Grocery Shopping

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
Where do you all shop for your groceries?

There are 3 of us in a house and we are spending right at $200 a week for groceries and after 3 days, it looks like we have absolutely nothing. We typically go to Harris Teeter because its close, we like their meat/produce and we get the fuel points for gas. I know with inflation, everything has sky rocketed, but there has got to be a way to get more bang for our buck. We try to clip coupons but most of the coupons we get are for things we don't normally get. My wife is allergic to dairy, so we have to buy two kinds of milk and two kinds of cheese. Then, you throw a 4 year old in the mix who is picky as all get out, and it racks up the bill pretty quickly. I thought about switching to another place like Food Lion or Aldi. I know that the dollar doesn't stretch like it use to and with my wife having dietary restrictions on some things, we can't just buy some pasta and cheap sauce and call it a day. And we aren't eating steak and shrimp for dinner. Usually its quesadillas, hamburgers, chicken, sometimes steak if its on sale, tacos, sandwiches, fend for yourself night (My favorite), and stuff like that.

Starting to go through our bills and cut stuff we don't need, but trying to make $200 worth of groceries stretch for a solid 7 days is becoming a task and just want to see what you guys do.
 
My Experience HT/Lowes/Publix is the most expensive
We will go to HT or Lowes when we want fish, or sometimes good meat - other than that we stopped shopping there.
We shop mostly at Walmart or Food Lion for basic stuff.
We also do Costco for some stuff, buy in bulk, freeze stuff.

I don't like to have to go to 4 different stores and spend my time and gas driving around for the best deals though, but Aldi and Trader Joes, etc also have some really good prices as well.
 
Did walmart pick up for a while, got tired of everything being wrong. We shop aldis and have instacart deliver it. Its I think $10/month which covers the delivery fee, but we live out in the sticks and there is a $5 long distance fee. We have had decent luck with it and only one major problem, which was resolved after raising some hell.
 
My wife does all the grocery shopping so I don't have many tricks of the trade.

But similar to above, HT, Publix, etc. is going to be your premium spots. They're meats, etc. are typically going to be top notch and you're going to pay for it too.

Since you're in HP, you really ought to hit up Shuler Meats for your meats.

Aside from that, definitely Aldi (you'd honestly be surprised w/ some of their quality and their chips are the best, hands down imo).

We get most our stuff from Aldi, Wal-Mart, Costco and Shuler's.

Oh, and Todd's Seafood in Thomasville for our seafood. #SupportLocal
 
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Wally World, Food Kitty and Sam's Club. The pickings are slim in Reidsville. Sam's Club is a trip to Danville but to get stuff in bulk it's worth it. Besides gas is cheap there. We do have a pretty decent meat market (Richards) here though which I try to get to for their freezer packages.

The only Lowes Food near by is an older one and does not have the greatest selection of anything and Harris Teeter is 20 minutes away in Greensboro.
 
Definitely should give aldi a try. I can buy probably 70% of m,y groceries there, and then go to food lion to fill in teh gaps. HT is definitely the premium place around here for meats/produce, but it comes with a high price tag.
 
JSJJ388 said:
Did walmart pick up for a while, got tired of everything being wrong. We shop aldis and have instacart deliver it. Its I think $10/month which covers the delivery fee, but we live out in the sticks and there is a $5 long distance fee. We have had decent luck with it and only one major problem, which was resolved after raising some hell.
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We did walmart pickup as well and I love being able to put a list together at 10:00 at night and pick it up the next morning or afternoon, but the problem is when we get meats or produce or anything with an expiration date, they always give us stuff that expires in 1-2 days. Aldi is cool, but I feel like their selection is just lacking and end up with alot of mix matched stuff. Maybe I just need a better plan before I go in there.
This week, when its grocery time, I'm going to try going to our neighborhood Walmart and seeing if that works better.
I really hate going to Food Lion for some reason.

But I know that I am going to have to give up HT. Its just getting ridiculous.
 
