Grocery Shopping – Where to go?
This is one of my favorite questions to ask other people. I often get asked the questions when it comes to food and nutrition. Ideas for a recipe or a meal or what to take to a party. When it’s my turn to ask the question, I almost always wonder: where do you like to shop?
Why do you like to shop there?
How many stores do you shop at? Do you rotate? Do you hit more than one store in a day?
How many days a week do you shop?
I think these are fascinating questions. We all need to eat. We all need to shop for food to eat. The method for each of us is different.
And some people feel quite strongly about their own method.
Last week I was shopping at my #1 go-to store: Aldi. As I was moving my cart over to the side to start bagging my groceries (because you bag your own groceries at Aldi) a woman asked me if I needed any bags (because you need your own bags at Aldi.) I said “no thanks! but I’m sure someone will use them!” And she left.
Then I ran across the street to Walmart which is not my favorite, but when Aldi doesn’t have an item I need, I fold. It’s right across the street. I move as quick as possible and go straight to what I need and back out the door. Oh yeah, and I stop by a cash register too.
While making my “get me out quick” Walmart run, I ran into my friend from Aldi. To which she says,
“We must have the same circuit. Are you going to Sam’s after this?”
After talking with my friend, she informed me she calls Aldi, Walmart and Sams her “trifecta” because Aldi has the best deals, she starts there. What they don’t have she gets at Walmart, and what she needs to buy in bulk she gets it from Sams. Talk about a woman with a mission!
Sometimes we pick because a place has better produce. Better selections of fresh meats. Better deals. Better location to our house.
In fact, I’d be interested to hear how you make your selections on where to shop! In what order would you rank the following:
- Produce Selection
- Meat Selection
- Price Point
- Location
- Ease of Use
- Other
Mine would be: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5
And yet that’s a difficult question. Because depending on the day, you want what’s down the street and what isn’t going to be crowded :-)
To me, time efficiency is key#1. I recently discovered Uptown Grocery’s new Shop Up, Drive Up, Loan Up program. You can grocery shop on-line, pay through Paypal and schedule a time to pick up. Just pull up to the door and they’ll load for you. It’s $10 for the service and I’m sure Aldi or Walmart or Sams would offer products cheaper but I find that I’m not tempted to impulse buy and I can stick to my diet much more easily because I’m not tempted by the candy bar holy grail at the checkout line.
For me, Aldi and Hy-Vee are right next to each other. I start at Aldi, then finish up at Hy-Vee. I go to Sam’s on occasion to stock up on a few things that I always get.
I am trying to get better at planning ahead and buying several days of groceries at once. I have always been a “grab something to make on the way home from work” type.
I do “ALL” of my shopping at Brahms for the most part. I hate shopping !!!!!