RVA Deals

Hate to arrive to a soiree empty-handed? Save a startling amount of cash by buying wine in bulk this week, so you’ll never be caught without a bottle. This week’s RVA Deals provides timely stocking up tips for wine, as well as a crash course in mail-in rebates. Also, find out where to find discounted fall staples!

September 16, 2009; 12:00 PM • by Alison Brown

“Celebrate the Crush” at Kroger this month with a 15% discount on any 6-bottle wine purchase.

At our house, cheap wine is de rigueur, with the overwhelming majority costing under $7 a bottle. My favorite method for keeping it cheap is taking advantage of wine rebates. I periodically scan the wine aisle at Kroger looking for good hang tags, the little pieces of paper placed over the necks of bottles. Often, they are mail-in rebate forms for purchasing a certain number of bottles.

For instance, this week I picked up some Australian Alice White sale-priced for $6.89 a bottle. With the 15% discount, it cost $5.85 each and came with a rebate for $18 back on 5 bottles. Subtract the average rebate savings of $3.60 for a very reasonable <strong>final cost of $2.25 a bottle (not including tax and stamp).

A few wine rebate basics:

1. Usually, all that you need to mail is the completed rebate form listing bottle UPC numbers and your receipt with the wine purchase circled. (Read the fine print to make sure the rebate doesn’t require the ACTUAL UPC labels. I learned this the hard way.) As with all rebates, keep copies for your records.

2. Know thyself. If you know you’ll never send it in, don’t waste money pretending you will.

3. Go big. The more bottles you buy, the better deal you get. Generally, the best rebate is for buying 6 or more bottles in one transaction. Not only is the discount per bottle greater, but the time required and cost of a stamp for submitting a smaller rebate often isn’t worth it. Buying bigger quantities also means you can combine rebate savings with additional volume discounts offered by the store.

Beer drinker instead? Keep an eye out for beer rebates on tearpads in the refrigerator section or on displays.

Promotions this week:

Ukrop’s – purchase $20 of selected General Mills items and receive $5 off.
Kroger – purchase 10 participating Nestle or Kraft items and receive $5 off.

Meat Top Pick

Perdue Oven Stuffer Roasters cost $.78/lb at Ukrop’s.

Veggie Top Pick

At Kroger, fall classics acorn, butternut, or spaghetti squash are $.69/lb.

Fruit Top Pick

Another harbinger of fall: Gala apples $.99/lb at Ukrop’s. If you can find them, organic galas are $1.29/lb at Kroger.

Dairy Top Pick

The cheap cheese is at Kroger, included in the Nestle/Kraft $5 off promotion for buying 10 participating items – Kraft shredded, bar, or singles cheese are all $.99 each after extra discount.

Staples Top Pick

With Savings Spot coupon at Ukrop’s, 18 oz. Jif peanut butter is $1.25, limit 8.

Snacks & Sweets Top Pick

Kroger has DiGiorno or California Pizza Kitchen pizzas for $3.97 after Nestle/Kraft’s promotion discount for buying 10 participating items (even cheaper if you have the manufacturer’s coupon for $1 off the DiGiorno Flatbread varieties).

Beverages Top Pick

Get 15% off 6 bottles of wine at Kroger, and you can mix & match any varieties.

Household Top Pick

Rubbermaid TakeAlongs containers are buy 1, get 1 free at Kroger. Combine with “$1 off 2” manufacturer’s coupon from last Sunday’s paper.

Find more deals by accessing the stores’ weekly ads online:

• Prices valid 9/13-9/19: Kroger, Ukrop’s, Target, Walgreen’s, CVS
• Prices valid 9/16-9/22: Tom Leonard’s, Whole Foods, Fresh Market

Check out more of Alison’s stellar cost-cutting tricks and tips over at Richmond Bargains or follow her on Twitter. Your wallet is sure to thank you.

September 16, 2009 12:00 PM 1