Hellobee Boards

Yesterday I bought 10 cans of spaghetti sauce and gobs of pasta because they were on sale for $1 each.
I also stock up on chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned black beans, and tuna when on sale

I do my bulk shopping at Costco. I buy cereal, coffee, crackers, applesauce pouches, raisins, saline solution (for contacts), ziploc bags, granola bars, laundry detergent, frozen fruit for smoothies and frozen vegetables, peas... Anything that keeps well and they carry the brands I like.

I also stock up on chicken there and freeze it, but I don't think their prices are actually that much better than the grocery store on sale. I just like the quality and convenience of the individually sealed packs.

Via Amazon...organic soup, protein chips, protein bars, Muscle Milk, and supplements. Basically all the things DH will make on his own.

At Costco I buy in bulk toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, chips, goldfish, fruit snacks, cereal, cereal bars, frozen fruit, sodas, Red Bull (for my husband), coffee and some frozen foods like pizza.

Costco: Ziploc bags, trash bags, vacuum packs of cooked, shredded rotisserie chicken meat, frozen mixed organic veggies and frozen fruit, coffee, rice, herbs/spices, granola bars, nuts and dried fruit, ground beef, frozen shrimp, wine, canned organic beans and tomato products, sandwich bread, and sandwich meat. I also replace our Contigo cups and water bottles at least once a year when they have the multi-packs, and buy most of our OTC stuff like melatonin, vitamins, allergy and cold medication there. And Q-Tips! Once a year they usually have some great deal on Finish tablets for the diswasher (last year it was BOGO free!) and usually 2 boxes keeps us for the year.

Amazon: I keep an eye on blogs that post deals for Amazon and try to score household products on Subscribe and Save stacked with a coupon and the 15% off for 5 or more subscriptions for that month. Then I cancel the subscription. The things I get this way are usually Lysol or Clorox wipes and toilet bleach, with face wash or deodorant thrown in as the subscription filler.

@travellingbee: yep, we freeze the protein... we go through everything else over 2-3 weeks though.

Pouches, gf spaghetti, laundry detergent and coconut oil on Amazon S&S.

Costco for paper towels, tp and paper napkins.

It just kinda depends. Costco isn't always cheaper if you can watch for sales at the grocery store.

For example, 2 loafs of bread at Costco is like $4.50 but at the grocery store it occasionally goes B1G1 for $3.50 (or whatever the cost for 1 loaf is).

http://www.beautifulfrugallife.com/melodys-favorite-things-to-buy-at-costco/

I try to buy as much as possible at costco. I like the quality, and prices are reasonable. We get:

fruit
paper products
bread
vegetables
pouches
rice
pasta sauce
ground beef
steak
salmon
shrimp
ravioli
vitamins
chicken stock

I shop at aldi so I only buy things that are significantly cheaper. I go to Sam's on my parent's card about twice a year. I get:

Yeast
Chicken bullion
Garlic
Baking soda and powder
Craisins
Parchment paper
Molasses
Soy milk
And that's about it...

I buy oats and Romano cheese through a co-op.

@travellingbee: Yes. You can find some things at normal grocery stores that are cheaper, but that is usually just with good sales/coupons. Across the board their prices are 10-50 cents less than any other store brand, if not more. It adds up fast.

I actually like that they are a smaller store because it takes away a lot of the decision fatigue and cuts way down on impulse buys for me.

At Costco we always stock up on almond butter (so much cheaper!), wipes, and DDs shampoo. If we had more storage space I'd probably do TP and paper towels there, too.

@travellingbee: i went to aldis for the first time a few weeks ago. I got a ton of produce, milk, yogurt, cheese, etc for $30! Would have been significantly more at the grocery store. They are moving towards organic and no processed foods, which I love. I am not a fan of their meat selection, though. But, definitely plan on going back. Their brands also taste so much better than normal store brands. They do lots of taste testing..I was googling and researching them a lot a few weeks ago! And they are owned by the same company that owns trader joes!

@travellingbee: They mostly sell their own brand but they do have some name brand stuff for cereal and a few other things.

Their produce is OK. I tend to just buy in season (whatever is on sale) and cook a lot with frozen veggies. I'm not impressed with their frozen but that's easy to stock up on elsewhere.

Their meat I think Iis fine. We don't eat a lot of meat so I tend to just buy stuff as I see it marked down and freeze it. That way I get better cuts for less.

They save money by not carrying name brands, using cases (boxes and pallets) instead of traditional shelving, having a cart return system, and not having baggers/free bags.

If there is one 30 min away, I'd say go and stock up on dairy (their cheese and yogurt are cheap), and dry goods. Their cereal is much cheaper than anywhere else, and so are most of the baking supplies and canned goods. I love it with having a toddler because I can get snacks and applesauce really cheap.

I don't have a Sam's/Costco membership because the price difference between Aldi and the others isn't enough to cover the fees! If I cared about name brands that would be a different story I suppose.

@travellingbee: @brownepiano: In regards to Aldi, while it's packaged as their own brand, most of their items are actually made in the same plants as the name brand stuff, it's just packaged differently. For example, if you look at their organic whole milk yogurt, it's packaged at the same plant as Stonyfield. So, it's pretty much the exact same products for cheaper. I always mean to go to Aldi more. I honestly just forget about it! I think it's one of those stores that you have to get used to.

@MUI831: I've heard that, although I don't understand exactly how that works.

@travellingbee: they do have pouches, and I think they are cheaper than other places.