Well, I finally did it. I decided to take my chances and I went to Albertsons and took advantage of their buy a ham get a free turkey deal. The cheapest ham I could find was $32.54 {clearly they were picked over} and the turkey weighed in at just under 12 pounds. The perfect size for a family of four, with plenty of extra meat for leftovers.
This time of year most stores will have some sort of turkey promotion where if you spend $25 or $50 they’ll sell you a turkey for $.39 a pound. But knowing I’d never drop that much change at the grocery store to qualify, I decided to just go for it. Hopefully I didn’t jump the gun to soon.
I also picked up a few bags of sugar while I was there too. I think last year Fred Meyer had butter for a really low price, so I’m saving my money in hopes the deal will come around again this year. Butter for holiday baking is a must, no doubt about it. Fingers crossed.
Here is what my transaction looked like:
Hormel 81 Ham – $32.54
Honey Suckle Turkey – Free with Purchase of Ham
C&H Sugar Products – $2.49
Used {4} $5 off Albertsons Store Coupons
Used $2/1 Hormel Cure 81 Ham Printable Coupon
Used {3} $0.75/1 C&H Sugar Product Coupons {09/16 RP}
Used $1.50 Campbell’s Catalina Coupon
Final Price: $12.01 after store coupons, catalina and double coupons
How about YOU?
Have you purchased your Thanksgiving Turkey yet? Or are you still holding out for a good price?
~Mavis
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Jules says
Do you have a Food For Less in your area? Down here they are selling the ham for $25 and throwing in a free turkey, free potatoes, free corn, free gravy, free rolls!
Saralie says
I have NEVER EVER seen a ‘buy something get a free turkey deal in my life’ ! WOW!
Leanna says
Jules,
Where? We are in So. NV and no free turkey at our Food 4 Less. Of course we do not get Albertsons double coupons except once in a while and only 2 mailed to us.
Jules says
We are in Oregon, maybe it’s just our state…
Ashley says
My grocery stores used to have a deal where if you bought like two 24pks of beer, you’d get a free turkey, taters, stuffing, corn and rolls. Now my usual store has a deal where if you spend $250 within a 6 week period you get a free 8lbs turkey. But, if you spend $500 within that time period, you get a 16lbs turkey. Yikes.
Another one of my stores does have a buy a ham, get a turkey deal though. A little easier to spend $30 on a ham then $500 in groceries for a free turkey.
I don’t do Thanksgiving (we go to my DH’s family’s and then to my family’s), but my son is turning 1 the day after (Black Friday, little stinker) and I got a great deal on a 18.5lb pork butt roast so we can make pulled pork sandwiches 🙂
Sarah says
I am glad you got the deal.
Jennifer Jo says
Why in the world are you buying a ham? You ARE a ham!
Mavis says
True, but I am not a cannibal.
Sara says
Holding out on employers hopefully in this weeks pay check their will be a nice (large) gift card to our meat market. FREE TURKEY BABY
Penelope says
Our grocer went from vouchers towards a turkey handed out during prior purchases to only applying your points from purchases to their savings card thing. Used to be people gave away their vouchers because they weren’t using them. You could easily find someone standing at a register or near the turkeys, trying to find someone to help out. Now you can’t transfer your “points” to anyone else. They are making it really hard to get a discount on a turkey… which holds it’s price at 99 cents/lb during the holidays… and we aren’t too far from a turkey farm. You’d think it would be better, but it’s not. I need to look around a lot more if I am going to get a deal. There aren’t any lurking in our area at the moment. Maybe the ads for tomorrow have some.
Beth says
I did the same deal as you- but lucky me, my $10.00 Albertson gift card that I won back in August got here yesterday! I bought a ham for $33.16- $2.00 coupon and got a free 11.95 pound turkey. I had 4 $5.00 catalinas from the gift card promotion plus my $10.00 gift card so my ham and turkey cost me $1.16….not too shabby me thinks!!!
D'Anna says
WTG!! That is awesome! I bet Thanksgiving dinner will taste even better
Helen in Meridian says
My Walmart always runs cheap chickens 2 weeks before Thanksgiving for around .39# or $.49# for your first two. These are house brand, Butterball is usually around $1 #. I always pick up several 2 x 2. I do 3 St. Vincent dePaul boxes; give my garbage and recycle men each a turkey, and my postman and newspaper man each a turkey or spiral ham, depending on the deal I find. DH gets a coupon for a free turkey from Fred Meyer at Thanksgiving from his employer.
Mavis says
Holy drumsticks Helen. That’s a lot of turkeys!
Laurel says
Wishing the stores on the East Coast were so kind as to give coupons at checkout so I could save some up for a good deal on meat! I wait till right before the holiday to buy my meat of choice and if you buy it frozen it is usually is cheaper. Then I hit the store the day AFTER the holiday and buy up some hams or turkeys to make later!
Tina says
I wish I could have found those multi pack gift cards in my store. I think you did great!
Stephanie says
I just printed the Hormel $2 coupon, but noticed the wording is for the boneless ham. Can I still use it?
Stephanie says
So I printed it and then forgot to use it! Dang it. Oh well, I was able to use 3 of the $5 coupons from the gift card deal so I walked out with a ham and a turkey for less than $20. 2 holiday meals with the main ingredient covered…I love it!
Sarah says
Holy coupons Mavis! My Albertson’s insists that you can only use one “catalina/store coupon” per transaction. Wonder why?…
I was wondering if someone would do the Buy-A-Ham, Get-A-Turkey!
I no longer eat meat so no turkey problems here! 🙂
Angie Smith says
That’s incredible! I’ve never seen a deal like that to get a free turkey! Enjoy!
michelle guilmet-buck says
I’ve been thinking about this topic since you posted it. I support your attempt to feed your family on less money by growing & preserving your own food & stocking up on deals & using coupons, etc, but I do wonder if you ever consider the quality of the meat you’r purchasing on the cheap. It’s a huge issue & I’m sure you can do your own research, but for my family, this is the one area we do not scrimp on. I buy the majority of our meat (whole chickens, pork & beef) from local farmers who grow & harvest their meat in small batches on their own farms. This is not cheap… but I feel much better about 1. where my money is going, and 2. the quality of the meat my family is consuming.
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on this issue! I enjoy your blog very much & I’ve learned a lot about saving money on my grocery bill. Your gardening posts are also inspirational & keep me motivated! Thanks for all you do & share!