Is Albertsons going out of business in Florida?

I get a lot of folks finding Frugal Follies from Google who are asking this question, so I thought I'd let you know what I know about Albertsons in Florida.

Are they going completely out of business?  No, not completely.  However, quite a few stores have closed over the past two years.

In June 2008, Publix purchased 49 stores from Albertsons.  This included fifteen locations in North Florida, thirty in Central Florida, and four in South Florida.  Read about it here.

Another four stores were closed in October 2009 - stores in Lake Worth, Bonita Springs, Estero, and Riverview.  Click here for more information.

In January 2010, three stores in the Orlando area were closed and converted to Sedano's supermarkets.  Here's an article about it from the Miami Herald.

Another eight were closed in February 2010 - five locations in South Florida and three elsewhere.  The South Florida stores were in Pembroke Pines, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, and Loxahatchee.  It's unclear to me whether the Lake Worth closing here and the Lake Worth closing listed in October 2009 are the same store.  Here is an article from the Sun-Sentinel about the closing.

I was sorry to see my local store close and for the people who lost their jobs.  But, I was able to get some really incredible deals at the closing sale.  Check out my finds here, here, and here.

Reports say there are around 20 Albertsons stores in Florida - I couldn't find a definitive list.  Using their store finder (which didn't work for me in Firefox), there appear to be no more stores left in the Miami area.  There's one in Oakland Park near Ft. Lauderdale, none in the West Palm Beach area, one in St. Lucie, 8 within 50 miles of Orlando area, and 6 within 50 miles of Tampa.  So there still are Albertsons stores in Florida - use the store finder to see if there are stores in your area.

Hope this helps!

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Friday Follies: More fun at Albertsons (link up your follies, too!)

Please link up your Friday Follies below!

Why do I even have a grocery budget, when I keep overspending it?

Don't get me wrong, I had a good reason.

My local Albertsons is going out of business - today is the last day - and the sales have been progressively getting better and better and better.  And I keep going back for better and better deals.

I went on Tuesday, when groceries were 40% off, and here's what I got:

 

I spent $25.13 on all this stuff: 5 rolls of paper towels (free with coupons), 7 boxes of tissues (also free with coupons), 5 cans of fruit, 4 cans of tomatoes, 2 boxes of Special K fruit crisps, 1 box of granola bars, 1 bag of popcorn, 5 cans of tuna, a bunch of bananas (only 25% off), and a loaf of bread.  I had coupons for everything except the popcorn, bananas, and bread.

Then I went on Wednesday, when groceries were 50% off, and got all this:

I spent $29.24 on this stuff: 4 jars of spaghetti sauce, 4 cans of pineapple, 4 boxes of herbal tea, a gallon of milk (only 25% off, but when do you get a sale on milk?), 1 grape juice concentrate, 1 nasal spray (75% off), 4 jars of sprinkles (90% off), 2 packages of frozen fish fillets, 2 containers of hummus, and 4 containers of salsa (with coupons, 11 cents overage on each one).  I had coupons for about half the items.

Well, if the damage to my budget wasn't bad enough, I went today, when the sales were 75% off on groceries and 50% off on dairy.  I thought the place would be pretty empty after all the sales, but there were still quite a lot of groceries there. I got all this stuff for $36.29:

Yes, it took two pictures to get everything:  2 bags of cocoa, 2 boxes of cereal, 12 cans of tomatoes with green chilies, 2 packages of fruit cups, 10 cans of mushrooms, 6 cans of mixed nuts, 3 boxes of drink mix, 1 box of cake mix, 1 can of frosting, 1 bottle of strawberry syrup, one bag of marshmallows, two bags of dates, one box of wheat gluten (for baking whole-wheat breads), 18 2-packs of butter, 4 cans of orange juice concentrate, 6 cheese chunks, 4 boxes of cream cheese, 4 boxes of pectin, 3 packages of glue sticks, 3 boxes of pain reliever (90% off), and 4 jars of sprinkles (95% off),

So, all together, I spent $90.66.  Granted, I won't have to buy a lot of stuff for quite a while. But, why do I even claim to have a budget?

Link up your good shopping stories at my other linkup, Wednesday Weekly Shopping, and check out more bad days at Friday Fails and Friday Frustrations.

What funny or crazy things have you done in the name of frugality? Please leave a link to your post below.  I would appreciate it if you had a link back to Friday Follies in your post!  If you don't have a blog, then leave a comment.  Thanks!

