulk that will need freezing because we don't have that much freezer space. And I would only order if I would get free shipping.
I recently saw an analysis comparing amazon to Costco and Costco was cheaper.
Buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself. Use store coupons and store flyers at Walmart, they will honor anyones sale ad. Freeze all your extra food.
I've sometimes gotten better deals on canned meats, soups etc. But only if you are comparing name brands like Amy's that are so expensive anyway. I was doing pretty well with crackers and cereal. But not better than just buying store brands or plain label brands. The main thing is convenience. If you can find enough things to come on a regular basis, like toilet paper, diapers, or other things you might run out for between paydays, it will keep you from buying so many impulse items. It's the subscribe and save things that save you money because you don't pay shipping.
I love doing my groceries on Amazon but I did Amazon fresh. Is that what you are talking about? I would always go to the on sale section first then plan a weekly menu and fill in the blanks. You don't do any impulse buys. It saved us loads of money.
I suppose if you use a lot of pre-packaged foods, you can save money that way (check to see that shipping won't undo your savings). Many years ago I discovered that the best way to save money and optimize nutrition was to cook from scratch from the bulk food aisle.
I'd usually have two or three cooking days every week, and have enough freshly-cooked veggies, rice and beans, casseroles and stews, and the like, to quickly reheat for the rest of the week. Prepackaged, processed foods are actually pretty expensive, and contain a load of unwanted ingredients like preservatives, fats, flavoring agents and colors.
What did ya do before he went on deployment? Jus curious because imo unless there's more children now it seems like you'd just transition back to that lifestyle (I know he gets hazard and all that, I used to be a deployment section administration clerk lol). I would think if you know that you'll be out of certain things 2 wks in advance it could work, but it's very inconvenient to order things online like food that you'll need soon. What kind of stuff can you order like that? I don't imagine food like veggies and stuff... maybe not anyways. It seems like a pain but who knows, just watch out for shipping to make sure it doesn't undo the savings.
