I tried Kroger delivery for the first time this week! And I’m happy to report I had a really good experience with it. In fact, we are considering switching to Kroger Boost because — with the current deal — we figured out it’d be a little less than $1/week to have someone buy our groceries and deliver them to our door each week. Plus, you get double the points on gas, which would WAY more than pay for the Boost subscription.
But I wanted to try Kroger delivery first, before committing to a membership. They had a free delivery digital coupon + a $15 off $100 digital coupon that I was able to use this past week. So it ended up being less expensive to have groceries delivered to my door than it would have been to shop in-store or do pickup!!!
Some things I loved about Kroger delivery:
- It is very easy to change/update your order. After I placed my order, I thought of some additional items I wanted to add to my order. It was super easy to go in and add that to my order.
- I was able to see exactly what my total would be before I checked out (they take off the coupons and deals at checkout so you can see exactly what you will pay). This would be especially valuable if you are wanting to stick to a strict grocery budget. You can adjust your order based upon what your total is — before you hit the checkout button!
- There are often digital coupons that are for delivery only. So you may find that you’ll get some additional deals and coupons by using delivery that you wouldn’t get if you shopped in-store or did grocery pick-up.
- Tipping is not allowed. Kroger delivery (and the Boost program) don’t allow tipping. It says right on their website that their drivers are paid directly and tipping is not allowed. (Note: If you order through Instacart delivery not Kroger delivery, you will be charged a fee for delivery and you should also add a tip as Instacart drivers rely on tips for a big part of their income.)
- There were special offers when I went to checkout. This one was a surprise to me! I went to checkout and some bonus offers popped up. Most of them weren’t ones I would use and almost all of them were for items I’d never heard of before. But, one of the offers was for Maple Brown Sugar Swirl bread for just $1.50/loaf — which is a GREAT deal!
My order came exactly as I had ordered. The only one complaint I had was that I noticed one of the packs of bacon didn’t seem 100% airtight/vacuum packed. It didn’t look like it was bad or anything and I stuck it right in the freezer and I think it will be okay. But, I wouldn’t have picked that package for myself. That said, I’ve been told it is very easy to go on the app and submit a ticket if something is wrong with your order and they’ll refund it.
How I Menu Plan
If you’re new here, I don’t do a rigid meal plan most weeks; I usually just make sure we have enough on hand for 8-10 different dinners and then I plan that day what we’re having based upon the time I have and what sounds good.
I know that this system doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s worked pretty well for this season. I also make sure to have back-up emergency dinner options in the freezer (chicken nuggets/strips + frozen pizza) so that if I just don’t feel like cooking at all or run out of time, we still have options that are much less expensive than takeout.
If you are the type who needs a structured meal plan and you feel stuck in a rut, check out my 10 Weeks of Money-Saving Menus for some of our very favorite inexpensive and easy recipes — all done for you, complete with grocery lists! (And you can also download my FREE 60 Meals to Make Instead of Getting Takeout list for some great last-minute dinner ideas.)
What We Ate This Past Week
Sunday: Papa John’s Pizza while watching the Chief’s game!
Monday: Mac & Cheese and Sourdough Bread
Tuesday: Breakfast Casserole (using what we had on hand — sausage, eggs, frozen potatoes, cheese, and milk)
Wednesday: Fend For Yourself (Silas had a basketball game and the school bought Chick-fil-A for them, Kaitlynn went out to dinner on her own, Jesse and I and the younger kids had leftovers)
Thursday: Marinated Chicken, Steamed Veggies, Avocados, and Sourdough Bread
Friday: Jesse and I went out with another couple, Kaitlynn got takeout, the younger kids had mac & cheese, and Silas had dinner at a friend’s house
Saturday: Frozen Lasagna, Green Beans, Sourdough bread
The kids have been eating lots of cereal around here since there have been so many cereal deals recently. It makes such a quick breakfast and our teens love it for an after-school snack!
My sourdough game is going strong! This past week, I made two loaves of bread, Banana Sourdough Pancakes, and Sourdough English Muffins.
These Sourdough English Muffins were definitely the most time-intensive sourdough recipe I’ve made so far. They were delicious and it felt pretty fulfilling to see how beautifully they turned out. (It was my first time to make English Muffins!)
I think they will be easier to make next time — now that I know how to make them!
Psst! Want a much easier recipe? Check out my Homemade English Muffin Bread recipe.
Next up, I want to try making homemade sauerkraut and am still waiting on my water kefir grains to come in and my Kombucha Kit to come in. What other from scratch ideas should I try??
Here was the Banana Pancake recipe I used. I added about a cup and a half of milk to the recipe, also, since it was too thick (I think she may have left off milk on the ingredients listed?)
Micah and I went to visit Kathrynne at her house in Murfreesboro on Friday and he loved helping her do her dishes. She’s become quite the cook since moving out! Almost every week, she’s trying some new recipe. This past week, she perfected Shrimp Fried Rice!
The best deals at Kroger this week were the bacon ($2.99), the Malt-O-Meal cereal ($1.49), the Brown Sugar Bread ($1.50), and deli meat ($3.99).
I also stocked up on flour, got a few packages of beef hot dogs, picked up 5 packages of cheese to stick in the freezer, got some toilet paper and bath salts, and 5 18-packs of eggs ($1.99 each with the digital coupon).
My total for all the groceries delivered to my door (including tax): $153.19
Our grocery budget is $150/week, so I’m $10 under for January, adding up all of my receipts from the month. YAY!
