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Trader Joe's vs. Regular Supermarkets

I am currently on the hunt for how I can buy great value, organic, delicious food without breaking the bank and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how Trader Joe's is in comparison to regular supermarkets, such as Kroger, etc. in terms of prices? Would you do all of your grocery shopping at Trader Joe's? It's only my husband and I so I'm not buying for a family of 4. I also plan our dinners out 2 weeks in advance and usually buy 2 weeks worth of groceries at one time...thinking of moving to weekly but not sure yet. Any insight would be great! Thanks! :) 

Re: Trader Joe's vs. Regular Supermarkets

  • I've only been to TJs  once but I found it cheaper than where I usually go (Publix) for meats and milk. I still would need to go to another store because they did not have everything, but the things they did have was AWESOME! =] I Was impressed.
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  • I do not use Trader Joe's as my go-to grocery store.  Some things there are great, like their dried fruits, frozen fruits, etc and I die for their peanut butter!  Their free-range chicken is nicely priced but I cannot find certain cuts of meats I want.  Also, DH does not like their deli meats.  I think their other stuff is priced the same - like the Fage, cut &washed lettuce, etc.  I go to Trader Joe's maybe every 2-3 weeks, but I also shop at Costco, local grocery store, and local Asian/Latino store.
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  • TJs is my main grocery store.  I think they sell better quality/specialty items that are cheaper then the same types of items in a basic grocery store BUT then you wind up spending more overall since you basically wind up buying ALL specialty items for your entire grocery list (e.g., their ketchup is organic so instead of $2 for plain ketchup it's $3...but the organic ketchup at the regular market is $3.50)

    I try to buy most organic (or at least avoid corn syrup for my kids) and I noticed that nearly all TJs falls into that category (it just seems healthier) so it saves me a lot of time hunting/reading labels for every single item.

    The only item of theirs I dont like it their coffee - so I go to CostCo and buy my preferred coffee in bulk

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  • Last month, I decided to buy all of my groceries at Trader Joe?s to see difference in price and generally compare the variety; I typically go to Trader Joe?s once a month to pick up a couple of my favorite items.  I bought a week?s worth of food and compared to my regular grocery bill it was about $30 more.  With that said, I think that we wasted a lot less food than normal.  First, Trader Joe?s is great for a two as most portions are individual or smaller.  Also, I almost never buy anything frozen at the grocery store but Trader Joe?s has really great frozen meals.

     

    I am not sure if I could shop only at Trader Joes; the meat selection (I don?t eat meat but my DH does) isn?t great and the produce though very good is limited.

    Christine Mo
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