Where do you do your shopping?
How often do you do your shopping?
These questions have been hounding my conscience in one form or another since I began budgeting in ernest. Back in the day, we purchased everything at our local grocery. It's a small, friendly place about 4 minutes from my home by foot. The proprietor knows my kids by name and I know where everything is on the shelves.
There's just a teeny problem. Everything is a ridiculous fortune. Then again, there are pros and cons to be weighed. Let's say I shop at a large supermarket chain. Sure, everything would be cheaper, plus there's several BRANDS of each item, allowing me to choose among the selection the best tasting product at the cheapest price.
However, since it's far, I need to pay for transportation, as well as babysitting. There's also a delivery charge, while my local grocery delivers for free.
So it's a toss up. Not a simple decision. Not so clear cut at all. Well, it took years of much back and forth and careful research (Involving me walking up and down aisles of large supermarkets with a calculator, notebook, and pen scribbling frantically. If ever a woman looked like a candidate for the loony bin....) we determined that going to a certain supermarket would come out cheaper. Sure, we would have to pay for transportation at least one way, and there's the issue of sending a child to a babysitter for an hour, but the prices are unbelievable and more importantly there's selection.
For example, my local grocery sells couscous for about $2.50. The supermarket sells that same couscous for $2.00, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, sells a less famous brand which tastes just as good for $1.50! We've been going to this supermarket once a month and while it's far from convenient, our grocery expenses have lessened dramatically. I still go to the local grocery almost daily for fresh dairy, fresh bread, and the like, but very few staples and the savings have been substantial. Less money spend that the grocery equals more money into saving for future expenses. Hooray!
Do any of the supermarkets near you have online shopping? A few in Jerusalem (Mega, Rami Levi, Shufersal) do. You have to pay for delivery, but you still get their prices...
ReplyDeleteI WISH I had a Rami Levi near me! The only supermarket that's actually nearby is Yesh and I'm NOT a fan!
ReplyDeletehow did you keep track of all the different prices for each store?
ReplyDeleteCreative, with a notebook and a pen! I did that each store had it's own page, and I also did a chart of say, Milk, with the prices in the columns under their store. I found the place that was cheapest by far and that's where we go now on a monthly basis. I also know exactly how much I'm saving on each item, and if there's an item here or there that my makolet has for cheaper.
ReplyDelete