<p>I bought milk at our WalMart Market in Decatur AL on Tuesday for $3.45. Husband bought it at the same place Thursday and it cost $4.15. “They” (whoever they are) have been warning for several weeks that dairy product prices will rise, along with the cost of beef and pork.</p>
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Sams is better but then you have to be a SamsClub member, which we are but our D does not carry the membership card.</p>
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<p>I was able to add my son as some kind of student member on our membership for about 13 a year. He uses it for gas purchases and food/toiletry purchases.</p>
<p>colodad were those brand name milk gallons or the generics/store brands?</p>
<p>do you really think kids care what milk costs? Mine will be going to Publix for convenience and great quality… I will be there today moving in and will stock him up on his favorites- most meals will be at fraternity house…</p>
<p>^well I do…</p>
<p>Paul…won’t you be eating your meals in the dining hall? If so, as SEA-Tide mentioned, get a large cup of milk to-go and put in your fridge on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Do any of the parents ever send coupons to their kids, and do the kids ever use them?</p>
<p>How quickly would a kid go thru a gallon of milk if he’s eating many/most/all meals in the Dining Halls? If only once a week, I wouldn’t sweat an extra 50 cents…kids blow 50 cents everyday on something. </p>
<p>Very few students are using coupons. I was told multiple times at Publix that I was the only student coming in to redeem the penny item coupon (spend $10 on a Wednesday, get a selected Publix brand item for $0.01). Multiple people said they were surprised to see a college-age guy reading the sale ads and asking for a rain check if the item was out of stock.</p>
<p>It was interesting to see many of my fellow students spending lots of money on chips and cheese dip at convenience stores while I was shopping the sales, spending less money, and having swordfish and Alaskan salmon for dinner along with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.</p>
<p>FWIW, I paid $2.25 for a gallon of milk today in Seattle and could’ve gotten chocolate milk or orange juice for the same price.</p>
<p>Unless one is on a really tight budget with lots of time, it’s hard to do a lot of bargain shopping as a UA student. For future reference, Publix is a 0.6 mile [one way] walk from the honors residence halls while Rite Aid is 1.5 miles, CVS is 2.6 miles, and Target is 3.3 miles. Then the student has to carry all of their purchases back to their room. </p>
<p>I found 1$ off Silk coupon from coupons.com. I used it in Publix to have an extra milk in the fridge and costed total 2$ including tax for half gallon Silk milk. I hope this helps…
btw CVS milk price isn’t there anymore.</p>
<p>@SEA_tide What year are you in? You sound so mature and you have your act together. Kudos to you.</p>
<p>LOL, SEA_tide has graduated! He/She has always been a wise sage, tho, even as a student on this forum! ;)</p>
<p>I ended up at Target BC he needed other things too!! First time there. All the employes were super nice and there were plenty of them. Didn’t have to wait in line either. Milk was $4.09. S will have breakfast at his house but does drink milk often…very clean and well stocked!!</p>
<p>I’ll probably leave some coupons with my son, but doubt he’ll use them. However he’ll do most of his shopping at Target since his apartment complex (The Woodlands) is right behind Target and he’s an authorized user on my Red Card account, so he’ll get 5% off his bill that way and I’ve also showed him how to use cartwheel (cartwheel.target.com) and hope that he uses it from time to time since they’ll just need to scan the code on his phone.</p>
<p>I just want to say that I love reading SeaTide’s advice! Thank you for continuing to contribute to this forum!</p>
<p>In Alabama, Target’s a little bit more expensive on everything…it seems to me. Just using milk as an example, milk would be cheapest at WalMart (not counting sale items at other stores).</p>
<p>As a mom with several students on campus, I’ll offer my advice for the two cents it may be worth. Our kids find it is most convenient to shop at Publix when they are in a pinch for time, are shopping for quality meats, or when they only have a short list. They do take advantage of the BOGO’s and the online coupons at Publix by entering their cellphone number at the checkout, but they don’t worry about the price of milk or clip coupons. I’d really rather they use their time studying or enjoying being a student. If they are making a total grocery haul they shop at Walmart. Walmart offers a price matching service that is simple to use. See this link to “Savings Catcher”.</p>
