Life as a personal grocery shopper.

We found chicken for less than 12 cents per pound yesterday, a discovery too good to keep to ourselves. Instead, I did what I always do: Texted my niece and my neighbor to see how many packages they might want. While I never wanted to be a personal grocery shopper, I can’t keep deals like that to myself.

Those poultry deals were five-pound-plus packages of chicken drumsticks for 64 cents, and boneless, skinless, organic chicken breasts (2½ to 2¾ pounds) for $1.28 apiece.

We left the store with a lot of chicken. It helped them, and it helped us reach our goal of getting a free turkey* through a store offer.

Sharing deals is a sort of frugal ministry for me. Maybe it could be for you, too.

I’m not saying you must do this every time you hit the store. Or maybe at all, if it doesn’t fit your current life. But given how expensive food is getting, think what a gift this could be to others. 

I scored big-time last week, too, bringing home Jennie-O ground turkey for a dollar a pound; my neighbor needed it, my niece didn’t. They were both interested in the large tubs of Bob Evans macaroni and cheese for 49 cents. You couldn’t make it that cheaply, at least not in Alaska – and normally those tubs are $7.99 each.

Like yesterday’s chicken deal, the mac ’n’ cheese was perilously close to the best-by date. That chicken needed to be used or frozen that very day, which is why it was so darned cheap. With food prices as scary as they are, we were all willing to rearrange our freezers a little.

Some likely candidates

However, this kind of sharing need not be limited to amazing clearance deals. Your personal shopper ministry could be a boon to folks like:

New parents. They are often very, very tired, which can affect their shopping habits. That means they might realize they’re dangerously low on some essential item only after they finally get the baby to sleep. Bonus awesome points if you find stuff like clearance formula or a ridiculously good closeout price on diapers.

Shut-ins. Not everyone is well enough to drive. Or maybe they can drive, but are chronically short on spoons** and limit shopping to once or twice a month. You could help fill in any gaps.

The car-less. Some folks rely on public transit, rideshares or taxis to get groceries. That often means shopping as seldom as they can get away with it – which in turn means fewer chances to hit good sales, let alone find great deals.

Those on tight budgets. Picking up milk and bread helps them stretch the gasoline in the tank. It also ensures they won’t succumb to impulse items doing a trip of their own.

A few caveats

Make sure you get paid back. “Oh, I don’t have any cash on me right now but I’ll go to the bank soon” has a very short shelf-life as an excuse. Except in very specific circumstances (e.g., serious illness), an adult should make it their business to reimburse the person who just saved them time and/or money.

Bring change. Here’s where it can get messy. If you buy $4.90 worth of Bob Evans for a neighbor, better be ready to break a $20 bill.

Or suggest e-transfers. PayPal, Venmo and others make repayment easy. My niece and I use the same credit union, so she just transfers the cash to me. (When I ask for it, that is. Plenty of times I don’t.)

Don’t do this all the time. If you train people to think you’ll always run their errands, one or two basic foodstuffs could quickly balloon to 10 or 12 items. That cane be a lot to ask.

If you don’t want to do someone’s shopping on the regular, you need to say so. Too blunt? Come up with vague non-answers when that person asks when you’re going to the store. Stuff like, “Not sure” or “Haven’t decided yet” might do the trick.

Some people can’t take a hint, and might respond with, “Well, call me when you’re going, because I have a list.” That’s when you must pull out a polite but pointed phrase*** such as “I’m not in the position to do anyone’s shopping but my own this week.”

Or do it all the time. If it makes you happy, that is. Maybe you like wandering around in supermarkets. I do, because I remember the days when I could barely afford a pound of beans, some neck bones and an onion. I also like stumbling upon a shockingly good manager’s special.

Those who really like to shop might find great joy in shopping for a better world. You could decide to pare back a little if it stops being fun. Unless, of course, you find 12-cent chicken.

Readers: Do you have a phone/text list of folks (frugal or not) for when you find a hot deal? Or do you check in with certain folks to see if they need anything before you head to the store?

*Part of that haul included another turkey, a 24-pounder that we will roast and pressure-can at some point. The free turkey we donated to a Thanksgiving food drive.

**If you’re not familiar with Spoon Theory, please read up on it.

***I read about a woman’s 90-year-old aunt who was tired of being bugged to go here and do that by well-meaning types. Her reply was a genteel, “Oh, I don’t think I would enjoy that.” Looking forward to using this one myself some day.

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16 thoughts on “Life as a personal grocery shopper.”

  1. Actually, I am now helping someone else with her shopping on the regular: my next-door neighbor, who is, I fear, is in the early stages of dementia–and has not been driving since July, when she started out to do errands in a nearby suburb and wound up in a city 45 minutes east of here.