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My wife just did a 3 day spree to Sam's, the Butcher Block, Harris Teeter and Publix delivery...and it was damn near a mortgage payment (given, I was anticipating bulk purchases, but prices are ridiculous). I told her we were about to kick it old school, and do nothing but ramen, PB&J's and maybe some hot dogs as a treat. By my math, I can feed a family of 5 for about $38 for the week. The only way I've ever known to save on groceries if cash was too tight is to either go without or substitute for the cheapest option available.
 
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I know my first wife used to shop at Ingles, but switched to Aldi for most things because they are way cheaper, and Food Lion because they have Instacart pickup and Ingles doesn't. And this is a timely topic. Just this morning I was looking through the CC statement in detail, and noticed that we spent $763 explicitly on groceries (Aldi, Food Lion, and Instacart) in the past month, plus $533 at Amazon, $320 at Target, and $451 at Walmart, which is an unidentifiable mix of groceries, household staples, and whoknowswhatbullshit. Even if 2/3's of it is truly food, paper goods, and household staples, that's over $1600/month, which is downright ridiculous for 4 people who eat out too much and have a kid that barely eats.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I know my first wife used to shop at Ingles, but switched to Aldi for most things because they are way cheaper, and Food Lion because they have Instacart pickup and Ingles doesn't. And this is a timely topic. Just this morning I was looking through the CC statement in detail, and noticed that we spent $763 explicitly on groceries (Aldi, Food Lion, and Instacart) in the past month, plus $533 at Amazon, $320 at Target, and $451 at Walmart, which is an unidentifiable mix of groceries, household staples, and whoknowswhatbullshit. Even if 2/3's of it is truly food, paper goods, and household staples, that's over $1600/month, which is downright ridiculous for 4 people who eat out too much and have a kid that barely eats.
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Cherokeekid88 said:
We did walmart pickup as well and I love being able to put a list together at 10:00 at night and pick it up the next morning or afternoon, but the problem is when we get meats or produce or anything with an expiration date, they always give us stuff that expires in 1-2 days. Aldi is cool, but I feel like their selection is just lacking and end up with alot of mix matched stuff. Maybe I just need a better plan before I go in there.
This week, when its grocery time, I'm going to try going to our neighborhood Walmart and seeing if that works better.
I really hate going to Food Lion for some reason.

But I know that I am going to have to give up HT. Its just getting ridiculous.
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Yea, Aldis takes some planning. We usually order for Saturday, then grab whatever they didn't have at food lion after church Sunday.
 
Aldi's, Hood Lion, local produce stands and small town butcher shops.
 
We shop Costco and Walmart mostly. Food Lion when not enough time because they are 1 mile away. We try to buy generic/store brand for many items. We still spend about $300/ month. I eat a lot of meat, eggs, and milk which are not cheap. Fresh fruit and vegetables add up too.
 
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cranbiz said:
Wally World, Food Kitty and Sam's Club. The pickings are slim in Reidsville. Sam's Club is a trip to Danville but to get stuff in bulk it's worth it. Besides gas is cheap there. We do have a pretty decent meat market (Richards) here though which I try to get to for their freezer packages.

The only Lowes Food near by is an older one and does not have the greatest selection of anything and Harris Teeter is 20 minutes away in Greensboro.
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10 reply’s and no one has picked up that you eat Dicks meat…..


Other than that I have nothing to add except yes, HT is stoopid expensive but they have an in store bar so…..
 
Y'all some big city living folks lol. All I have in Star where I live is a Food King. But Walmart isn't too far away, but I despise that place.
 
I just checked the CC statement and we averaged $194.65 per week for the past six months on groceries, for six of us. I go to Harris Teeter once a week, with the occasional quick run to FL or Lidl for something forgotten or something we need to complete a meal for which I didn't plan. I also had a trip to Lidl last week for Pillsbury Perfectly Pumpkin cake mix because they had it and neither FL or HD did. :lol: I also had one week, back in the summer, where I went to FL instead of HT (don't remember why) and it was only slightly lower than the average, probably because there are some things I don't bother buying at FL because of crappy selection.

