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?
Re: Where do you do your grocery shopping?
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
~~ married 8.11.07
~~ DD1 1.16.11 ~~ DD2 1.3.14 ~~
~~ BFP3 12.22.15 MMC 2.29.16 @ 13 weeks ~~
~~ 2 D&Cs (3.1.16 and 3.10.16) for MMC
~~ BFP4 10.27.16 MMC 1.23.17 @ 16 weeks ~~ D&E 1.26.17 ~~
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.
whole food, trader joe's and target and occassionally Costco when needed
Most weeks it ends up only being Trader Joes
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".
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.
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Harmony Doula
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.