Do you do all your grocery shopping at one store or do you go where the deals are?

For me it really depends on what specific items I need when shopping. I shop for most of my groceries at Aldi as generally the prices there for basics are cheaper than any sale price. From there, secondary items I will shop around for.

For instance, things like dog food (at least the brand my dogs eat) is not available at Aldi, so I will check online circulars to see if any stores have it on sale. As dog food is pretty expensive, whichever store has the best price on that is generally where I will purchase secondary items. I figure the savings in dog food is the most of any item I purchase, so saving those bucks there can make some wiggle room to purchase other secondary items without a sale or coupon if necessary.

I'm sure there are better ways to go about saving money when it comes to shopping, but this two-store method is quicker than running around town. I think the same idea could be applied to others by selecting the most expensive item you need to purchase, then shopping at the store that can provide the most savings for that item.

It seems that the best option these days may be to pick one grocery store with moderate prices instead of driving to various locations. You may save 5 cents on an item of food but burn up a considerable amount of gas doing it. Generally, the discounts offered by grocery store coupons is far too small in comparison with the rising price of gas needed for cars and SUVs.

According to the Associated Press, gas prices may rise across the United States this weekend at retail gas stations. This is because crude oil and wholesale gas prices have increased recently. The predicted price increase is a nickel per gallon.

The current average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $2.72. Also, the gulf oil spill is already threatening to impact the price of gas negatively. Of course, if a store offers a huge one time sale, the cost of gas could be offset by the large savings on the grocery bill.

Oh, you totally have to go where the bargains are! Especially this time of year, with back-to-school specials and end-of-summer clearances (which apply to more than just swimwear! ), you have to do some driving around!

In fact, we sometimes will book it to more than one location of the same store in order to make the most of some deals. Sure, that begs the question, "Is it worth the gas, time, and energy? ".

The answer is yes! We save usually well over $100 per week in grocery items based on the aggressive couponing system, and we have such a huge stockpile of free stuff that we have to give away baskets of it to family and friends. Deodorants, cookies, lemonade packets, ballpoint pens, gum, toothpaste, diapers....you name it, we've gotten it for free (or more than free)!

So yes, if you have the time and drive, then shopping at multiple stores and stacking coupons makes a 'uge difference. flickr.com/photos/schumm/3734757735/ This is a real photo from our home. This haul you see is from one Saturday morning's shopping at multiple stores.

The cost for all of this? -.92 + one pack of diapers The stores paid us 92 cents total to take all this stuff and we're getting a free pack of diapers from this next week.

When I go shopping, I would prefer to save time and gas, than to save a few extra pennies. I think that it would seriously depend on your family's needs as to whether or not you went from store to store. If you are looking to save money shopping for a family of 5, 6, or 7 than you need to cut each corner and get the very most for your money.

Although I shop for a family of 4, I do not bear the burden that some families so. Therefore it's just easier for me to pack up and go to a Walmart or Target supercenter and buy everything we need at once. That way I can save money on gas, which equals about the same amount that I would save be driving to another store.

My girlfriend does most of the grocery shopping but a lot of times I am forced to (oops, I am more than happy to) tag along. We go to whichever store is more convenient at the time. There is a Pricesmart Foods near her place, but we also go to other stores if we are somewhere else.

I think the money you would save by going to other locations is probably offset by the cost to get there (gas, bus fare, etc. ). If I were still a bachelor I would stick to the same place if it is convenient. We don't really go somewhere else just because it's cheaper (unless the price is substantially less).

But for more expensive and luxurious items perhaps it's a good idea.

I buy the bulk of my groceries at one store, my soaps/cat items/cheese/fiber bars at another, bread products at yet another, and I have my milk and certain produce items delivered to my door by a local dairy. Even though I drive a little bit more this way, and I actually pay MORE for the food from the dairy, I end up saving big just by keeping my shopping organized and taking advantage of the savings. By doing the bulk of a my shopping at the first store, which honors competitor’s ads and specials, I get most of what I need for the same savings I might get going all over town.By buying higher priced items at a wholesale club, I save quite a lot, and I don’t have to buy them as often, which limits my trips to the store and the amount of money I might spend on things I didn’t plan to buy.

Shopping at a local bakery outlet for my breads is the number one way I save money. I get a loaf of bread for 50 cents that would cost me nearly $3.00 in the regular grocery store. I shop at the bread store once a month and stock up on all my bread needs and store the bread in my chest freezer.

Because the dairy supplies me with fresh milk, tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce every week, and since these are the items I will run out of between my twice monthly shopping trips, I save a ton of money, because otherwise, I would impulsively buy many things I don’t need when all I wanted to buy was milk or produce.

