I would say that this sale was about even with my thoughts on the last sale.
I really liked that the new location is just 20 minutes from home instead of nearly an hour drive. It also wasn't nearly as busy so instead of waiting in line for an hour we waited about five minutes. The new store is smaller though which meant we were really packed in with all of the other shoppers. This banana box sale did not have a coupon like last time so I paid the full $30 for the box. Here is what I got:
1 box instant coffees (a brand that Mark loves for backpacking/camping)
1 Gluten Free (and Anna-Safe) pancake mix
1 Box of slim fast snacks
1 Progresso soup bag
1 Knorr rice side
1 can of fruit
1 can of veggies
1 box of pasta
1 box of GF pasta
1 bag of pasta
1 protein oatmeal cup (Mark likes to take these for breakfast on work days)
1 box of pop-tarts
1 box of movie theater style candy
1 box of gum
1 box of applesauce cups (18 cups total)
1 box of gummies (20 packs total)
2 boxes of Fiber One snacks
2 boxes of Krispey Kreme cake mixes
2 boxes of pineapple upside down cake mixes
2 boxes of GF cake mixes
2 boxes of organic soup
3 boxes of potatoes (all were 2-meal packs so enough for 6 meals)
4 pack of diced pear fruit cups
That all filled the base of my box. But I had about 1/2 an inch at the top and some funky holes to fill so I really felt like I was getting my $30/worth. I filled them with:
8 juice boxes (these were seperated from their package so I could stick them in little spaces)
5 bags of candy (like people buy at gas stations for $1.39/each)
13 candy bars
The Experience Overall:
I really like that the new location is so much closer to home. I do wish the store was larger as I felt like I had less room to move around and a smaller selection to shop from. At the last sale I was able to get more items for meals and more options that were GF and Anna-Safe (peanut/tree-nut free) Like the last sale, many items were out of date and I was not willing to waste room in my box on out-of-date items. I also think these sales would be easier if I didn't have to check every box for both the expiration date as well as the ingredients list.
Biggest Disappointment:
I felt like they had the same items in huge quantities. I bet there were 50-100 bags of the same kind of soup. The shelves did look full but there were many multiples. Some I didn't want and some we couldn't use. There were also a TON of seasonings which people were grabbing in huge handfuls but we never use.
What I Will Do Next Time:
- Mark is considering going too. That means we could fill two boxes at the same time and I wouldn't have to debate over every item as heavily. This sale I ended up trading items around a lot.
- I will take Jeanette! She is like a puzzle master and helped me get SO many extra things in my box.
- I will really look into prices at the grocery. I thought my big box of applesauce was around $10/retail so I thought I had a great deal with that in my box. When I got home I found that it retails for around $5.50. The kids will eat it and the individual cups will come in handy when we have other kids over for meals but I didn't get the awesome deal that I thought I was getting with that in the box.
- I will try to get more canned goods in my box. I realized when I got home I could have added a few more canned goods instead of the bagged candy.
Overall, I calculated that my $30 box would have been around $100 retail at our local grocery stores!
Saving money sure does make me happy! :)
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