It has taken me a while to get my grocery shopping sea-legs, if you will. The number of options of places to shop has been a bit overwhelming. There have actually been times when I have found my self wishing for a good Acme catalina sale more than any of the countless sales in my area. I just kept telling my self, though, that I just needed to get in a good shopping grove - get a feel for sale rotations, who is good for produce, etc etc.
Well, I think I found my grove. I think I may also be nesting, cause I have gotten a bit carried away with the shopping of late. (but I have NOT been going over budget, so my crazy stocking-up must be forgiven).
(Note: The following grocery shopping tale is longer than it should be, and probably boring to most readers. But, I fear this little excursion was the highlight of my week, and so in my mind warrants a long tale. Don't read on unless you enjoy overly detailed shopping trip stories)
This past weekend, I had my grocery options narrowed down to the 4 best stores (out of like 10 options), then decided 4 was ridiculous, so I picked my favorite 3 and made my list, with coupons, calculated out to the penny, and went on my way.
My first store - a locally owned, one of a kind little place. I was a little nervous (always am at a new store) that things would not go as planned (prices would not be as advertised, coupons would be disputed, etc etc) - but it was a huge success. The staff was super friendly, the produce was gorgeous looking, and all the sale prices clearly labeled and accurate. Love it!
2nd Store - an Aldi that I had been to before. I was pre-disposed to like this one because I had heard good things, but my local Aldi has been hit or miss at best. And this time it was a definite miss - I really needed 2 things: strawberries and cherries. I think I looked at 30 strawberry containers, before I found 4 without mold. And ALL of the cherries were moldy. Not impressed.
That's when I decided to improvise. I really wanted cherries, and the one store I had taken off my agenda, was right around the corner, and also had a good price for cherries. So off I went to store #3 - another locally owned, one of a kind little place (the one with the Jamaica me crazy sale a few weeks ago) Successfully purchased a bunch of cherries as well as a bunch of other beautiful produce. Another rousing success.
Last stop - the local Superfresh. We have a very nice local superfresh, and other than my inability to efficiently match my cereal coupons to the cereal sale (I figured it out, but I think I stood stupidly in that aisle for waaay too long. We'll blame it on pregnancy brain), it was also a success.
In summary, this is what I brought home:
Highlights include:
A ton of produce- including lots of veggies and about 12 lbs of assorted fruits.
Close to 15 lbs of meat in various forms
6 boxes of cereal
Luigi's Italian Ice (FREE!)
Assorted snacks, juices, hotdog buns and a small assortment of other stuff.
Total Cost: $59.64
Which was almost exactly what I budgeted! Not too shabby for having to improvise a bit in the middle.
The most amazing part was that I went to all 4 grocery stores....and traveled less than 10 miles total. I am still in shock about that. I don't think there was a single grocery store within 10 miles of my farm house. And I went to 4 without going 10 miles. I could get used to this city life.
In conclusion, I think I have found my top three stores. Two of which are not chain stores, which I was surprised about because in my mind, small and locally owned equates to expensive. I figure its only because of the big bulk contracts that chains have that they can offer low prices. But, its not true. Locally owned seems to be the way to go. The people are nicer, coupon policies are fabulous (doubling up to, and including $1 coupons!), and the prices are fabulous.
Well, I think I found my grove. I think I may also be nesting, cause I have gotten a bit carried away with the shopping of late. (but I have NOT been going over budget, so my crazy stocking-up must be forgiven).
(Note: The following grocery shopping tale is longer than it should be, and probably boring to most readers. But, I fear this little excursion was the highlight of my week, and so in my mind warrants a long tale. Don't read on unless you enjoy overly detailed shopping trip stories)
This past weekend, I had my grocery options narrowed down to the 4 best stores (out of like 10 options), then decided 4 was ridiculous, so I picked my favorite 3 and made my list, with coupons, calculated out to the penny, and went on my way.
My first store - a locally owned, one of a kind little place. I was a little nervous (always am at a new store) that things would not go as planned (prices would not be as advertised, coupons would be disputed, etc etc) - but it was a huge success. The staff was super friendly, the produce was gorgeous looking, and all the sale prices clearly labeled and accurate. Love it!
2nd Store - an Aldi that I had been to before. I was pre-disposed to like this one because I had heard good things, but my local Aldi has been hit or miss at best. And this time it was a definite miss - I really needed 2 things: strawberries and cherries. I think I looked at 30 strawberry containers, before I found 4 without mold. And ALL of the cherries were moldy. Not impressed.
That's when I decided to improvise. I really wanted cherries, and the one store I had taken off my agenda, was right around the corner, and also had a good price for cherries. So off I went to store #3 - another locally owned, one of a kind little place (the one with the Jamaica me crazy sale a few weeks ago) Successfully purchased a bunch of cherries as well as a bunch of other beautiful produce. Another rousing success.
Last stop - the local Superfresh. We have a very nice local superfresh, and other than my inability to efficiently match my cereal coupons to the cereal sale (I figured it out, but I think I stood stupidly in that aisle for waaay too long. We'll blame it on pregnancy brain), it was also a success.
In summary, this is what I brought home:
Highlights include:A ton of produce- including lots of veggies and about 12 lbs of assorted fruits.
Close to 15 lbs of meat in various forms
6 boxes of cereal
Luigi's Italian Ice (FREE!)
Assorted snacks, juices, hotdog buns and a small assortment of other stuff.
Total Cost: $59.64
Which was almost exactly what I budgeted! Not too shabby for having to improvise a bit in the middle.
The most amazing part was that I went to all 4 grocery stores....and traveled less than 10 miles total. I am still in shock about that. I don't think there was a single grocery store within 10 miles of my farm house. And I went to 4 without going 10 miles. I could get used to this city life.
In conclusion, I think I have found my top three stores. Two of which are not chain stores, which I was surprised about because in my mind, small and locally owned equates to expensive. I figure its only because of the big bulk contracts that chains have that they can offer low prices. But, its not true. Locally owned seems to be the way to go. The people are nicer, coupon policies are fabulous (doubling up to, and including $1 coupons!), and the prices are fabulous.
2 comments:
Hmm...if I end up back in the area, I might be picking your brain for recommendations...we shop at the Safeway and the Superfresh that are both within 5 minutes of the house.
YAY!!! I like reading about your gorcery store adventures and I'm glad you had great success with this last trip. Have a great week.
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