For the SW Durham Folks-best/inexpensive grocery store (Fayetteville, Chapel Hill: sale, coupons)

[sunnie741]

Just wondering where you all shop for groceries in the Southpoint mall area. The HTs seem so overpriced. I know people say they save money with the VIC card but I don't want to have to scan the flyer to see what is on sale. I tried Kroger and most of it did seem cheaper. I am not the best at being frugal or comparison shopping so just wondering who out there has done it.

My goal is to hit one store, I can't stand shopping at X store for meat, Y store for produce etc. I just want to get in and get out.

Any suggestions. Thanks

[CHTransplant]

FYI - if you register your Harris Teeter VIC card with them online, you can get a weekly email of the specials that week on items you frequently buy.

[whiteboyslo]

there's always the Food Lion on the corner of Woodcroft Parkway and Hope Valley Rd (751) and the Super Target behind the mall.

we split between HT and Costco. i don't bother coupon clipping or anything at HT; i just buy whatever is on special. sometime's they have smokin' deals; sometimes not. occassionally i'll shop at the Kroger on Fayetteville and 54, but it's just too busy sometimes.

Mike

[nogard13]

Originally Posted by sunnie741

Just wondering where you all shop for groceries in the Southpoint mall area. The HTs seem so overpriced. I know people say they save money with the VIC card but I don't want to have to scan the flyer to see what is on sale. I tried Kroger and most of it did seem cheaper. I am not the best at being frugal or comparison shopping so just wondering who out there has done it.

My goal is to hit one store, I can't stand shopping at X store for meat, Y store for produce etc. I just want to get in and get out.

Any suggestions. Thanks

You don't have to scan the flyer. You can just walk up and down the isles and you will see what is on sale and what isn't.

My rule of thumb is that if I need it, I'll buy it, regardless of if it's on sale or not. I don't clip coupons either, and I do almost all my shopping at HT. What I will do, tho, is make a list of items that I know I need in, say, a few weeks, and start looking for them at HT and seeing if they're on sale. When I need it, I'll buy it regardless, but I can often find it on sale a week or two before I need it.

Also, you can see their flyer online. Just go to their website and you can browse by categories.

[JackieRTP]

When I lived in SW Durham I used to go to Kroger most of the time.... good prices overall IMO

[MrsSteel]

I find that there isn't one, easy answer to this. If you're comparing regular prices (instead of sale prices) it will still vary from store to store.

If I were in your shoes and I had to pick just one store, I'd probably go to Kroger. Food Lion might be a bit cheaper in some areas, but Kroger is a lot bigger & has much better selection so you'll have more options. You can still find better deals at Harris Teeter or the other stores on specific items from time to time, but until you decide to plan meals around what's on sale, Kroger is a good bet. You might also consider stopping by Trader Joe's in Chapel Hill. It's tiny, but there are some great items & the prices are low, too.

One final point: definitely get a store discount card! It only takes a minute & it will save you more than you might expect.

Edit: My shopping style is the same as NoGard. I look out for the sale tags along the shelves. I also like to pick up the circular at the door & flip through it to see what's on sale. There are some items - frozen chicken breasts, jars of tomato sauce - that go on sale buy-one-get-one-free on a very regular basis, so I'll stock up on those items & only buy them when they're on sale.

[lynegold]

It is really hard to know where to shop. Every week you need to come up with new strategy based on what is on specials that week.

But a good thing is that many stores are posting their specials online. So you can check them out before you leave your house. If you really want to save some money you need to have a plan each week on where to go, what to by things like that. Look into coupons too. Coupons.com can show you all the coupons available on items and you can even save more money. There are many coupons site online out there that you can check for coupons and savings.

There is also a new site that I found pricible.com, that actually shows you the stores in your area, list all stores specials available like HT, Lowes etc... You can compare regular & specials products prices and see which one is cheaper. So even on specials you can find deals there. I don't think that they are covering all the stores in NC yet but it worth checking out.

[DanielChang]

The HT doubles coupons up 99 cents.

[layyze]

It really just depends on the kind of food that you buy.

If you are just buying generic brands of conventional prepackaged foods, then Kroger is probably the best option. The deals on food at Target have never been that impressive. The Food Lions can be cheap, but they always seem understaffed so there isn't much "get in and get out" going on. HT's produce and cheese is absurdly overpriced and it only seems worth stopping when there is something specific on special.

We do our weekly shopping at Whole Foods (unfortunately) because it is cheaper for us. We can get bags of organic cereal, organic frozen burritos (store brand), Florida OJ, bulk cheese, etc. Sometimes TJ's for flash-frozen fish. *If* that stuff is available at a regular supermarket, then it is going to be much more expensive. Usually we hit $40-$50/week for groceries there plus our veggies and meat from the farmer's market.