To me it depends on what I am buying. If I am getting the regular groceries then generally I go to ASDA, this is a UK subsidiary of Walmart. They have consistently the best prices and have won the cheapest supermarket award in the UK, 13 years in a row.

I shop here about two times a week. I also go to Tesco about once every 2-3 weeks. I go there for items not stocked by ASDA and when I am there I always look for their bargains and special offers and buy a few of those too.

If I am buying an expensive item, e.g. Electrical, Car, Jewelry I always try to shop online. I find the deals invariably are better. The online stores have lower costs because they don't have a shop front to finance.

I always go to a Coupons website such as Retailmenot and check for the latest coupons before shelling out my hard earned cash. Why oh why is it so much easier to spend cash than to earn it?

I go one place, but get the deals from other stores. I do most of my grocery shopping at Wal-mart. They offer a price-match guarantee.

I take the ads from other grocery stores and circle the items I want to buy. I make a grocery list of all the items I want to by and make a notation by the items that have deals or specials at other grocery stores. I take my list and all the circulars to Wal-mart.

Sometimes I find that Wal-mart's price is already the same or lower than the advertised prices at other stores. If the price happens to be lower, I mark the item on my grocery list with a star to reference when I'm at the check out counter. I place any "price match" items together in one spot of my buggy so I can locate them easily at checkout.

Once I'm in line, I place all my normal items first and keep my price match items to the end. I have the circulars from the other stores organized and ready when the cashier gets to my price match items. I show them the advertised special in the circular from another store.

If the cashier is new, they will sometimes have to ask a supervisor about the price match policy. Most of the time, they just look at the ad to make sure I have the exact same product, then they put in a manual price override and I get the lower price. I save time and money by not having to shop at multiple locations.

My boyfriend does all the shopping. We live in a small town with limited options for grocery shopping. We usually purchase many of the same products each month and he has figured out which of the three stores available have the lowest prices for those items.

Food Lion is the most expensive of our stores, so he very seldom shops there unless they have a sale on something that we use. The other two stores have better deals on certain items like meat is cheaper at one, while drinks are cheaper at the other. So he generally shops at both of these stores to get specific items but if there is a sale, he will switch things up to get cheaper prices.

The cost of gas really is not an issue for us because the stores are very close together in our little town.

Well if I am traveling in my usual manner (via taxicab), I will shop at one store to save money on the fees that come with transporting. Unless I can save a significant amount by going, where the deals are I cannot justify all the travel expenses. Now if I am traveling with my mom or sister while they are shopping for groceries I will go from store to store gathering the deals!

When I slip them a ten-dollar bill it pays for their gas all over town, yet when I slip the cab driver a 10 it gets me to the grocery store and back home. It’s crazy the prices one pays for cabs, but I admit when I limit my shopping to once a week the ten is all I pay for transportation. People with cars spend much more than that per week.

Well I don't do the grocery shopping my husband does, but he goes where the deals are. Which is exactly why he does the shopping, I hate to shop so when I do I want to go in get what I need and get out and home. He on the other hand will leave here on Friday morning go to the bank cash his check, make a deposit and from there it is off to Sam's Club where he gets his gas and picks up a few items depending on the week.

Then Aldi's which is where the majority of the shopping is done, then home. He works afternoons so he finishes the shopping after work and goes to Meijers and/or Walmart. If by chance there is something he didn't get because the price was too high where he had been, he will go out Saturday morning and hit Kroger.So, yeah let him do all that running.

:).

I don't have a car - I walk and take the bus, so convenience is a big thing for me. If I were to go to multiple stores, it would probably take me close to an hour extra. It's also rather heavy to carry bags, as any grocery store is a 10-15 minute walk from the bus (at either my end, their end, or both), so I limit my shopping to roughly what can fit in 2 cloth bags, and I go easy on the cans and liquids – otherwise, it’s a miserable walk home.

Most often I go to a grocery store that is on my way home from the gym. Because I pass there several times a week and I’d be waiting for the bus right outside anyways, I often go 3 times a week or so and get just what I need – a bag, typically, sometimes two. It’s a little bit more expensive, but I shop fairly smart – if something is just too expensive compared to another product or another store, I don’t get it, and I look for an alternative, even if it is a bit lower quality.

If I’m at home and won’t be passing by that store, I go to a store that’s a 15 minute walk in the opposite direction. They always have good prices, but less selection, however, it does the trick. Because of the prices, I’d probably shop there if the other place wasn’t so darn convenient.