In addition to the grocery charges, we spent $213 on Amazon Subscribe & Save for October, which included a 37# bag ($62) of dog food, bulk tea, bulk paper towels, bulk hand soap, bulk deodorant, diapers, and a water filter ($60) for the refrigerator. The average for Subscribe & Save for the past six months is about $243. I use it for bulk paper goods, trash bags, dog food and Milk Bones, diapers and baby wipes, Clorox wipes, dietary supplements, bulk snacks (like apple sauce pouches, fruit cups, and little packets of almonds), hand soap, dishwasher detergent and rinse agent, shampoo, bath soap, deodorant, toothpaste, coffee, printer paper, envelopes, and Scotch tape. I also don't spend extra getting those items at Target or Walmart, where they'd definitely be cheaper than HT but I'd end up spending more on the trip plus whatever impulse purchases are bound to happen.

I've posted it before, but it doesn't matter where I shop because I shop unit price. If the store brand is cheaper per ounce or the brand name is cheaper (per ounce), on sale, I typically buy what's on sale and definitely buy whatever is the best bang for the buck. Most of it is store brands but some items we stock up when they are on sale because we choose versions that have fewer crappy ingredients and then we freeze them. We buy 4 gallons of whole milk per week, plus ~2 gal of Lactaid. I don't buy the organic milk because I have family in the industry and I've been assured it doesn't make any difference, except to your wallet. We buy very little processed food that isn't still whole food. Mostly, it's apple sauce and crackers because toddlers. :lol:

I'll cook 4# of chicken or 3# of ground beef at a time and then portion it to use in recipes throughout the week. I use canned beans or will make a batch of dried beans to use in chili or tacos. I make soups and chili that we can eat for a couple of meals. We eat a lot of vegetables and salads. We do eat out some. We almost always enjoy our meals together as a family and the rule we set with the kids was, "three bites, no complaints." They don't have to clean their plates but they do have to try new things. They all have their opinions and some of them are still pickier than I'd like, but they have good manners and I don't have to worry that they won't eat what's offered at someone else's house.
 
Our regulars are Food Lion <4 blocks from the house), Walmart and Target. Wife does 90% of the shopping, I'm just the guy that brings home the $$ and eats stuff so I don't know all the details, but she has figured out exactly what kinds of things are cheaper at which places. Also keeps an eye on the sales trends and knows when to stock up b/c X is on sale in bulk. A key for selection is to learn when the stocking days are, and what day the sales week starts, and go then.
Like @trailhugger said, gets what's the best bargain by unit price, not having brand loyalty can make a huge difference. Closely eye the sales deals bc its not always that great or even any better than the store brand, but sometimes its a steal.
Soda has been a real budget killer lately, thats the one vice we haven't been eager to give up. You have to really look out and hold off and when there's a deal really stock up.

Initially its a PITA to learn to shop cheap but once you get into the habit it's second nature.
 
Also @Cherokeekid88 some alternatives to consider....
It's the wrong time of year now, but in the spring look into buying into a local farm share. Its a lot of $$ up front but the amount of food / $$ is way better and you get better food AND support local farmers.

Also - look into Every Plate, Dinnerly, and the other pre-planned meal services. NOT the ones that are pre-cooked, just the ones where they send a3 or 4 meals you make yourself in a box.
They are expensive by the meal - but there's a trick . They ALL have an introductory rate, for the first 4 or 6 or whatever weeks it will be like 30%-40% the normal cost. For us when we did the math there was no way we could buy the same food ourselves for ththe same cost. When you 4 weeks runs out, just change to a different service. After about 3 months, the first one will mail you a coupon to restart again at the introductory rate. After that, go back to #2 or whoever hast he best offer again. We did this a whole year and never paid full price. The only reason we quit was because our farm share started again and we'd have too much food, and Wifey started a weight loss diet that wasn't compatible with the pre-planned meals.

