Friday, April 18, 2014

Little Caesars Hot-N-Ready Pizza Price Jumps to $5.55 - Right before Good Friday



Ahh what would a holiday be without someone trying to make an extra buck. Especially around a holiday. 

Good Friday is the one day of the year where most people that celebrate the Christian faith do not eat meat. So , Little Caesars decided earlier this week to take advantage of that fact by raising the price of their "Hot-N-Ready" Pizza to $5.55 from $5.00 effective immediately claiming "higher cheese prices."

This 11.1% increase has been toyed with by Little Caesars in various markets on and off during the year, usually when sales slump at the $5.55 price (and they always do,) they remarket it back to $5.00. This has been going on for the better part of the last six or so years. But never quite as flagrantly as this one in regards to timing. Of course the disclaimer also says "prices will go back to normal once cheese prices stabilize" which in the real world translates to - "after the Easter and Lenten season."

Let's face it. This pizza is far from gourmet. If you are looking for cheap eats and really don't care about how your stomach feels in an hour by all means, eat it up. But if you are looking to not get ripped off by an opportunistic big box food chain like Little Caesar's then you might find a better pizza option elsewhere this weekend - and odds are they haven't been effected at all by "higher cheese prices." 

Strange, isn't it?

Update 5/18/2014:

On the local Sunday Paper - Guess what we saw?


Guess the "higher cheese price" landslide has been scaled back.

Nah, it was just the end of the lenten season.

Just like we called earlier.

These big box chains, retailers and manufacturers will stop at nothing to squeeze every last dollar out of you.

The only thing keeping them afloat - is the ignorance of the consumer.

Our job is to keep you aware and informed.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Albertsons Double & Triple Coupons Ending on 04/09/2014








..at least in the Texas region anyway. I saw a sign that was placed on the window of my local Abilene, TX store on 04/6/2014 indicating that effective 04/09/2014, they will no longer be doubling or tripling coupons.

They were the only remaining store in at least my area that continued to double manufacturer's coupons up to 50 cents and triple up to 39 cents. One of the last stores to show their customer they appreciated them still. Apparently their acquisition of Safeway back in early March of 2014 included acquiring Safeway's anti-double and triple coupon policy as well.

The "rumors" posted on the Facebook page are true. And despite the "claim" to lack of knowledge of this happening by the Facebook Albertson's social media response bot earlier this week, the sign I saw on my store this morning was pretty clear and to the point.

What does this mean? For me and my family personally, it means a dramatic reduction in my trips to Albertson's. And it probably will be for you as well. Please spare us the rationale of "we are doing this to lower prices throughout the store for everyone" line of nonsense. Didn't happen with Kroger or Safeway, and it sure will not happen with Albertson's either. Here is their Facebook Customer Service bot response:





Sure we believe you. We want to believe what you are saying. Hopefully it will not be like Kroger who promised to "lower prices throughout the store" when they killed their double and triple coupon programs. In an era of dying doubles, this will perhaps be, the final nail in the coffin since Albertson's now owns United Supermarkets , Safeway and everything under their wing. Who's left ? Depends on your region but the options are falling by the wayside.Hey Kmart still doubles right? Sort of, of course that is a losing proposition in and of itself, so why bother.

But hey, at least Wal Mart price matches still and in my area HEB generally has lower prices even after they eliminated stacking some time ago. I guess I will save my gas and make that extra trip to one of those stores instead of visiting my local Albertson's with the frequency I used to. Shame, I really did like the store in my area. I guess I will still shop there for their mega-deals. Maybe. Or maybe I will just make Target or Wal Mart price match it. Probably the latter. I went out tonight kind of like in mourning of the loss. So I went through my binder, took all of the coupons that made sense to use as a double or triple and headed off to Albertson's. Here is my last receipt ever of them showing the savings using their soon to be ending double and triple coupon policy:


And yes, this will be the last free toothbrush I receive from Albertson's using a .50/1 coupon on a regularly priced  .99 Colgate manual toothbrush:



I said something to the cashier about it also. He simply stated "we can't afford to do it anymore." Of course that makes no sense as Albertson's just purchased both United and Safeway Supermarkets. But no matter. The reality is as follows: No more savings club cards, now no more doubles and triples at Albertson's - one of last safe havens in the industry. This policy saved my family hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the past 3+ years I have been aware and keen to it and shopped accordingly. Now well, just like every other good thing for consumers these days, this too, is coming to an end.

Welcome to Reality Retail & Couponing 2014. These are dark times indeed for consumers looking to save money without question. The good ol CIC has shut down coupon sales on eBay and webstore, eCrater ran for the hills at the end of last year regarding coupon sales, manufacturer's are going digital, tearpads are either non-existent or useless, store policies like the one above are changing and not for the better - the list goes on and on. All in a coordinated mass effort to rip savings out of your pockets and squeeze you for every last penny you can (or more than likely can't) afford. Of course all of this is going on while the corporations continue to just get bigger each day and we are powerless to stop it unless we wise up and shop with our feet.

That or maybe they just want us to eat bagged rice 3 meals a day in America, grow our own food and use wooden utensils to eat and bathe with homemade Lye. At this rate this is all we will be able to afford much sooner than later. They do it in China and they own us right? Go figure.

Thank you for reading.




Saturday, April 5, 2014

Taco Bell Breakfast Review - Waffle Taco and the $1 A.M Morning Taco


So the long-awaited Taco Bell breakfast has been released. I finally decided to take the plunge and get some in my morning travels. And well, to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised.

The famous "Waffle Taco" priced at $1.99 is pretty much what you see above in the box. Egg, sausage (bacon or steak) eggs , cheese and this waffle concoction.  It's pretty big for the price point it is at. I put some syrup on it and after the first bite it sort of reminded me of a Sausage McGriddle flavor wise. Despite what some jaded posters are saying about it online, it is not "greasy." The texture of the waffle itself is well, sort of also like a Sausage McGriddle with the same kind of flavor.

Massive difference? Well, the Waffle Taco is about 33% bigger than a Sausage McGriddle and well, costs about 30% less. The price point of the Waffle Taco is $1.99. The McGriddle from McDonald's AVERAGES about $2.79 depending on your market. So value for the dollar, this one goes hands down to Taco Bell.

Then I tried also this "A.M. Grilled Breakfast Taco" with sausage. And for $1, I wasn't really expecting too much. But it was pleasantly surprising. Add some strawberry jelly to it and if you are comparing real $1 menu items compared to say, the Sausage McMuffin, with this you are actually getting an egg, a meat and some cheese, where with the $1 Sausage McMuffin you get some slimy sausage patty and a "who knows what temperature it will be today" muffin.

So if you are going for value for the buck - this one also goes hands down to Taco Bell.

If you haven't tried their breakfast yet, I strongly advise you to do so. Funny, barely a week into this new menu offering I actually had to wait in line for a little bit in the Taco Bell line. But the more telling picture was the McDonald's breakfast line was about 1/2 of what it normally is in this busy intersection.

This is a trend that we can hope will continue until McDonald's realizes that their name cannot save them alone any longer. They have to appreciate their customers, offer specials and be competitive with their sandwiches and offerings. I saw a report where they want to become more "Centered around Coffee." Well, the only reason anyone would go there is if they are giving it away for free and even then , the line was half of what it normally is pre-Taco Bell breakfast launch.

Maybe one day they will get it. Probably not. But at least for now, I have a new place to dine for my fast-food breakfast cravings and it sure isn't McDonalds.