June 2008 Weddings
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Grocery Shopping

What's most important to you when you shop?

Price? Convenience? Calories? Food quality?

Do you have a system? 

Re: Grocery Shopping

  • I feel like it takes me a million years to shop anymore. I try to use sales and coupons, buy generic, compare calories, and read labels for allergy info. It makes shopping take WAY longer than it should IMO. 
  • I have such a bad attitude about grocery shopping, I think it is such a pain.  I think what makes it even more difficult is I'm not much of a cook, so meal planning is sort of...non-existent.

    We spend a lot because we eat a ton of processed convenience foods.  I'm trying really hard to stop doing this because of baby, but since I'm not a cook, I can buy all the veggies in the store and I have no idea what to do with them beyond make a salad. 

    "And on the keyboard, the Big D himself, Rusty Shackleford!"
    Lilypie Maternity tickers
  • Price is pretty important, and that's why I coupon. However, I've also been trying to get us to eat better, so better quality foods have caused our grocery bill to go up a bit.

    I spend more time doing the actual shopping now because I compare the fat content on EVERYTHING we buy that I'll eat. My gallbladder is such a PITA and I'm terrified of surgery, so I'm doing what I can to help myself.

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  • I hate grocery shopping.  We tend, therefore, to get the same things week over week (milk for J and J, soda for me, lunch and dinner packable stuff for J and J, etc).

    We buy the same brands mostly but J wants the stuff for him to be generic or sale, so I do that.  The stuff for Jane I get whatever I like or whatever I like for her (Stonyfield Organic yogurt, etc regardless of what's on sale).


  • I like Hannaford that is a New England store. Their generic brand is amazing for most things. I do compare ingredients and calories and such. I try to do as much generic, which in my mind is cheaper for most things even with coupon. I don't have time for coupons and usually forget them at home. i am starting to browse through coupsons.com to grab some of the items i normally use.

    I have an app (Grocery IQ) on my phone which makes lists so much easier. I want to get DH signed up for it because our accounts can be linked and he can see the list and update it as needed.

  • Food quality and price. We are cutitng out all processed foods from our diet so we look for high quality fruits, vegetables,meats, and bulk items.

    I put together our weekly meal plan on Sunday and then generate a grocery list from that. I try to work with what's already in our pantry and freezer so we don't waste food or money.

    We get groceries at three stores: TJ's and two locally owned health food stores. Our bulk itmes always come from the locally owned stores as they have a great selection at great prices. Our meat comes from a local farmer and the venison in our refirgerator. The rest of our stuff (produce and cheese) comes from TJ's.

    We spent about $75-90/week on food.

    image
    Neena Mae. 1/7/10
    "A baby nursing at a mother's breast is an undeniable affirmation of our rootedness in nature." - David Suzuki
    Pregnancy Ticker
  • I used to feel that way too, and then I started shopping at Trader Joe's pretty much exclusively.  

    I realized that the prices are not that different and the quality is great for the price.  I also realized I spend a lot less there, simply because it's a smaller store, less temptation, about a tenth of the amount of product versus like, Meijer or whatever. 

    I also realized if i make a meal plan for the week and only buy what I need to make those meals, I spend a lot less.

    The only problem is that because TJ's is small, they don't have absolutely everything, I end up running to Target once a week for things like Pepsi, Goldfish crackers, things like that. 

    Married in 2008 - DD born in 2010 - EDD 6.15.2012!
  • I plan around what is on sale.  I check the ad, decide on dinner and go from there.  When DH is home this works well.  When I'm on my own, not so much.  I try and stretch meals too, like a pork roast on night 1 becomes bbq or carnitas night 2 and a beef roast becomes vegetable soup.  
  • Probably quality and then price.

    We meal plan, use coupons if they're available, and stock up on things we like when there are sales. I figure that I could make a lot worse financial decisions than essentially investing in my health so I've never really gotten too bent out of shape over grocery spending.

    Happiest place on Earth!
    image
  • Quality and Convience

    I don't have much time anymore for price comparasion driving around looking for deals. Plus I usually spend the savings in gas.

    I try to eat as clean/natural as possible so quality is important.

    I tend to shop the outer ring at the grocery store and supplement with a local farm stand for fresh,locally grown and to a support local business. 

  • I look more towards price. I have a very strict food budget that I try and stick to, which is about $150 every two weeks. I do a very good job, besides having to repurchase milk for the kids throughout the week. I try and do a lot of my shopping at Wal-Mart because a lot of their essentials are much cheaper. I still have to go to Safeway or Giant to buy things like produce and some meat that they don't sell at our Wal-Mart. We have a local grocery/liquor store called Nick's where I stock up on things like ground beef and chicken breasts. I can get a 10 lb bag of each item for $40 and I split them up and freeze them. I also plan our meals around the sales papers and try and use coupons as much as possible. 
  • It depends on my schedule.

    Recently it's been convenience.  We've been living off of weekly trips for fruir, bread, and milk.

    For a real grocery trip, I usually head to the super walmart.  I have no problem buying most generics and I try to use coupons too.

    image Thanksgiving, 2011 Amanda & Joe, June 28, 2008 Blog of Randomness BFP 6/10/11; Missed m/c at 5wk6d; D&C 7/18/11, Triploidy BFP 11/24/11, please be our sticky baby pregnant
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