toopie28

Don't think there is a Wegmas in CA, is there?

Costco is known to have a verrrrry low profit margin.

The chicken is delish though.
What gets me - Bananas. $1.39 for 8-9 large ones. Brilliant price. Most of the fruit is a great price.

The veggies too (even tho I HATE veggies and don't buy so often if I can help it).

I've also been told that their meat section is priced well too.

Poppy girl

Sorry I forgot to reply, nothing new there lol.

Well I do work in the industry so I get to know what's coming out on Ad or TPR for most of the chain stores in my area, so I suggest that you sign on to online Ads and get weekly coupons sent to you,plus be creative with your food, I can buy mince for about $4 and add the extras then I freeze it and can make normally 4 servings, watch the local papers and buy up when they have discounts on meat etc and freeze it

WEBlue

PG, is this $35 to $40 per week the spend you do per person--or for your whole household? (Don't know how many are in your household.) I've now got my spend down to $40 per person per week, and it feels better, I must say, even though it takes a little work couponing & arranging meals around the weekly specials. But I think it'll get easier as time goes on, & become automatic.

As an aside, one of my relatives lives in NYC, and I wandered into the local supermarket there a few days ago--Key Foods, I think it was. The prices were outrageous! $1.20 more than I pay for a gallon of milk, bananas nearly double, etc. This is not in a very posh neighbourhood, either. I don't know how normal people can afford these prices on a day-to-day basis!

Poppy girl

I am single so it's just my shop oh and kittys
What really gets up my nose is the mark ups that some of these stores do!

For instance I can tell you this and folk get snobby where they buy their food from but for the most part except some fruit and veg, meat, the distribution centers are pulling out trucks with different names on lets say for arguments sake, Kroger, Safeway and Wal-Mart, they have all picked up product from the same warehouse, but deliver to their individual locations the product is exactly the flippen same, except would you rather walk into Wally world and buy a can of baked beans for $1.99 or Kroger and pay $2.99 it's BS it's all about the margins, Safeway has probably the highest mark up in the industry on goods.
I do know that many meat products come from the same warehouse's as well so if you want to buy a chicken with the Winco brand name on or Kroger and pay $2 more be my guest those chickens came from the same darn farm or franchise for the most part!!

Bob

Aye, that's usually the case....except when the grocery stores source locally.

Hannafords and Trader Joes are usually pretty good about getting stuff locally in season and then you do notice the difference in price, but out of season, they tend to be a bit shocking.

Things like berries and peppers are the worst

WEBlue

I shop a lot at Wal-Mart. The husband won't go with me, but he's glad of the lower grocery bills. But unfortunately our local W-M doesn't sell any produce, meats or dairy. But still, I buy all my non-perishables there...tinned goods & all the dry stuff, like dried beans for soups & chilli, nuts, pasta, etc.

Then I have to walk over to the ShopRite next door for the perishables.

Yes, I go to Stop&Shop for local apples--they sell them by the bag for a low price, also some local veg. So much fresher! The rest of S&S's stuff is stupidly overpriced, but a very few things are a good deal there, especially when they have store coupons in the weekly flyer.

Trader Joes is a drive for me, & I only go when visiting certain relatives. I always buy bananas there, 19 cents apiece, & check their specials. But much at TJ can be pricey--tempting, but way too pricey.

penguinbar

We just got a Aldi in NYC! My husband was really happy with the chocolate.

penguinbar

I do most of my shopping at Costco. Although ALDI is now in the same complex I can visit both in one go. We have street carts that have fruit and veg from the farmers markets every few blocks by me and they are really cheap.

Bomjeito

I spend about $50-60 a week for the two of us here in Houston. I rarely buy generics or store brands and do not buy organics.

We rarely eat out. Maybe 2-3 a month, if even.

One other thing is that I do not shop at Costco, Sam's Club or Walmart. And yes, in the past I've had memberships at the first two. Prices simply aren't lower than things that go regularly on sale at most supermarket. Add in the depressive environment of those places, and I'd rather put pins in my eyes.