<p><a href=“https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/?subid=22222222220213603530”>https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/?subid=22222222220213603530</a></p>
<p>If savings are truly important, it takes only seconds to enter a receipt and you’ll receive the lowest advertised price in your area at local competitors such as Publix, Target, etc. Simply print off the barcode and take it to the store the next time you shop. Our kids saved $24.00 when they restocked their apartment last week without worrying about running all over town. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>There’s also an app called “Campus Special” that may be used to save at various restaurants, retailers, and service providers. It’s simple and offers deals on meals, delivery, and services such as $5.00 off an oil change, etc. The offers change from time to time. I know Walton’s, Express Oil Change, and others have participated in the past. Just show the offer on your phone and receive the savings. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>^yey thanks.</p>
<p>And another thing I noticed about overall cost of living in AL…the cost of gas is very reasonable, about $12 cheaper per fill over Chicago area. The lowest I saw was $3.09 @ Shell right off University Blvd on the Strip. </p>
<p>Domino’s Pizza - way more expensive in Tuscaloosa than in Central Florida.</p>
<p>Turned out there was hardly any food at the XTreme WOW events tonight, so my son was hungry (he is learning that when the flyers say “food”, that really means “no food.”) Anyway, only option at 10pm was to order pizza delivery.</p>
<p>I was curious about what it would cost him to order pizza, and I ran a comparison for one large Wisconsin Cheese Pizza, ordered for delivery from Tuscaloosa to Ridgecrest, and ordered for delivery to my home.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa Domino’s Cost: $20.97 for one large pizza (16.99 for pizza, 2.25 for delivery charge, 1.73 tax)</p>
<p>Central Florida city Domino’s Cost: $14.82 for the same pizza (11.99 pizza, 1.99 delivery, .82 tax)</p>
<p>Seriously? Yes, he used Dining Dollars (as he has had to do for much of the time since early move-in because none of the meal plan options were open - note to others with students who move in early - buy them a bunch of groceries or they will be stuck with Dunkin Donuts and Chick Fil A all week.) But that is still cash (just cash that one is forced to use to buy on campus fast food or from the outlets that take Dining Dollars.</p>
<p>More curious than ever as to whether students are getting gouged a bit, I ran the same order to a friend’s house in Tuscaloosa, located 3.6 miles north of the campus.</p>
<p>Price for delivery of the same large pizza: $18.52 (pizza 14.99, delivery 2.00, tax 1.53)</p>
<p>I am tiny bit irritated 
Let’s just say I will do whatever to make sure he does not need to order Domino’s very often.</p>
<p>I want him to take full advantage of his mandatory meal plan, and his experience has been interesting so far. Turns out the dining hall ladies are very protective of the cooked carrots. Students can pile up food, self-service, to their heart’s content, but students are not allowed to serve themselves any of the cooked carrots. The little lady slapped my son’s hand as he went to spoon some on his plate, and then she served him half a ladle. There was no line at all for the cooked carrots - just him - so not a run on them. The carrots actually tasted good (better than the lukewarm pasta or the slice of pizza he found), and the closest thing to nutrition he could find at that meal. But why the protectiveness? He found it amusing, though if I could, I would let the little lady know that slapping his wrist again is probably not a good idea 
— I should clarify that he would always be a gentleman - it’s me, the irritated momma, who would feel compelled to do something about it :)</p>
<p>If the Domino’s are franchises, then the owners charge what they want (probably within some guidelines). If a college-close franchise costs more to purchase, then that cost will get passed on. Where is the higher priced Domino’s located? </p>
<p>Whenever I order from D, I always use a coupon.</p>
<p>BTW…Hungry Howies has better tasting pizza…and they deliver, too. </p>