When it comes to food shopping, most places have multiple grocery store chains in their area to choose from. If not a specific grocer, then you'll have the big discount chains like Walmart or Target that also have their grocery sections too. After watching television shows on "extreme couponing" that helps people buy, for example, $3000 in groceries at the register and actually end up getting gift cards from the grocer on the way out (thanks to their coupons), I can definitely see the merit in doing that. But by and large, I'm not that cautious and usually only go to Walmart for my shopping as I know they'll have the lowest prices. I can watch the flyers from other local grocers like Aldi, Harris Teeter, or Food Lion, but I hate the thought of spending more gas by going from one store to another just to try and hit up a particular special on a certain item. So with grocery shopping and trying to save money, do you find it smarter to do it all in one place or break it up into trips to several stores depending on the sales they have going on?
I buy groceries mainly for myself and usually walk or ride my bike to get them. This means that I tend to shop more frequently but buy less at a time. I am able to hit different stores on different trips so I will hit multiple places over the course of a month. When it comes to the basic staples, I will usually just go to the closest grocery store but for produce and meat, I will head to the butcher or the public market. Unless I see a really good price on something that I will buy a lot of, I will not make a special trip to a different grocery store or hit several in a day. There are a few items that I can only get at one place or another so I am often forced to shuffle my shopping a bit.
I find that even though I go to the bigger stores that also have clothing, I only shop for food items on one day and then clothing items the other. For e.g. yesterday I rode my bike up and purchased some items on the department store floor. But later that night we drove back up to Walmart and then shopped in their grocery section. I would think most people do that as when you are shopping for food items you generally want to get them home right away.
Depending on my coupons, determines where I shop at. I usually use around 100-200 coupons a week so I go where I can get the best deal with that said coupon. When I'm Not out Couponing, I just go to WalMart. They have everything in one stop plus I get my employee discount. I usually price match anything I can at WM when allowable.
I bike everywhere I need to shop. I absolutely cannot shop in one location. It's impossible. Especially when I know that something is cheaper in another location. It seems like an utter waste to me.
I don't think I've ever seen the need to buy food online. Going to the shop does not take that long for me as I usually know what I'm looking for. Sometimes being in the shop actually helps with the decisions that you make food. Sometimes there were a few things that are not on my list will have slipped my mind and by virtue of me being in a shop I'm able to make amends and by the things that I would have missed out. I will one day try buying online but as for now I don't think that it is really something that would interest.
I go to two places to buy my groceries. I like to go to a large chain because that is where I stock up on basics, toilet paper, paper towels, graham crackers, etc. But then I also go to either Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to find more organic or specialty items. It does not take me too long to go to both stores and I usually only go to the large grocery store 1-2 times per month because I can stock up when I go and not worry about anything spoiling.
