2 days ago my husband had a convo with me about how his co-workers talked about how they save shopping at SAV-A-Lot, Aldi's, Price Rite, etc.. types of markets. He wondered why I never shop there and maybe we could save as well. We spend about $200-$250 every two weeks (family of 4) and believes we should be spending less. Well, since we are trying to eat healthier, I would not be attracted to shop at these places. There are several reasons why I don't shop at these types of "pay less" markets (1)Many of those store are inconsistent in product inventory (eg. once I purchased low-fat waffles one week; two weeks later they did not sale them). (2)90% of the inventory are canned/box products. (3)produce are horrible (eg. lettuce turning brown/ apples close to rotten) (4)many products our packaged smaller than if you bought it from an Acme store (5)I am true believer of "you get what you pay for". I prefer to shop around for sales at Acme, Pathmark, Shop Rite, ect... and I love Trader Joes. I honestly don't believe you save shopping at SAV-A-Lot and like stores. If you agree with me can I get a Amen? If you disagree and you are a "health wise" consumer let me know how you do it and your suggestions.
I don't buy from those stores either. I don't think the food is fresh. i got to Shoprite, walmart and produce junction for all my fruits and veggies. You are right on target with the amount you've been spending. When you see stuff on sale on certain products double up when you can.
My family of 4 spends anywhere from $125/ up per week.
I think you are right on budget with milk costing $4-5 a gallon and bread upwards of $2, staple foods are expensive.
Have your husband do the shopping one week at "Save-a-lot". Give him a complete grocery list and let him try to reduce the bill. It is a win-win situation for you. If he is able to find great deals and save money, thank him profusely, tell him what a great bargain hunter he is and let him do the shopping from now on. If he can't save money he will appreciate how hard it is for you to try to save while feeding your family healthy foods verses soda-$.99 less than milk, packaged foods costing less than fresh meats, and canned costing less than fresh fruit/ veggies.
It is tough, anytime.
I have a friend who is as 'picky' as me, so we decided to bond together and do a trip to Amelias [discount grocery] after researching the hows/whys of discounted products. We found since the store was clean and orgainized that we were okay w/ shopping there, but we couldn't go in a list and do our full shopping there.
What I have started to do is go once a month and pick up much of the basic items that I need. I find the canned fruits and vegetables to be good, including the lunch size. I do not buy any frozen or meats there - just my own comfort level.
I have a friend whose family is in the produce distribution business and they deliver the same produce to many of our local farmers markets and grocery stores - I was surprised to learn this.
I started shopping at ALDI about 4 months ago and it has saved me tons of money. We are a family of four and we eat on about $75 per week. Yes, they do carry less products than the typical grocery, but I have learned to work around that. At first it was very difficult but now it is fine. The only thing I buy now at a regular grocery is our lunch meat from the deli. ALDI even has a brand for low fat healthy eating. The produce seems to go bad sooner, but it is usually fine for about 3-4 days. They have a lot of produce to offer but usually the basics (lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, onions, potatoes, squash/zucc, grapes, apples, and a few other fruits. They also don't carry all types of beef cuts. I use menus4moms.com which sends you an email each week with a list of menus for 5 days and the grocery list for all of the menus for the week. It is great! I would check it out if I were you. If it has something on the menu that ALDI doesn't have, I just substitue it for something else. Hope this helps, you shoud really try it. Do it for longer than just a week or two though. The first few times I went, I would get frustrated but stick with it and it will grow on you :)
2% milk is about $2.60 (i think whole milk is about $2.80ish)and bread is about $1.50 and they even have wheat bread
I am very health aware and do shop at Save A Lot and love their produce and many other products. However, I go across the street and finish my shopping at Shoprite since Save A Lot does not carry all the healthy foods I like. Since they are so close to each other, I do not waste gas and indeed save a lot. Also Save A Lot has the best, huge, reusable grocery bags for I believe $1.00!
I agree with you :-) Do you have a giant nearby? I used to be a regular acme person...but i have switched to giant. They have wonderful produce and a couple of organic isles if that helps.
PS Don't you love it when the husbands pipe in their two cents ;-)
You could buy some of your produce at Produce Junction or a farmers market. I get lots of my fruits and veggies from Produce Junction and it's a lot cheaper!! The quality isn't always the greatest though...depends on the time of year. But when you get 6 or 7 cucumbers for a dollar or 2 it doesn't really matter is one is bruised. :) If you have one close to you, you should check it out.
I shop around a lot also. i do not like going to cheap places. i go to sam's club or bj's though to buy things in bulk which are cheaper with a family like,milk,eggs and produce,lunch meat. laundry soap,cat litter,diapers,yogurt and cases of water are also cheaper at a place where you have a club membership. i go to pathmark or iga since they are close to my house. i like trader joe's also but it is 30 minutes from home.
I totally agree with, some things just can't be compromised. I do the same and shop around, one thing I do find saves me a lot is going to walmart for non perishables, and then still buying meat & produce from Acme, I have definitely noticed the difference in my savings, even by getting non perishables from Shop Rite or Giant there is a huge difference.
The problem with a lot of these discount places is that you can't do all your shopping there so then you have to drive to other places to get the other things you need. I used to go to Amelia's but found they don't always have the same stuff each time you are there which is frustrating. They do have great prices on cereal but you have to watch what you buy because a lot of their products are expired which may or may not matter to you.
Produce Junction does have great prices and when my son was eating tons of bananas I saved a lot over the grocery store prices. I shop a lot at Trader Joe's and I pick up odds and ends other places if there's a good sale or we need something in between.
