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I'm your age too, and we shop at several places but never one after the other. We do Costco once a month, Safeway or one of the Kroger stores as needed for a few things. Trader Joe's maybe once every 3 months for a few items that we love there, Whole Foods and Walmart only when near one. Price is important, but not as important as taste and quality, so there ends up being some things we like from each place. The bulk is from Costco because everything there is good quality, good taste and reasonably priced in large quantities. It helps to have a large freezer and a Foodsaver vacuum sealer. Last weekend for example, I cut each of the 4 packages of lower sodium bacon in half, and froze them for the next 8 weekends of breakfasts.
Their "Ultimate Fish Sticks" are made from fresh Alaskan Pollock filets. We use them for fish tacos, fish sandwiches, or even fish & Chips.
I'm with you there.
I start shopping at Costco - taste, quality, cost. Cannot beat their frozen sockeye salmon, and as luck would have it, it was on sale yesterday.
Next time I go shopping it could be Aldi's, Ingles, or Trader Joes. Depends on what I'm shopping for. Trader Joe's triple ginger snaps and their frozen fish stew are calling to me now. Aldi's has a nice selection of fresh vegetables, and you cannot beat the chocolate bars. Ingles for quick trips to get what I need for the week ahead, such as beer.
I have no idea what's on sale where, but will often stock up if I get there and find something we like on sale. I will often try out a sale item.
So no, I don't look at the sale flyers and decide what to cook, then drive all over town to save a nickel here and a nickel there.
This is really true. I think about this every time I go to Costco and see someone hanging out at the beginning of a parking aisle, waiting for a car to pull out just because it's really close to the entrance.
That's me, after a 10 hour shift on my feet, wanting to get what I need and go home and off my aching feet!
But on topic, yes I think it's worth it, but mostly because I pass directly by 4 groceries on my work commute, with another two that are less than a half mile out of the way. No extra gas used, and very little time difference because I go when there are no lines, no crowds, so maybe it adds an extra 10 minutes for the parking. I check the ads and download my coupons the day before so I know for the most part exactly what I want at each store and go straight to that, with a quick detour to the markdown shelves of course. I figure those extra stops at other stores save me between $10 and $20 per week, not huge, but enough to be worthwhile for me.
Rural living? Not so worthwhile to drive to multiple stores, when it is miles and miles between stores.
We have 7 grocery stores, representing 6 major brands, within 3 miles of us. Easy drive to pick up preferred products at any of them.
Extend out another 2-3 miles, and add in at least 6 more stores, and 5 more brands.
So, the situation varies based on location and market dynamics.
Not for me, I'm single and don't buy that much. We have 2 grocery stores, Food Lion and Lowes foods. We do have Walmart, I never go. We have an Aldis but have only been there once.
Sometimes it comes down to how much you are "into" food and/or if you enjoy and do alot of your own cooking.
For us, Target has some natural no nitrites/preservative deli ham that is very reasonably priced and better than anything we find anywhere else. My GF is devoted to Trader Joe's bread and baked goods and I concur they are well priced and delicious. Lidl's has great buys for chocolate, yogurt, nuts, household and personal care staples. And certain supermarkets have much better fruit/vegetable, meat and poultry departments than others.
So we are "shopping nomads" criss-crossing the landscape.
For aging people who may also shop alone, remember each time you enter a "transitional space" such as a store parking lot, etc. the risk of someone backing into you with a vehicle, encountering "sketchy" parking lot characters, etc. increases. Driving from one location to another also increases traffic incident risk. So limiting your stops in that regard may have a benefit.
At my advanced age of 36 I do most of my shopping online but I will shuffle between Walamrt+ and Fresh if I can't find particular items I'm looking for way more convenient that way.
It generally costs 50c a mile to operate a vehicle. So I just go to one grocery store, and get everything. Even though Walmart and Aldis are cheaper, their selection is poor (especially Aldi).
It’s worth it to me, because I have about 7 grocery stores within 5 miles. If I had to drive far, I would go to the cheapest one first, then fill in at one more. I know I’m very fortunate to live in a place with many stores.
It generally costs 50c a mile to operate a vehicle. So I just go to one grocery store, and get everything. Even though Walmart and Aldis are cheaper, their selection is poor (especially Aldi).
I disagree with you about Aldi. I go there first and I have many options. Their fruit and produce are great. Their bread is great. I buy meat and fish elsewhere. Their specials are good, even though they may never appear again. I’m not a Walmart fan, even though that is an option for me too.
I don't even visit stores, I get my groceries online and delivered. I don't have to go out at all, period. Instacart will deliver from dollar stores and liquor stores too. I use Amazon for absolutely anything, although you have to watch the price points and expect sizing problems with clothes made in Asia.
I buy groceries from two stores because Walmart tends to be out of stock too often (bananas, salt, flour, chicken...) and I need a second source even if I have to pay 30% more for products. At Walmart, Edmonton, in western Canada celery is 2.99, and the other store (you don't have in the USA) it's 4.99. It's nuts.
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