A Store Near You

When I moved in with my future husband, I took over all of the grocery shopping. His idea of shopping was to get some Top Roman, Tuna Helper, pancake mix and some plastic wrapped cheese and call it good (although I have to say the man has a gift with pancakes). I love to cook and any cook knows that these few items are just not enough to make a decent meal with, so to the store I went. At the time we lived near a Safeway so that is where I started. It took me awhile to figure out how to buy all of the food I needed without spending a small fortune. At first I fell in to the trap of buying too many frozen items, and then I would not get enough food to last for two weeks or I would get to many “treats”. After awhile I got the hang of it but along the way I discovered that where you shop has a great deal to do with your ability to keep everything within the budget.

First, if possible shop at a store near you, and pick one store to do most of your shopping at. There are some cheap food stores that send me fliers every week but it is just not worth the gas to go so far out of my way. My favorite place to shop is Fred Meyers (no, I do not work for them and they are not paying me, I just really like the store). I love that they send me really good coupons every three months when I use my card. I realize that other stores have a card too but come on; everyone knows that they are just making you use the card so you don’t get ripped off. Those “deals” are not deals at all. I also hate when I forget my card and don’t know what number I gave them, and they charge me a load of money. Fred Meyer will give you the sale price with or with out the card. Then every three months I get a $5, $3, $1 coupon and random ones like $2 off any dairy items over three dollars. I have done my monthly shopping at many stores but I just can’t seem to find everything I need at the prices I need anywhere else. Of course this depends on what you are buying. I have some friends that swear that Safeway is cheaper but I have not found this to be true for myself.

Fred’s has everything. If you need to get groceries, motor oil, a pie plate and a tomato plant they’ve got it. The prices on non-food items are not as great as the food but they are not bad either. With the price of gas these days it’s worth not getting the few dollar difference to drive across town. I believe that Super Walmart or whatever it is called also it like this. We do not have a Walmart in my city so I don’t go there very often. Bottom line is to shop around the stores near you and find out which store meets your needs best. Just because you have always shopped there does not mean it has the best deals.