Namaste for breakfast?

My mother and I did our usual run to Sprouts this morning, thinking we better go early enough in case they close due to it being New Years Eve. 

We didn't buy as much as we usually do (not that we buy a lot), because we're planning to try to use up what we have in our house (hello... it's the first of the year tomorrow... we all know what that means) and I also don't have work until Tuesday. Why buy stuff now, when there's still so much in our pantry and freezer?

Therefore, as per my typical browse and compare in the vitamin aisle, I saw that OM has some blend packages in this store. I've only ever seen it in Sarasota, so it was nice to know Sprouts carries it. 

However, like I've been finding lately, the cost per item in the store is slightly higher than the cost online. 

For example, the Om Mushroom Superfood Master Blend Plant-Based Protein Powder, 19.26 Ounce (chocolate) is $39.99 in Sprouts, where as Amazon has the same thing for $29.40 (or $26.46 as Subscribe & Save). 

Sprouts price per ounce, according to the shelf sticker is $2.08, it really should be $40.06 if I did the math correctly. 

If you look at Amazon, they are pricing it in two ways: 

* Subscribe and Save ($26.46), where the price per ounce is $1.37

* One time purchase ($29.40) with the price per ounce is alsoless ($1.53). 

The other win with the one time purchase is, again, if my math is right, it should really be $29.47 (round up, since it was $29.467). 

Add tax to the Amazon order and you are still under what Sprouts is selling it for, by at least $12 if you do a one time only purchase. Subscribe and save would net you roughly the same amount because again, you have to figure tax in on both businesses. 

The only challenge with Amazon is if you do the one time purchase, you need to spend $35 in one shot to get free shipping if you're not a Prime member. So decrease the savings and swap in shipping/handling. 

I'm sure if it were slightly less pricey at Sprouts, I'd pick it up to try it and see how long it lasts me (there is an estimated 14 servings ("2 heaping scoops") in this bag, which is a lot more than the itty bitty tiny bag I had bought a few years ago for close to $25... if I'm thinking this is the same product. I don't remember it being flavored). If I like it enough as a big bag, I'd probably purchase it routinely.

Because I don't really like chocolate flavoring, the good note for this product is the fact there is a vanilla version. 

Sprouts is selling it for the same price as the chocolate, even though the price per ounce is higher. 

Looking closely, the vanilla is smaller than the chocolate. The bag is 18.27 ounces with the same 14 servings.  

Cost on the A to Z site is that they are supplying the vanilla from third party sellers. This means you're apt to get a little less in cost ($24.80) but who knows where it's coming from and how many they have in stock ("5 left" at the time of this writing).

In all honesty, it's really a matter of literal taste when it comes to what you want to spend. Which is also why this shows you've got to pay attention to what you're buying and what the amount per product really is. Side by side, you can't see much of a difference when they're next to each other. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a side by side of the bags together and the pictures I took aren't even of a line to stitch the two to one photo. 

I like Sprouts for their fresh fruit and vegetables, the quick sales and my mom is keeping an eye on the big fillets of salmon ("it's cheaper than Costco and just as large of pieces) for the times she knows we may have company. The salmon is big enough that it can easily feed 4 people and that's how many people usually are at our table when we have company. Another win for the books, if you ask me. 

So yeah... all my crazy rambling... if you kept up with it... is just another excuse to watch what you're getting and seeing if you can find it somewhere else. Coupons or not, sale or not, you have to know what things cost and if it's easy on your wallet (think of the gas / wear and tear on your car to drive around finding this stuff. Or, if you live on a decent public transportation line, think of how you're going to get groceries home from the bus or train).

At the end of the day, it all goes to the same place: money out of my pocket and food in my belly (or clothes / cleaners on my body). Will I stop shopping at all these places? No. Will I continue to see if I can find an item for less money somewhere else? Yes, especially since the coupons site I was using (I had the app to boot) shut down, I'd like to be able to continue to save a little. You never know what's around the corner...

Cheers;