Where do you do your grocery shopping?

Mrs.Wright07

I usually shop at Raley's, Trader Joe's & Target, with the occasional Costco trip thrown in.  Last weekend I tried Safeway to try to save a little money because I heard it was cheaper than Raley's.

However, I shopped for the same basics I usually buy at Raley's - Milk, Bread, Eggs, Meat - and I ended up spending $30 more than I usually do.  Am I missing something?

Where do you shop?  Any money-saving tips to share?

 

 

ladipale

90% of our food comes from Trader Joes. For organic milk, cheese and meat, they are much cheaper than anywhere else. And none of their stuff has HFCS which is a priority for us. Even some of their frozen stuff is decently healthy.

I like to go to Costco for most of our meat although its been a while since we made a Costco run.

Our produce comes from Full Belly Farm CSA box, $17/week. We supplement with fruit, mostly from the food co-op b/c I try to stick to organic produce, but on busy weeks, fruit comes from TJs as well.

I've found that buying flour, sugar, etc from the bulk bins at the food co-op saves us some money. Same with spices

danandkelly

I do Costco for most everything and then target for non-perishables and TJs or Safeway for perishables.

StefandTodd

Costco, Raley's, and Trader Joe's.

p2p91507

Costco, Winco and TJ's mostly. Then for the stuff needed in between those trips, Raleys since its on the way home from work. We will only usually only buy meat from Raleys and Costco though.

Lesley423

The majority of our shopping is Safeway and Trader Joe's.  We probably do a Target run once a month and Costco every other month although we don't buy too much there.

torylynn1

Winco, Save Mart and Safeway. I try to do the big shopping at Winco only, because it is WAY cheaper. I did just do my big shopping at Target this weekend and the prices didn't seem too bad.

SportyMrs.23

Nob Hill.  Their produce is far better than Lucky's and Safeway where we live. 

alyssa7

Most of our shopping is at TJs and Target. I have the Target Red Card so in addition to coupons, I automatically get 5% off. We have a walmart down the street from target so they are always competing on prices which is great for us! I go to safeway if I have to, I find our safeway way more expensive than target and tjs.

mcunningham

whole foods and trader joes. i try and buy most of our produce at the farmers market.

futrkingsley

For us, it goes in waves.  In an ideal week, we do a trip to the Farmer's Market for fruit/veggies, then a stop at TJ's for most everything else, with a bi-weekly trip to Target for other stuff. 

We do Costco about once a month for drinks.  We also shop Whole Foods more frequently now that we live down the street from one.  It is as spendy as I imagined it would be.  And their produce isn't that fantastic given the extra price, but their selection of other products is good.

If I never set foot in a Safeway/Nob Hill/Albertson's again, I'd be happy.  I find that it's too much work to get "deals" even with a club card.  TJ's has reliably better prices on most things, and a decent selection. 

 

mommy2jay

whole food, trader joe's and target and occassionally Costco when needed

Most weeks it ends up only being Trader Joes

My.ABC.Life

I do my primary (weekly) shopping at Trader Joe's.  The offer most of what I need, their prices are reasonable, and I trust their products (and lack of preservatives, etc.).  We also shop at Costco about once a month and Safeway several times a month too.  A Grocery Outlet just open up recently - so I've been exploring them.  They have GREAT prices... not not the same selection/products all the time.  So you can't exclusively shop there.

leverby

We do our weekly shopping at Whole foods for everyday staples. Not cheap for sure but we stick to their 365 label plus they have all the orgnanic items we like to buy. We do a costco run 1x a month to stock up on meat, frozen salmon, cereal, and I'll also pick up things like yogurt, OJ, cheese when I'm there. We get our produce from a CSA - we participate in their green loan program and effectively get our boxes for "Free".

SFAug07

Trader Joe's, Safeway and occasionally Whole Foods. I also shop many things for Sarah online at Diapers.com.

LoLoPanda

We shop at Lucky's. We spend approximately $200 every two weeks for complete meals (we do meal plans) with lunch and breakfast items mixed in...and snacks. We buy mostly generic brands for general items, but there are some where we buy brand names.

Also we notice that if you purchase your meats at the butcher counter rather than prepackaged by Foster Farms or what not, that you get more for your money. They usually also have a good sale on bread.

Celyn

Mostly my garden and TJs.  I recently discovered that our Grocery Outlet is much more awesome than I could have imagined, so I'll be hitting that up more often.

Roni.Cedra

We shop almost exclusively at United Markets--which I think is a small Marin thing. It is FABULOUS. We supplement with Mollie Stones and Whole Foods and Trader Joes. 

tri_bride05

Mostly Trader Joes. Farmers market for produce. Whole Foods for a handful of items. Target for cleaning supplies. The super expensive market down the block when I'm desperate for something and don't have the time to go anywhere else. The Costco near us has recently started stocking a lot more organic items so I have been purchasing a little more there as well.

ZoeMay06

Whole Foods for meat and produce, almost everything else at TJs. We do a Costco run every couple of months but mostly just for diapers, soy milk and eggs. Occasionally I'll pick up a few staples at Target if I'm already there to get something else and don't want to make another stop. If I'm just running out quickly for a couple of things I go to Sprouts since it's super close.

tiki_t

I read a report that Safeway was the most expensive place to shop and my sister works for the store and just informed me of a price increase, so I won't be going there.I know that they use to have the occasional great sale.

I shop all over the place. Mostly the Knob Hill on Snell if I've got the kids with me. They are super mom friendly there. I signed up for coupons online and I save money that way. Their produce is hit or miss, they just had a good 10 for $10 sale on canned foods, their meat is not anything to write home about but I do like that they have a dedicated healthier food section and the prices aren't too bad. I also like that they don't fill up the aisles with displays that stick out and make it hard to navigate with kids and they do have the race car shopping carts that hold two kids. If they see you struggling with kids, someone runs over and helps too... Oh yeah and stickers for kids at the check out.

 For meat, I'm a huge fan of Chavez markets (Mexican/ethnic market). I fed a family get together of 6 people for $3.96 worth of pork. Their beef is out of this world (or at least the cut that I get). I also like some of their produce. They've got great sales on citrus... much better than Knob Hill. However, the store is narrowly set up and I have to go without kids.

For specialty stuff like cheese, wine, or sauces, I go to Lunardi's. 

I go to Costco for bulk stuff like canned food, and mainly frozen chicken. I can make a lot of dinners with those giant $12 bags of chicken pieces. 

Paper and cleaning products, I just chase a good sale down and stock up. We're lucky enough to have a linen closet to store a lot of toilet paper and paper towels.