For me to go away from this schedule, there would have to be AWESOME deals – which does happen from time to time. Usually I talk a friend with a car into going to the store with me so I can load up, as I’d usually want to buy a considerable amount. It’s fairly common around here to get things 50-70% off during sales, so I get as many of that thing as is reasonable.

One store here has a dollar sale a couple times a year – one year, breakfast sausage which were normally $6 were on for $1. I got an entire bag. That is something I would go out of my way for.

I don’t often use coupons. I rarely find coupons for the things I buy. When I do, they’re often brand name and their prices with coupons are not as good as a store brand without a coupon.

Plus, they often want you to buy 2 or 3 of something. Sure, if I had 50% off a box of pasta, I’d get it, but not when you buy two at regular price to get a 3rd one 50 cents off. That just isn’t worth it to me.

I don’t think coupons are nearly as popular here in Canada as they are in the states, though! Ahh, $1 sale!

When you live in a small town like me, you really don't have a lot of options. There are only two grocery stores where I live. One is a smaller, locally-owned store that does not offer a lot of variety, and the other is a Wal-Mart Super Center.

Naturally, the smaller store cannot compete with the lower prices and better selection of Wal-Mart. The supercenter has only been here for about three years, and when it opened up, it put two other grocery stores out of business, along with a handful of other mom and pop convenience stores. If it was a supercenter that offered gasoline, it would be a nightmare for the other businesses in this community.

The nearest metropolitan area is almost an hour away. While I do go there to shop for clothes or other household items, it is simply not practical to drive that far for groceries. There was a time when I would make a monthly trip to Sam's Club and stock up on things, but it is just me and my son in the house now.

I also realized later that I was actually spending more buying things in bulk and wasting more than if I only purchased what could realistically be used in one week. I do most of my shopping at the Wal-Mart Super Center because it is close to home, the prices are cheap, and they have almost everything that I need. However, there are times when I will run to the other store if I only need a few things.

I do this more out of principal than to save money.

I agree with you that it is way too time consuming to try and shop at various stores in order to maximize savings. You end up spending more in travel and time costs than you would by shopping at one store for this set of items, and the other for the next set. Unless there is a huge sale going on for products that you need, stick with the store you typically use and save by using the club card.

Personally, I shop at Trader Joe’s for a lot of items because I like the quality of their products, but there are some items, like fresh fruits and veggies, that I purchase at other markets or Farmer’s Markets. I won’t go to other stores unless they carry products that my usual stores don’t, or they are having a sale that I just can’t pass on. Spending hours clipping coupons, shopping around for the best deals, and getting to and from each store is not worth a few dollars.

I also do not like keeping track of coupons and bringing them in to the store, because that can be pretty time consuming and I really do not like to bother with all of the slips of paper. However, I keep meaning to start using coupons because I could most likely save quite a bit of money if I do. Even though I don't use coupons at the moment, I do shop at several different stores so that I can get the best prices.

I buy household items (like cleaning supplies and kitty litter) at Target, then go to Trader Joe's for most of my fresh food purchases. Prices are low there and they sell food that I like. I will go to Ralph's (the closest store to me) only when I need something that is not available at the other 2 stores.

This is what works for me for now, so take this with a grain of salt. It's just too much trouble for me to go to several different places trying to save money, so I make a grocery list based on what's already on sale that week at the market nearest my house. Then I scan my coupons to see if there's anything that can be used there.

Once I set those aside, then I look through the other store's sale papers to see if they have any of the same items for a lower price or if they have any items I particularly want to buy. Then I look for coupons again for those items. And that's it.

I find that just using coupons for items that I either really want or are just incredibly cheap keeps me from getting overwhelmed by the process.

I go for online grocery coupons and feel comfortable and convenience while shopping online. Thanks.

After reading through this thread, I've determined that A. I need to get my spouse to grocery shop for us and B. I definitely need an Aldi in my area :) I much prefer to do all my shopping at one store - but I will occasionally venture elsewhere if the deals are particularly good.

I've seen some mention dog food - that's a biggie for us (pet food in general). My pets have particular brands they like and it can get expensive. Coupons and special offers for pet food will have me grabbing my keys to drive across down quickly.

I do most of my grocery shopping at Publix - they never give me hassles about coupons or vouchers for "freebies" I have printed or clipped, and they're pretty close to the house. Target is very close to our Publix - so I'll swing by there if they're having a big sale or if they've sent me a ginormous coupon booklet (those Target coupon booklets are really pretty good). Anything beyond Publix/Target for me is a gas waster unless, as mentioned before, there is a monster deal we could really use.

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