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Look what I got for $27.02 at Albertsons!

After going crazy at an Albertsons closing sale, with items 10%-60% off (check out the damage here), I decided to go back again, only this time with a plan.  I had hoped to stock up on yeast and on Parmesan cheese, but, sadly, the shelves had been stripped of those items and many, many more.  But there was still a lot of items stocked and deals to be had!

Of course, every plan can be thwarted, and mine was, when I looked down the previously-unexplored spices aisle and discovered that spices were 50% off!  I spent lots of time looking at what hadn't been taken already, but ended up buying only a few Badia brand items, which I've never found coupons for.  So it wasn't that bad.

Here's what I ended up getting:

8 Domino 2 lb. brown sugar and 2 Domino 2 lb. confectioner's sugar at $1.19, 20% off = $.95 each
- 5 $.50/2 coupons from 11/15 RP
= $.70 per item

2 Dixie Crystals 5 lb. sugar at $3.39, 20% off = $2.71 each
- 2 $.50 printable coupons
= $2.21 per item

1 Gold Medal flour at 2.99, 20% off = $2.39 (no coupon) [I needed this for Freezer Cooking Day]

4 Badia vanilla extract at $2.29, 50% off = $1.15 per item (no coupon)

1 Badia ground ginger at $1.49, 50% off = $.75 (no coupon)

6 Marcal paper towels at $1.39, 20% off = $1.11 each
- 6 $1.00 coupons from 1/3 SS
= $.11 per item!

2 Marcal facial tissues at $1.49, 20% off = $1.19 each
- 2 $1.00 coupons from 1/3 SS
=$.19 per item!

2 Starkist tuna pouches at $1.25 each, 20% off = $1.00 each
- 2 $1.00 Vocalpoint printable coupons
= FREE tuna!

4 Crest Pro-Health rinse at $3.50 each, 40% off = $2.10 each
- 4 $.75 coupons from 12/27 P&G
= $1.35 each

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Look what I got for $79.64 (ugh!) at Albertsons!

This is what happens when you go shopping without a plan.

I stopped by the local Albertsons, because I had heard that they were having a closeout sale. I thought I'd see what was still available. But when I saw that many of the shelves were already empty, I started picking up items that I thought I might need, and that I rarely see on sale and rarely have a coupon for.

I walked out of the store having spent $79.64. Oops. My weekly grocery budget (including paper goods and personal care items) is $60. I spent more than this week's allowance. No, since I already bought food earlier this week, I spent more than next week's allowance. Oops.

So, for the next four weeks, I'll have to limit my budget to $40 per week. Ugh.

But, on a good note, I was able to stock up on many items. For instance, I bought five packages of Goodnites for my daughter. I had already picked up three at the great Walgreens Goodnites deal, but I run out of them quickly. The shelf price was $10.49, but they were 40% off, and I had five $1.50 coupons. So each package was $4.79, an excellent price.

I also got 2 rolls of Marcal paper towels, which after discount were $1.11. I had two $1 off coupons, so I got each roll for $.11!

I stocked up on kosher meat. For those of you who do not keep kosher, you would have sticker shock to see the meat prices. It's one reason why I serve meat only two times a week or so. All kosher meat/chicken was 10% off, and since it rarely goes on sale, I bought a few months' worth. I also got Shabbat candles - over a year's worth.

I will be going back tomorrow... but this time, with a plan to get only the best deals with coupons!

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Albertsons stores closing in South Florida - great bargains!

Eight Albertsons stores in Florida, including five in South Florida, will be closing in mid-February.

The addresses of the stores are:

• 8030 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
• 20409 State Road 7, Boca Raton
• 4801 Linton Blvd., Delray Beach
• 4624 Hypoluxo Road, Lake Worth
• 12031 Southern Blvd., Loxahatchee

I went to one of the closing stores today, and they are having clearance sales on all items.  The sales were:

• 20% off all grocery items
• 33% off frozen foods
• 40% off health items
• 60% off cosmetics
• 30% off wine
• 10% off beer
• 25% off liquor
  
• 10% off kosher meat

The shelves were cleared in some areas, and there was plenty left in others.  If you live near an Albertsons store that is closing, you will definitely want to check out the prices.  I stocked up on many items which rarely, if ever, go on sale or have coupons for.  Tonight, I'm going to survey my coupon stash and make a plan for another trip.

Check out Krazy Coupon Lady for more Albertsons deals.

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