A final thought - Leftovers. Learn to make meals that either are exactly what you need for dinner, or even better, a meal for lunch the next day. Leftovers for lunch = free lunch (not really, but way less than anything else). This has the biggest strike here since Wifey started her diet, she now makes smaller dinners and I rarely have a lunch, so I have to make or buy something, and our net costs have gone back up... along with my wastline.
In fact I think our net family body mass has not changed with her diet. Hmmm.
 
trailhugger said:
"and the rule we set with the kids was, "three bites, no complaints." They don't have to clean their plates but they do have to try new things. They all have their opinions and some of them are still pickier than I'd like, but they have good manners and I don't have to worry that they won't eat what's offered at someone else's house.
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This is golden and I was raised this way and did the same with my son.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I know my first wife used to shop at Ingles, but switched to Aldi for most things because they are way cheaper, and Food Lion because they have Instacart pickup and Ingles doesn't. And this is a timely topic. Just this morning I was looking through the CC statement in detail, and noticed that we spent $763 explicitly on groceries (Aldi, Food Lion, and Instacart) in the past month, plus $533 at Amazon, $320 at Target, and $451 at Walmart, which is an unidentifiable mix of groceries, household staples, and whoknowswhatbullshit. Even if 2/3's of it is truly food, paper goods, and household staples, that's over $1600/month, which is downright ridiculous for 4 people who eat out too much and have a kid that barely eats.
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You looked at how much? You don't look, never look....
 
RatLabGuy said:
A final thought - Leftovers. Learn to make meals that either are exactly what you need for dinner, or even better, a meal for lunch the next day. Leftovers for lunch = free lunch (not really, but way less than anything else). This has the biggest strike here since Wifey started her diet, she now makes smaller dinners and I rarely have a lunch, so I have to make or buy something, and our net costs have gone back up... along with my wastline.
In fact I think our net family body mass has not changed with her diet. Hmmm.
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Add to this, I made a Home-style Vegetable Beef soup last night and while eating it I began thinking about how cooking/eating habits have changed in society. I know, deep thoughts over a bowl of soup

When I got home I had no idea what we were eating for dinner. My wife has a head cold and wanted soup. now I make a mean Pho, and that's about it. Never tried recreating my Grandmas veggie beef soup before. So i ran to the store, grabbed some veggies, a bottle of V8 juice, some ground beef a loaf of Italian Bread and it was $26 to feed a family 4 plus left overs enough for another round of dinner for 4. While I consider that pretty good, I was thinking about what was in it. Most everything in the dish are what are typical leftovers. This lead to thoughts of how these meals were originally derived. made completely from left overs. It also reminded me of a school trip in Middle school where we were gone for a week and each night there was a soup served with the meal and each night the soup became more and more hearty with leftovers from the previous night.

I don't think people think about food preparations and leftovers the same anymore. No food wasted in days gone by, where as now people buy everything for each meal and a large portion just gets thrown out after a few days in the fridge. Not to mention the skill and creativity of cooking at home is being lost. With that efficiencies and are lost and costs go up.
 
we do walmart pick up orders. for two of us we average less than 60 bucks a week including all the house hold stuff that my wife gets, that includes breakfast stuff and fruit, dinners and then we have leftovers for lunch.

What we started doing was checking what was on sale. then plan a weeks worth of meals out based on what was on sale. we plan for 5 meals a week. we always end up somewhere at least once a week eating out even if we try not to.
We dont buy hardly any meat from Walmart usually can chicken for something that's quick and easy to put together. IF I'm buying meat i get it in bulk as Sams and break it down and vacuum seal for how we will use it. whole beef primals and slice my own steaks and the big ass bags of chicken then portion into servings and freeze. Most of our protein comes from what ive killed or caught (does that save money? probably not) and we grow the vegetables that we like to eat the most and are easy to can or freeze and nothing else.

we also go to Go grocery about once a month.... think Aldi but no where near as nice. All the Stuff is stupid cheap and we get alot of canned stuff there. and every once and while you can find good deals on frozen meats and fish.
 
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