Best places to do grocery shopping

[ryna 132]

Cannibals!

I just phoned Mrs. T-B., who initially said that her Dominicana amiga will say "Oh, coño" as an expression, like "gosh" or worse. In Ecuador, if someone calls you coño, it simply means that you're cheap and don't spend enough money.

Great story about the "overpurchase" of food. This took Mrs. T-B. awhile to comprehend, too.

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OP, if Aldi Foods is in your area or within range, buy everything there that you can, then fill out your purchases at a traditional supermarket. Avoid Aldi's produce.

Awesome! Sounds familiar... My wife is now an experienced Costco shopper though!

And, I did almost the opposite during my first extended visit to Colombia. I was used to buying all at once, Costco-style, and she was used to buying on an almost daily basis at the bodegas on her way home from work. Well, being the good fiance, I decided to buy 3-4 weeks of groceries at once while she was at work so she wouldn't have to bother. Well, let's just say buying 20+ bags of food, being alone and having no car was not the best plan. I looked like a human burro roaming the streets of Bogota!

And, here, outside of Costco, of course, Publix is the place to go for the best quality, though you will pay more for it. I generally avoid Walmart except in emergencies (like open 24 hrs. emergencies)

[Caryh 5,206]

I get only about a quarter of our food in conventional grocery stores since my wife got here. First we hit the Philippines grocery store for stuff found nowhere else. Next its on to the Asian grocery, where most food stuffs come from. Most of the veggies I didn't even know existed until she got here. Then we go to the American grocery stores. Yes that is plural. I got my wife turned on to good bread and the Lunds/Byerly's grocery store, so that has turned into a stop. But their groceries are rather pricey, so we fill out the rest of our needs at the close by Festival foods, or the lower priced Cub stores.

[NikLR 13,227]

Walmarts and Targets vary in terms of cleanliness and quality. I live in a large city so there are good walmarts and dont go to walmarts. They also have neighborhood markets here which are just grocery stores so no jeans or guns to be found. A regualar walmart is handy to buy my fishing license and ammo at though! Generally pick up some cheap camping gear when I get soda, water, snacks, and hot dogs for a camping trip.

I tend to shop at safeway or kroger brand (like King Soopers here in Colorado) for most food or my local target for non-perishables since I work there. This summer I plan on finding the farmers markets for fresh food though. I always went to farmers markets in Alberta in the summer.

Edited April 14, 2016 by NLR

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Walmart and Target are our most affordable options and we travel about 50 minutes to get to either. We exclusively choose Target over Walmart because it is cleaner, the shelves are stocked appropriately, and the staff is about 10000000 times better. The last time I went to Walmart, I waited over an hour to check out with only 2 people ahead of me in line (the other cashier was equally bad) because they had put people on the cash registers who couldn't figure out how to scan anything, would constantly call the supervisor, and the supervisor was nowhere to be found.

Target has pretty much all we could need and the food is fresher and about half the price of our local market.

Edited April 15, 2016 by N-o-l-a

[NikLR 13,227]

Target has a 1+1 line up rule. If you have more than 1 person waiting you're supposed to call for assistance to the check lanes. So they tend to be better staffed than a walmart because you need floor staff who can cover cashier duties. But that also means that during heavy hours, you wont find people on the floor who can help you.

[Roy&Chanel 109]

I go to H-mart for food groceries, and walmart for detergents,water etc.

I like Whole Foods market, they have fresh fruits and vegs but their prices are INSANE! And not all items are labeled! If I win mega I prob buy there!

[HollywoodNorth 22]

Costco, Ralphs and Safeway/Von's in California. Walmart occasionally but not for produce or anything fresh.

Oh, and "Whole Paycheck" for oddball cooking supplies... [ie. Almond flour, various spices, etc.]

Edited April 18, 2016 by HollywoodNorth

[Roy&Chanel 109]

Hey guys, is it worth to get Sam's club membership? I think it costs 30USD per year.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

For some people it is. It depends on how much you'd buy in bulk.

[yuna628 9,676]

Hey guys, is it worth to get Sam's club membership? I think it costs 30USD per year.

To me, Sams Club is essentially Wal-Mart.. and when you want to compare Sams Club to Costco, Costco wins every time. Not sure how much more their membership is of course.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Hey guys, is it worth to get Sam's club membership? I think it costs 30USD per year.

When I was looking into it I found that there were blog posts comparing the options (BJs, Sam's Club, and Costco). It seemed to me at the time that Sam's Club was not a real savings over Super Walmart when you factor in the difference in choice and the need to buy more than you normally might.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

To me, Sams Club is essentially Wal-Mart.. and when you want to compare Sams Club to Costco, Costco wins every time. Not sure how much more their membership is of course.

much prefer Costco as well. We just don't have one nearby.

[Roy&Chanel 109]

When I was looking into it I found that there were blog posts comparing the options (BJs, Sam's Club, and Costco). It seemed to me at the time that Sam's Club was not a real savings over Super Walmart when you factor in the difference in choice and the need to buy more than you normally might.

Thank you Nola! My husband was trying to get me one but I think its better to ask you guys..I know visajourney knows way more better in cost saving too Can you share the blog and more information? What do you suggest other than Super Walmart? I'm actually trying to get one where we can redeem points or something haha..

Transborderwife & yuna628: THANK YOU! This reminds me there's Costco here. I'll look into that!

[charmander 692]

Where do you guys like to grocery shop in the US? I'll be moving to PA, so the options we have are Wawa, Walmart, Target, Trader Joes etc.

As a Brit, places like Walmart and Target are awesome to me! So much stuff haha

Someone who lived in Rochester, NY (Home of Wegmans) for 6.5 years, I would have to advocate Wegmans all the way. I heard they have very good presence in PA.

I moved away from Rochester in 2010 and didn't have Wegmans for 4 years. Let me tell you life sucked! But in 2014 they opened a huge store literally 5 mins from my work. Yes!

Edited April 27, 2016 by charmander