Question Of The Day, Friday, October 6

[micknsnicks2mom]

i do a combination of online and in-store grocery shopping -- it depends on where i can get the best price.

for in-store shopping, i alternate between Aldi's and Wegmans. i'll buy most items that Aldi's carries from them, but there are some that i prefer to buy at Wegmans. i do my in-store shopping on a pretty much set schedule of 2 months shopping followed by skipping a month -- for example, i'll shop in January at Aldi's, February at Wegmans, and then skip March.

for online grocery shopping, it's items i buy in bulk. i've found that there are many (many) things that can be bought in bulk for a much better price than buying in-store, and that i use often/i'll use up -- and that i'm able to store properly. for me, this is an upfront investment in savings long term.

 

[Winchester]

It's so interesting to see where and how you all shop! I've enjoyed reading about it.

We have double coupons all the time, not just one or two days a week. The catch is that the stores only double to $1.00, so if I have a coupon for 75 cents, it will still just go to $1.00. And they only double one of each coupons, so you can't buy two boxes of cereal and use two of the same exact coupons....they won't double both of them. I do use coupons as much as I can, both digital from our Giant emails that I can load to my Giant card as well as printed coupons from either the Sunday paper or a couple coupon sites on the web.

I really wish we had either a Costco or a BJ's close to us. Our son and DIL used to live close to a BJ's and she had a membership. When we'd go down to visit and she needed to go to the store, I would go with her and buy things through her membership. I really like BJ's.

Our pet food is bought at Giant, just cans of Friskies Buffet. But now Ms. Pepe is on Royal Canin for Renal Support cans and dry kibble. The Beast is also eating Royal Canin dry for Urinary Support (something like that), so we order from Chewy for them. I will say that Chewy is fast and they deliver right to my work.

 

[artiemom]

I had a BJ's card for years. It came in handy when my dad was alive; but now that it is only me, it is not worth it. I am trying to downsize a bit..little by little. For one person, I have things shoved/stored everywhere. I am trying to use up my stock. Of course, there are somethings that I have to have a ton of: tissues, toilet paper, paper towels...

It is not worth it for me to get a case of each from BJ's.. so I just get a few at the grocery store, when I go.

 

[maggiedemi]

Oh I forgot about Aldi's, we do have an Aldi's here, and they have cool exotic foods sometimes from different countries. I like BJ's for cat litter, it is only $9.99 for a 40 pound box of Berkley & Jensen. And if you get their coupon booklet, you can sometimes get Arm & Hammer or Scoop Away for the same price with their $3 off coupons.

 

[LTS3]

I only go to BJs for the huge bags of Scoop Away, toilet paper, and tissues. I don't get much else unless it's cookies or something I'm not a member so I just tag along with someone who is and get a ride. I have a cart I use to lug the Scoop Away (42 lbs!) and whatever else from the car. I probably go every few months.

 

[Mother Dragon]

We don't have a regular shopping routine. We may go once a week or three times a week. And a lot of it depends on the weekly specials. Our HEB is huge and the quality, selection, and prices are excellent. Meats are bought in bulk from Costco. We have a FoodSaver and it does a terrific job. Right now the freezers are all full to bursting. Last week HEB had bone-in chicken breasts, minimally processed, for $1/pound. Minimally processed means no "broth" has been added. "Broth" is another term for salt water. Those that have it added are more expensive in the long run because for every pound you buy, almost two ounces is salt water. We almost never shop Kroger because they're considerably higher than HEB. We used to buy meat at SAMS but Costco has better quality. Sometimes we shop at Walmart, but I compared prices and HEB is just as cheap. We have a lot of Aldi's opening here. They're a German chain with a lot of house or German brands. The prices are supposed to be very good but I haven't been there. Trader Joe's is about 20 miles from here, so we only went for the grand opening. We have a Whole (Paycheck) Foods nearby but they're way too proud of their offerings. Sprouts is a chain of smallish stores with remarkably good prices. Fiesta Mart is the go-to place for international foods. They have entire aisles devoted to various nationalities and cultures. There are things in the produce section I've never heard of before.

During the summer we go to a produce stand not too far down the road. I've gotten tomatoes that were still warm from the sun because they'd literally just been picked. They also have pick-your-own but that's not my thing.

I wouldn't use delivery because I like to see what I'm buying and to compare prices, too. Some of the stores here offer on-line ordering where you just go to a special area where the groceries are loaded right into your car.

 

[muffy]

Oh I forgot about Aldi's, we do have an Aldi's here, and they have cool exotic foods sometimes from different countries. I like BJ's for cat litter, it is only $9.99 for a 40 pound box of Berkley & Jensen. And if you get their coupon booklet, you can sometimes get Arm & Hammer or Scoop Away for the same price with their $3 off coupons.

I brought BJ's cat litter for years. It was a good price and it is the only kind my cats liked. The only problem I had was getting the 40 lb box in my basket. There was never anybody to help. I also buy Bounty and TP by the case because it is more conveinent for me. I go through a lot of it. BJ's also has good pies.

 

[golondrina]

Delivery for me means that the shop will send home all the items that I have chosen myself. I can also choose to have them delivered the same day or the following morning. As I mentioned before delivery is free for me because my order is always sufficient to qualify for it. I don't like ordering groceries on line or by telephone.

 

[foxxycat]

I don't have a set plan. I go when I feel like making something-I try to buy 3 or more things of meat and put in freezer. Lately just buy salad and veggies..I have Market Basket-3 locations on way to work, Hannafords who I think has the best bakery out of them, Walmart which is cheaper than Hannafords. Some items I like- Parmesan chips in the crouton lane is not available at Market Basket. Also tuna for the cats-they don't carry chicken of the sea so I get that at Hannafords/walmart. We have a super walmart and new Super Market Basket. I think the prices are the same in both super stores..sadly. So I usually do Walmart because I almost always need clothes and their plus size clothes are not bad.

I wouldn't use mail order groceries=I am super picky. I don't like bent packages or produce that is browning.. I prefer to read labels and pick out my own stuff. I wish we had more Asian markets here in seacoast NH. There's a guy at the gym who married a Chinese lady and he told me several things to try and sadly the one in Portsmouth isn't carrying as big of selection. I don't care for main stream Ethnic food=most of it is tons of salt added to make up for zero flavor. I love Pad Thai but unless I get it at a true Thai restaurant the versions in the grocery store just don't hold a candle to real Thai food.

I will say the Market Baskets up here are starting to carry more exotic different items and cheaper than Hannafords. So I try to be adventurous once a month and pick something to make that I never had before..Mr. Picky Pants hates it because he's a plain potatoes type of guy where I love experimenting with different food combinations...and since I love to eat-the grocery store is my favorite store next to clothing stores.

For the cat food I go to Tractor Supply for 4Health kibble...the cats love it and it's reasonable priced. Cat litter either Chewy.com or market basket. The price has gone up a $1 on chewy now so probably get it at the store...it's $7.50 and online $8.50. I use the free shipping for chewy-get Dasquin- and some cat litter delivered to my door.

I wish we had some cheap alternatives for food-there was a small place that had good cheap produce but they went out of business-I can't remember the name..in the old days I used to shop Building 19 all the time for non perishables...sometimes stop in at Mardens in Maine-it's hit or miss with them.

As a kid I used to play "grocery store" with moms pantry LOL I had a cash register and priced things-made change and everything..what a goofball I was!...guess nothing has changed!

 

[sivyaleah]

I forgot to mention cat food!
All online. Food, litter, treats, toys. The less I have to walk into a pet store the better.
I use Chewy's for nearly all the cat needs. Food choices are decent although I would like to see them expand their better quality offerings.