    I’ve found that it works better to take my NDN to her favorite store than to shop for her, since this gets her out of the house for a bit, she can pay for her own groceries, and she can find exactly the things she wants (with increasing assistance). But we’ve started swapping bargains: I sometimes have her get loss leaders at her store for me, and I sometimes get loss leaders at my stores for her. We have reached a gentlewomen’s agreement that our expenditures for each other will probably break even over the long run.

    I’ll also sometimes divide bulk bargains (BOGO offers, large amounts of produce or spices, etc.) with the Bestest Neighbors across the street, who always pay promptly. And I’ve begun asking another neighbor couple who have a Costco membership (I don’t) to pick up things for me at Costco; of course, I immediately reimburse them for these.

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  2. Just read “Spoon Theory” at the link you provided. Excellent! I have mobility issues, but a cherished family member has that plus a lot more. The article was a good reminder for me that – on any given day – he has fewer spoons than I do. I think I’ll share the link with him and we can talk about it. Thanks!

    As for Thanksgiving, that family member and I are all about simple this year. Hot turkey sandwiches. Made from a roasted rolled turkey breast, boxed stuffing, instant potatoes, gravy from a jar (with a little doctoring), and purchased sourdough bread. For dessert, coffee and a fruit or pumpkin pie from the local independent bakery. It’s a meal definitely lacking in veggies, but we’ll make up for that on other days.

    Donna, it’s always a pleasure to see a posting from you. It makes my day!

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  3. So glad to hear from you Donna! Hope you and DF are doing well.
    That was a GREAT deal! So good to be able to share. I check with my friend when I find a deal I think she would be interested in.

    I could totally do a sides-only Thanksgiving!
    My favorite is the dressing and I always make enough for leftovers.

    Hoping everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

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  4. I was a personal grocery shopper for a friend in her late 80s during the Covid pandemic. Her children, who do not live in this area, did not want her to out among the public out of fear she would catch Covid, a very real concern. She would read me a list of things she wanted over the telephone the night before I was going to shop. Mask on, in I’d go to the grocery store and shop for both of us. This was before vaccines. I’d then drop her groceries at her door and she would stick an arm out and hand me money or a check. The grocery shopping was never a bother as I grew up with this wonderful woman being a close friend to our family and look at her as a second mom. What bothered me was seeing how alone and isolated she was during those early sad days of the pandemic.

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  5. What an awesome find and being able to share and help your niece and neighbor just takes it over the top! I’m always prepared to stock up when a great buy presents itself. Hubby and I had gotten chicken drumsticks for 39 cents a pound and when I make them, I call it our under a buck meal. I just crack myself up. 🙂 We really enjoy them, so we eat them about once a week. I was fortunate enough to get a free turkey as well from one of our local grocery stores and a free ham at a different local grocer. I am set for Christmas and Thanksgiving, YAY!!! Been eating lots of winter squash from our garden that are stored in the basement. This all helps the grocery budget tremendously. I am looking to retire in a little over two years, so I am really in saver mode to save what I can while working. Pretty much always had that frugal mindset as when we were first married, we didn’t have a lot and it’s just a way of life for us. Happy Thanksgiving to you and DF!!!!

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    • Hope you have a good holiday as well. We just made a package of the drumsticks: one big chicken dinner, with the remaining meat removed from the bones and stored in the fridge. All the bones went into the slow cooker overnight with the (small) contents of the boiling bag, resulting in a little under a quart of rich stock. That stock went into the freezer; I made room by pulling out almost a quart of veggie stock and about a cup and a half of black bean broth.

      To those two broths, I added the leftover chopped chicken, seasonings, some dehydrated green tomatoes from the summer’s garden, a handful of frozen hominy, half a cup of brown rice (from a Buy Nothing score), our frozen homegrown peas, and some sauteed celery and onion. The celery came from three plants currently semi-succeeding in our kitchen: They’re sprouting from the roots three celery plants harvested in September. The result was a wonderfully thick stew that, served with DF’s fresh rustic bread, made a terrific winter supper. A darned cheap one, too.

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  6. We had an excess goods sharing relationship with the family that lived across the street when we moved to our neighborhood 12 years ago. They had two small children and looked to be strugglng at times. My husband and son don’t like turkey and when the seasonal free turkeys came our way, the neighbors loved getting them.

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  7. I have some friends and a niece and her family that I will sometimes shop for/share the grocery store bounty with. Also do the same for craft supplies.

    Good to hear from you, read your writings.

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  8. What a fabulous score and kudos for spreading the wealth. I always split BOGO with my mother in law. Helps us both a bit.
    Her grandmother was very frugal, especially raising a family in the depression. Anything that was given to her, she would figure out the value ( even an 10 cent apple) and put that in her savings. She passed away in 1985 at 98 years old, being widowed for over 30 years, her house was paid, all bills paid on time, and she had almost $14,000 in her savings account. She is still an inspiration for our family.

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