CINCINNATI – By now, you have heard about the bird flu, and how it decimated the turkey population earlier this year.
More than 8 million turkeys were killed by the flu, according to the National Turkey Federation and USA Today.
That has sent prices this fall up as much as 20% on the wholesale market, to an average of $1.30 a pound wholesale.
Good News for Shoppers
But there's good news: many stores are not passing that price hike on, and may even use turkey sales as a "loss leader" just to get you in the store.
Many grocers are willing to take a loss or barely break even on their turkeys, if it means you will spend $200 on sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and everything else
For a look at the latest rebates and coupons locally, check out our ShopSmart circulars section at wcpo.com/circulars.
Current Cincinnati-area Prices
And to make sure you don’t waste your money this Thanksgiving, here’s a breakdown of prices from shops in our region:
Kroger is selling its store brand turkey at 99 cents per pound with a Kroger Plus Card. This is a big drop from prices just a few weeks ago, if you happened to have the hunkering for a turkey in October, when prices were around $3 a pound.
However, Butterball and Honeysuckle White are now in the $1.25 - $1.45 a pound range.
Remke is selling Honeysuckle White frozen turkey for $1.28 a pound, and you can clearly see the effect of the tight market in its pricing (it was 99 cents last year).
But to reward loyal customers, Remke will give you a free turkey if you spend $325 at the store between 10/26/2015 and Thanksgiving.
Regular customers will have no problem doing that.
Target stores have some of the lowest prices on frozen Butterball Turkey, at 99 cents a pound.
Before you go, just make sure your Target has a grocery section: some do not.
Trader Joe’s is selling its all-natural, brined, fresh young turkeys for $2.69 per pound.
Walmart’s turkey prices vary by store, averaging about 99 cents per pound.
But Walmart said it matches other store prices if you bring in an ad. It may have a bigger sale closer to Thanksgiving.
Meijer for 2015 is once again offering 50 percent off all frozen turkeys with an additional $20 purchase.
That means Meijer frozen turkey is 52 cents per pound after the discount, which may be the best price you will find this year.
Have a safe and delicious Thanksgiving and remember, don’t waste your money.
___________________
Don't Waste Your Money is a registered trademark of the EW Scripps Co.
"Like" John Matarese on Facebook
Follow John on Twitter (@JohnMatarese )
Sign up for John's free Newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox
Click here formore DWYM reports and to contact John
_______________________
You can save an average of $275.00* on local dining, travel and attractions with WCPO Insider Rewards. Search, sort and filter through 300,000+ deals, everyday just for being an Insider.
Click here to try us out for FREE for a month.
*Average annual savings
