Low Cost Grocery Stores - US

[Andy_T]

They also sometimes have limited time offers, when they offer a range of vegan sandwich spreads or similar. So it pays to check their website now and then for the new offers.

 

[Mischief]

This is what I've observed at Aldi here: They will stock some things only occasionally. Then, if they find that there appears to be a sustained demand or the item, it will eventually become a regularly stocked item.

That's how the local store went from having only soy milk to also having almond milk to having chocolate almond milk also. Right now, coconut milk is an occasional item.

 

[silva]

Absolutely unheard of over here…….

Huh. We have vegan veggie burgers - black bean and chipole- that are ok, but not tofu or the others

 

[silva]

This is what I've observed at Aldi here: They will stock some things only occasionally. Then, if they find that there appears to be a sustained demand or the item, it will eventually become a regularly stocked item.

That's how the local store went from having only soy milk to also having almond milk to having chocolate almond milk also. Right now, coconut milk is an occasional item.

and unsweetened almond! I dislike unsweetened almond and often find myself going back to switch with original!
Ours have kept the veggie burgers, and all the different grain mixes, which had been specials

 

[Joe]

Let me recommend two stores, albeit provisionally.

The first is the Walmart Neighborhood Store. (This is not the same as the regular Walmart Department store.) This is set up to be a supermarket-clone, but often has good prices plus they actually have items in stock that other stores don't have.

The other store is Kroger. I recommend this provisionally based on 1) the fuel "points" they offer, and 2) the digital coupons they offer. Basically, you get 10 cents off per gallon of gas for every $100 you spend. Plus you get "points" for filling out periodic surveys. You look up their digital coupons on their website, and load these coupons into your Kroger Plus card. Then they are automatically deducted at the register, provided you use your card. For example, Kroger was selling a 100 oz. bottle of liquid Tide detergent for $11.99. ($10.77 at Walmart.) But Kroger had two $2 digital coupons for the Tide detergent, so I got it for $7.99. A great deal, in my opinion.

So you can't go hog-wild in Kroger, but if you stick to sale items and items with digital coupons and shop with care, Kroger is worthwhile. Here is a sample print out of some of the digital coupons I was looking at:

 

[Chryssie]

I wish there was an Aldi near us but the closest one is in Sanford by the mall which is about 20 minutes away. Too far for grocery shopping! I like the Walmart Neighborhood Market. There is one in Debary which we have been to once to check it out. We were very impressed and one is going to be built only a couple blocks from us. There is a sign up say so but no construction has begun yet. I am looking forward to it! One cool thing about WalMart is that you can order online and pick up your stuff at the store. I don't know if ALL Walmarts do that but they do here. We have done this a couple times.

 

[Andy_T]

What I personally do not like about Aldi is their focus on low cost/prices only.

As the cheapest foodstuffs are typically animal products, this leaves their already small range of products IMO deplorably insufficient for my personal needs. Yes, they have some basics, but I could not survive by only shopping with them.

 

[Calliegirl]

I tried to give Aldi another chance, I went there today. I still didn't find anything special about it. I got some slightly over ripe strawberries for 10 cents cheaper than the dollar store, and a carton of almond milk for 50 cents cheaper. That was it. Everything else I would normally buy, I can get better quality at the same or cheaper prices elsewhere.

Example: They were selling pints of cherry tomatoes for $1.49 and heirloom cherry tomatoes for $2.49, right next door you could get both for .99 cents each. They didn't have any chocolate there without milk, but I got a bar of dairy-free dark chocolate with toasted coconut for .69 cents next door at the dollar store.

 

[ledboots]

I'm really happy a 'Sprouts' has opened up near my home. So much produce, so inexpensive! On Wednesday, they keep the weekly sale items from the previous week, and add the ones from the upcoming week. It's on my way home from work, so I stop there a couple of times a week (every Wednesday, I mean ex. yellow mangoes 3/$1!!)