As for the 5c or few cents I could save at Walmart (not in grocery, I find poor quality plus higher prices) in their pharmacy/health and beauty section, its not worth the extra miles to drive to it, nor the extra time to spend in the store. Its a big store and always too many long lines for checkout - never enough check out people. My time is worth more to spend a few extra dimes at the groceries. And in the past, how annoyed I'd get when I'd buy non-perishables at Walmart then walk into my local Kroger and find them cheaper on sale that week.

The biggest single thing I look to do is never be caught having to buy something full price.

1. I get the Sunday paper and do e-coupons with supermarkets. I DO read the weekly ad circulars for grocery stores then plan my week of meals.
2. If its on sale, I stock up. Things like toilet roll, shampoo, etc. And use the coupons. This week I found Head and Shoulders shampoo on sale for $4.99 and had a $2.00 coupon. I bought two bottles and stored them. Another example is Hellman's Mayo. Its up to $3.99 a jar here. So this week it was on sale for $2.99 a jar and I had coupons. Stocked up! Same with mince or chicken, etc. Oh and cleaning supplies which get pricey.
3. If chicken is on sale that week, we eat chicken that week, with some stashed in the freezer. Same goes for another week, if pork loin is on sale.
4. We do one meatless dinner per week. Also the big thing I freeze is berries. If on sale in season, I buy them and freeze them. Like blueberries for pancakes and muffins - the frozen ones bleed in baked goods and simply taste dreadful, not to say expensive.
5. I try to do three or four meals a night based on only what I find in my pantry and freezer. Then when things go on sale again - restock.
6. I'm perfectly content to snag meats on the 'clearance' for today's sell by date. I either cook them immediately or freeze them.
7. I frequent only two stores, actually. One because its close and my purchases accumulate for cents off gasoline. The other because their produce IS better and when they do put staples on sale, they are much more discounted than the first. And the one has the card you need for the deals, and monthly I get a stack of in-store coupons for brands I actually use.
8. I avoid the aisles in the middle of the store. We don't drink soda. I make all baked goods and dinners by scratch. Anything prepared costs more. We make our own bread for less cost than a loaf in the store but do so as we can't stand the sugary breads here. Recently I've stopped buying lunch/deli meat as the prices have gone up so high and the chemicals and sodium are simply unhealthy. (Okay, sometimes I'll splurge for some Boar's Head Beef Pastrami!) I also don't buy anything in convenience packs. Like crisps - I buy the big bag (if on sale) and we portion out what we want to put in lunches. Oh, we've also cut back on cheese at it doesn't taste so great here anyhow. 8oz of Cabot's cheddar here runs about $7. So when family comes to Houston, they bring bricks of it (when on sale at Hannafords or Price Chopper for about $2.00 a brick) and I freeze it.
9. Oh - unsure if you include this as "food" - we don't include alcohol in our food budget. (We don't drink.)
10. And we don't buy chocolates/sweets - we then go to British Isles in Houston and spend $100 on chocs, crisps, etc. Not every week but probably once every 3 months or so. That is our splurge. Personally, we can't stand how oversweet the in-store baked goods are at stores and the packaged stuff is also too sweet and bland. (Except Pepperidge Farm Milanos and Brussels - I crave them from time to time!)
11. Herbs and spices. I grow herbs and buy dried spices at Central Market. They are a fraction of the bottled ones at the supermarket.

Doing all this takes time and determination. My husband can't be bothered so I do 90% of the shopping. If he goes, he doesn't look at price, or cost per unit. Just grabs what he sees that might be useful and leave.

And I find Houston and Las Vegas more expensive than say upstate NY where I visit family a lot. We pay $3.49 for a gallon of milk; Syracuse is about $2. Well, our gasoline is lower in Texas....

Sadly farmer's markets aren't common here. The few that were here when we moved here have stopped.

Food is one area that we've taken the challenge to reduce our bills. Hubby takes lunch to work, too.

Now soon I'll have twins to diaper...so forget our food/pharmacy budget! Which by the way, Costco, Sam's Club and those types of paid membership clubs are the most expensive place to buy diapers! Sales at supermarket or pharmacy chains make them the least costly; stock up!

