Saving Money on Groceries

A discussion on one of my friend's facebook page prompted me to write a post about good buys on groceries. I know this will only be helpful for those of you who have these stores in their area so sorry if this doesn't apply to you. I thought it would be helpful to organize this by food type.

Produce- (I don't feel the need to buy organic produce because I wash everything with veggie wash.) Sunflower Market by far has the best produce and the best sale prices. I've tried Farmer's Market, and though they have good prices their quality isn't the best. I won't even try the grocery store anymore. I do like to buy peaches and cherries from Costco when they are in season because even though they are expensive they are the sweetest and juiciest things you will ever put in your mouth.

Meat and Seafood- Costco has great quality meat and their prices aren't too bad but I really prefer to buy no hormone meat. Sunflower is the best place for this because everything is all natural. You can get 93% lean ground beef for $2.99/lb or less on a good sale. Chicken breasts can be as low as $1.99/lb on a sale. They have steak on sale regularly too. I do tend to buy my seafood (aka cod and salmon) frozen at Costco, it is packaged well and tastes good.

Canned Goods, condiments, baking goods, etc.- I buy all this at Super Walmart unless there is a good sale. You can get soup for a decent price at Costco. I get a huge bag of semi-sweet choco chips at Costco for $9 when the small bags at the store are $4. They have the Gherardelli brand during the holidays so I stock up on those.

Cereal- Costco is the place. You get two bags per box for $6-$8 depending on the type. They have a good variety. You can't beat the price on oatmeal (instant packages) either.

Milk- Prices change frequently at Costco but I get it for $1.89/gal. They come in 2 gal. increments so make sure you can drink that much first. I would like to buy hormone free milk but it is 3 times the price.

Eggs- I buy one dozen range-free eggs at Sunflower for $1.99

Cheese- NO WHERE beats the prices at Costco. You can get a large block of mozz. or colby/jack and Costco for $3-$4 and that hardly buys you a small block at the store. I also will buy a pre-shredded bag at Costco for burritos and nachos for a good price.

Papergoods and plastic bags- I am not partial to any brand so I get Kirkland brand at Costco and it is much cheaper. You can get 12 rolls of paper towels for $16. I buy all my trash bags and plastic sandwhich bags here too.

Diapers and wipes- I buy Up & Up from Target. I like how they work and I can get 92 size 3's for $13 and change and I find coupons too. Wipes are a good deal at Costco and they are great quality I have never tried their diapers but they are just a little more than Up & Ups.

Toiletries- If Costco carries your razor blades they are ususally cheaper and last for a year or more. Shaving cream is usually about the same between Costco and Walmart. We buy the Kirkland Brand shampoo and conditioner and it's like $6 for two huge massive bottles and it lasts well over a year. You can get a good deal on OTC medicines too. I have to add that you won't beat Costco's prices on tampons and pads either. I am particular to Playtex and Always and that's what they carry.

Some tips
Costco-They send out coupons for name brand items, but watch out because even with the discount is still more than their own Kirkland Brand usually. Make sure when you buy in bulk you will use it up before it expires or split the quantity with a friend! Just because it's in bulk doesn't mean it's cheaper so bring a calculator and know your prices of items from other stores!
Sunflower Market- Wed. is double ad day! Get two weeks worth of sales on one day! It is also the busiest day of the week I think. Check the dates on the sale tags...sometimes things will be on sale for weeks or months so don't think you have to stock up right then.