There are tons of blogs where stay-at-home moms feed their families of five on the same amount of money a single person can blow on McDonald’s in a week. That is great for them, but not all of us have the time (from staying at home) or patience (from being a mom) to coupon-clip, don’t buy newspapers (hello internet), aren’t organized enough to keep up a system if we did have the previous requirements (where did I put that coupon I got in the mail yesterday?), and don’t have the space to buy in bulk and stock up.
Especially in California, we have limited space and most of us have one pantry and one refrigerator (I was surprised to learn many couponers have a spare freezer in their garage (or basement, another thing most residences in California lack). So what do budget-conscious, working apartment/condo-dwellers do?
1. Picking Your Stores
It wouldn’t be worth your time to hit up ten stores to get the best prices for various products, but you should compare and choose the best 2-3 stores for yourself, based on location and your own grocery list. For example, my shopping repertoire is as follows:
- Smart & Final Extra for cheese and most dry and canned foods. We have what I consider a large pantry for an apartment, so I’m not afraid to buy bulk on foods that won’t spoil. A big bag of store-brand cereal is only $3 and tastes the same as the Kellog’s/General Mills/Post versions. Also, we buy shredded cheese here since they sell it in 5lb bags and we do go through it fast enough to use before it goes bad.
- Walmart for bread and household & pet products. I sometimes buy other food here, as in classic Walmart fashion, they have really good prices. If not for having a Smart & Final extra right across the street from it, I’d probably do most of the grocery shopping here.
- Fresh & Easy for milk and produce. We’ve been buying milk at Walmart, but found the price at Fresh & Easy to be nearly a dollar cheaper. At first I didn’t like that their produce all comes prepackaged. I generally like to choose my own, but I’m bad at using it up quick enough, and their food is fresher than other grocery stores. I’m still exploring prices at Fresh & Easy and trying to figure out what works best for us. I like to think of them as a mix between Trader Joe’s and a traditional grocery store, such as Ralph’s or Albertson’s I highly suggest them if you have one close by.
Two stores that I don’t shop at (none close enough) but suggest considering are Stater Bros (used to live by one and primarily shop at) and 99 Cent Only. The latter I haven’t used beyond picking up stuff while on my way to a party, but a friend swears by them, even for produce. This one is probably hit or miss, as a dollar is a good price for many things, but many other things you can get for less than a dollar, so use discernment while shopping here.
My analysis of other stores
- Trader Joe’s – They always have great quality food products, emphasize healthy and organic foods. They seem to be more targeted toward the single person and small households. They have a lot of good ingredients, and also box dinners.
What I love about Trader Joe’s is they have a lot of unique food and drinks that I don’t notice at other grocery stores. If they do have them, maybe they get lost amongst all the other products. TJ’s usually run small, but not in a 7-Eleven sort of way. They only have good food, so the junk and poor quality stuff never even makes it through the doors to be placed on the shelves.
The prices there fluctuate greatly. Some stuff is more expensive, but where else can you find a $4 bottle of wine? If you prefer boneless skinless chicken breasts but are like me and don’t like dealing with defrosting and cutting chicken, they have a bag of chicken strips ready for cooking. It’s in the frozen section yet they claim no defrosting is needed. It comes out to about $2.70/lb. While you can find sales of chicken at $2/lb, that extra cost might be worth the hassle, especially if you are on a tighter schedule.
- Ralph’s – I shopped here regularly when I lived close to one, but wasn’t pleased with the prices overall. Yet, when the economy went down, they cut a lot of prices all over the store. I was surprised at the prices when I stepped in the other day, looking for items for my birthday party that I have not been able to find elsewhere.
Another good thing about Ralph’s is their loyalty card is a rewards card, so you earn one point per dollar spent and they mail you quarterly reward checks once you hit a specified threshold (if not, the points rollover). Also, you can get electronic coupons loaded onto your card by visiting their site or Shortcuts.com.
- Albertson’s – I only shopped here when I lived within walking distance. Even then, I would try to do my main shopping at the Ralph’s that was on my way home from work. There prices are decent. They have a lot of sales that sound good, but generally it just brings the prices down to what you can find at Stater Bros. If this is the closest store to you, take extra care to watch the sales.
- Vons – I would never shop here. I find they always have the highest prices. I used to work near one, and have shopped here when I didn’t have time to bring a lunch, as it still beat eating out. I was kicking myself for not bringing food from home as I watching myself buy things that I know I could’ve got for less elsewhere.
- Generally expensive: Mother’s, Henry’s
- Generally cheap: Superior Grocers (best tortilla chips!), Food 4 Less (amazing deals)
Note (mentally or in a small notepad) prices while shopping at various stores, and see which ones have the best prices for what YOU buy. It might be easier to keep categories together, so you can go to the store where you buy fresh/frozen food last and not worry about anything sitting in the car too long. Also, it would be best to choose stores closest to you, so that you aren’t spending more on gas just to save on food.
I’m going to cut this into a series, so stayed tuned for making your shopping list and storing food.