Nicolle says
At least for our area, those check out deals change regularly and are often good items. They aren’t as good as the in store markdowns, but they help. I joined Boost about a year ago for the same reasons, BUT we still have to pay a bag fee (that I don’t pay in store) so I don’t order delivery much. The gas savings are still worth it.
Crystal Paine says
So far, I’ve only found two checkout deals I thought were great, but I’ll take two! And I’ll keep checking each week! Plus, I love that there are delivery-only coupons, too!
Jeannie says
If your family enjoys yogurt, try making yogurt from scratch. I make Greek yogurt in my Instant Pot weekly and it saves money plus is so delicious compared to the cups you buy in the grocery store.
Crystal Paine says
We used to make yogurt a lot! I want to figure out how to make Greek yogurt since David eats two big tubs a week!
Mel says
If you are interested in Boost. There is an e coupon that expires today for $20 off. (if you haven’t noticed that already)
Crystal Paine says
YES! I mentioned that in the post! I just used it! YAY!
Melissa says
Using grocery delivery is one of my best budget savers —so much less impulse shopping. I don’t use Kroger Boost, instead I use Walmart+ Inhome -It’s the same concept (You don’t tip – you even have the option of setting up their delivery to bring it inside your garage, or your home (they will even put bags in fridge/freezer if need be) – It’s definitely a cost savings and a huge time savings
Crystal Paine says
I’ve heard so many great things about walmart+! Thank you for sharing!
Diane says
That’s really great!
Michele says
Thank you for sharing the information about Boost. I have had pop-up ads about it on the Dillons (Kroger) website but I have never looked at it because I assumed I would need to tip on each order. I don’t mind grocery shopping, but am in a season of life where my energy is best spent elsewhere, and this makes delivery a viable option for me.
Crystal Paine says
That’s what I thought, too! I mentioned it on IG stories a few months ago and people told me you weren’t allowed to tip. I was like, WHAT???
Mae says
I think it is dependent on your particular location as to whether Kroger or Instacart fulfills your order, and therefore whether tipping is expected. In my experience using kroger delivery, it is always fulfilled by instacart and suggests a tip. I guess our area is not big enough to justify Kroger providing the delivery service? Again, this is just my experience, so I can’t say how common this is. It can still be a great deal, but just something to be aware of.
Michele says
I agree, Mae- after I commented, I checked out the service at our local Dillons stores, and they don’t have the option to have Dillons employees deliver your order- only Instacart. But I’ll keep my eye out in case this changes here, because it would be great!
Crystal Paine says
Yes, in different areas it’s Kroger delivery and in some areas it’s fulfilled by Instacart. Our area actually offers both! You are not allowed to tip if it’s Kroger delivery and that’s what Boost is run through so it works out well!
Charlotte W says
We make bagels. Variety of bagels. I have a dough setting on the bread machine. Pile the ingredients into the bread machine, then set on the dough setting used for bagels. ( Takes awhile). Pull out dough when done.
It just takes about 12 minutes to shape the bagels. Place on baking sheet for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 minutes. I set the oven at 375 degrees.
I thought bagels would be a really hard thing to try and it’s a matter of waiting on the bread machine.
Crystal Paine says
Oh! One of my upcoming goals is to try sourdough bagels! I keep hearing so many good things about them!
Diane says
Thank you for sharing. Have you thought about missing the marked down foods this way? I thought that was a decent portion of your groceries in the past.
Crystal Paine says
I’ve been doing pick-up for the past 4 months and have been so surprised that I’m still able to get great deals and it hasn’t made a big difference in our budget to not get markdowns! We might be spending a tiny bit more, but I’m also saving a lot of time, too, so I’ve been so happy with the ROI. And I grocery delivery should save even more time!
I plan to someday get back to more shopping in-store, but I’m loving getting to showcase a different way of shopping while still being able to stick to our grocery budget!
Diane says
That’s great! When I send my husband to shop, he doesn’t notice unadvertised sales like I do but he sticks to the list and we stay under $100/person/month so it all shakes out so to speak.
Diane says
That’s great! When I send my husband to shop, he doesn’t notice unadvertised sales like I do but he sticks to the list and we stay under $100/person/month so it all shakes out so to speak.
Chandra says
Hey Crystal! I love your blog!! Just curious if your $150 a week for groceries includes other consumables like diapers, wipes, formula, cleaning supplies etc? My husband and I have 4 young kids and we have been trying to be more intentional with our budget this month but we have struggled to keep it at $200/week shopping at Walmart with their grocery pickup service. I also just bought your 10 weeks of meal plans and have been using that every week and only eating out 1/week. Is there something I can do to get our number down?
Crystal Paine says
We don’t buy formula and use very minimal cleaning supplies (as in, we only use a few products), so that saves a lot. We get our diapers/wipes through Amazon and use $$ earned from Swagbucks to pay for them. I think $200/week is great if it includes diapers and formula! If you feel like you could get it down more, you could challenge yourself to shave 1-3% off every month for a few months. Another option would be to look at other areas of your budget and see if there are other areas you can cut OR if there are a few things you could do on the side for a few hours a week to increase your income.
Diane says
Have you considered cloth diapers? Prefolds and covers are economical and you never have to run out because you can just do a load of laundry.
Crystal Paine says
Yes, we used them exclusively with our first and it saved a lot of $$ when our budget was super, super tight and we couldn’t afford diapers.