ETA: Our ethnic markets are low priced on meats and veg (with tons more to choose from) however their staples/non-perishables are more expensive. I hit these up for fruit and veg, and rarer but fresher things like oxtail (in the Mexican mart). And brilliant supply of umpteen types of seafood at the Asian mart. I buy basmati rice in 5 pound bags for tons cheaper than elsewhere. Asian condiments are a fraction of supermarkets and more selection as well. The fruit and veg cheaper and fresher - it all seems to turn over faster. Just avoid the health/beauty/non-perishables - overpriced.

Bob

I'd agree with that....except the membership is saved in the cost of petrol, it's at least 5c, usually 15-20c cheaper than the other places, so better than having to faff around with Stop and Shop points to use the over priced petrol in the first place.

That and BJ's at least, allow coupon stacking, so just in boxes of nappies alone, it's worth it. Outside of nappies, it's probably not worth it other wise....but the samples do keep the kids occupied while we go through

Saying that about coupons, BJ's has gotten really strict about them lately, in the past they would accept expired coupons and the like, but over the last couple of months they've stopped doing that and limiting manufacturers coupon stacking limits...and we're talking coupons that expired on a Friday while you do the shop on the following Sunday.

Edit: the nappies comment, I've found places like Target or Walmart to be marginally better than other grocery stores, but they're really not cheaper....maybe on the larger sizes, but for newborns and size 1-3, you can get a 210 count box of Pampers at BJ's for $40, they usually have a $5 off coupon in the weekly flyer and then another $4-6 off in the monthly flyer, plus all the other $1-3 off coupons you get in the free parenting mags you get at the library, so can get those nappies for anything from $15-35.

The deals only really get shit when they out grow size 3....oh and congrats btw!

Bink

What I've found (and this is just a personal experience) - with having a baby (well not me personally, that was the wifey obviously, but I digress) is that shopping got more expensive. Not just because you're having to buy diapers, wipes etc, but because time is more precious so I rush round the store a lot more (especially if he's with me) and pay less attention to bargains as I'm more distracted! Also, we like to eat more when we're tired and having a child makes you tired... It was mistake of ours and I've just looked back through and whilst at the start of this thread I said $175/wk (it was when I wrote that) it peaked at closer to $225-250/wk...

It has got easier as he's got older though (Don't underestimate the power of a screaming child to just throw things in a cart and be done!). Now he will sit in the cart whilst I go round so we're starting to reign it back in and shop a bit smarter again. Basically we slipped when he was born and it's taken time for us to recover...

This weeks was $105 for the 3 of us and included a few less frequent items like cat food/litter etc. I'm very happy with that. Some of you may be able to do better but for us that's somewhere close to a small miracle!

SATX John

In this economy, here is the breakdown:

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comp...p?cat=1&ind=26

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplem...stance_Program

WEBlue

This is a good pont to remember. I think when anything major changes in life, the food costs can spike up, & then it can take a while to recover and get those costs back down again.

When we first moved here, we were staying with relatives & trying to share food costs. We were spending way too much because we just didn't know where & how to shop smart. Same happened when we first moved to our own place - we needed this & that for the house (light bulbs, mop, doormat, etc.) so the costs of those first months were prohibitive. Once things settle back down the costs will decrease too.

Bob

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Don't know if anyone gets the Bob's Mill range of flour and other grains, but they cost a fortune usually in the grocery store, but you can find them in Ocean State and they're between $2-4 a bag depending on the grain you're getting, which is about x3 cheaper than the grocery store.

If you're up in Maine, Reny's have it for that kind of saving too, though less of a variety.

Ocean State also have a decent range of baking supplies, the yeast is the same brand you see everywhere, but it's 80c instead of $1.50+ in the grocery stores. Good place to get oils and vinegars too and especially herbs/spices, which are $1 a tub instead of $3-5 at the grocery stores.

WEBlue

Thanks for the tip, Bob! I'm going tomorrow to our local Ocean State to stock up for the holiday baking....