Edit to add: Sprouts also has a shelf-stable hummus without added oil (tahini, yesss) called Wild Garden, I recommend the jalapeno flavor. Not particularly cheap, but I'm avoiding added oils as much as possible these days.

 

[silva]

Well I don't know if aldi is that regional or what, but I love mine- not for everything They always have Moser Ross dark chocolates, always vegan, sometimes fair trade, also in mint and orange almond (and chili-blech) Lots of organic quinoa, plain and seasoned, at far better prices than I've seen anywhere else. Organic flaxseeds, chia, different whole grains and mixes- same as trader joes but again a better price. organic coconut oil, apple cider vinegar with mother. Organic canned tomato products.
Their produce isn't always a better buy, but the sales go in rotation so when things like mushrooms are at .69 cents a pack I make my hot sour soup, and gravies. They're the only store which deeply discounts produce when they get overstock--as in, it's still fresh. I've gotten things like grape tomatoes, bunches of bananas, onions, at .39 for a pack, two pounds, and 3 pounds. every other store puts produce on sale when it's more like compost
I also have bought my nutri- bullet knock off, steam mop, a Lenovo knock off external hard drive and other things they randomly get

 

[Calliegirl]

I'm really happy a 'Sprouts' has opened up near my home. So much produce, so inexpensive! On Wednesday, they keep the weekly sale items from the previous week, and add the ones from the upcoming week. It's on my way home from work, so I stop there a couple of times a week (every Wednesday, I mean ex. yellow mangoes 3/$1!!)

Edit to add: Sprouts also has a shelf-stable hummus without added oil (tahini, yesss) called Wild Garden, I recommend the jalapeno flavor. Not particularly cheap, but I'm avoiding added oils as much as possible these days.

I love Sprouts, I wish they were a little closer. But whenever I'm in their area, I stock up on produce. They have a great frozen section too, but it's a tad expensive.

Well I don't know if aldi is that regional or what, but I love mine- not for everything They always have Moser Ross dark chocolates, always vegan, sometimes fair trade, also in mint and orange almond (and chili-blech) Lots of organic quinoa, plain and seasoned, at far better prices than I've seen anywhere else. Organic flaxseeds, chia, different whole grains and mixes- same as trader joes but again a better price. organic coconut oil, apple cider vinegar with mother. Organic canned tomato products.
Their produce isn't always a better buy, but the sales go in rotation so when things like mushrooms are at .69 cents a pack I make my hot sour soup, and gravies. They're the only store which deeply discounts produce when they get overstock--as in, it's still fresh. I've gotten things like grape tomatoes, bunches of bananas, onions, at .39 for a pack, two pounds, and 3 pounds. every other store puts produce on sale when it's more like compost
I also have bought my nutri- bullet knock off, steam mop, a Lenovo knock off external hard drive and other things they randomly get

They definitely do not have this stuff at my local store. I heard it is regional as to what they carry. Apparently my area has a lot of winos...errr wine drinkers as they have wasted an entire row on wine. That's probably why we don't get the good stuff.

 

[Amy SF]

365 by Whole Foods headed for Santa Monica

This is not in my neighborhood; it's further south and would take 20-30 minutes to get there, so if I visited, it would just be out of curiosity. But if I go, I'll report back what I think of it.

And by the way, there's a Trader Joe's about ten minutes away from this forthcoming 365 store, so we'll see who decides to shop where.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

ATTENTION KROGER SHOPPERS: Lots of digital coupons, all good up to five times! They expire on March 21st, so get 'em while ya can!

Digital Coupons

 

[Joe]

ATTENTION KROGER SHOPPERS: Lots of digital coupons, all good up to five times! They expire on March 21st, so get 'em while ya can!

Digital Coupons

I second this recommendation. Kroger has some great deals *IF* you use the digital coupons. I only have two problems with them. First, there are hundreds of them. I have to spend a half-hour or so just scrolling through the tremendous selection. Second, some of the products--I have no idea what they are or what they are for. Often they have a name, but I will have no idea what the name means.

I also shop at Walmart Neighborhood Store--the Walmart version of a supermarket. They often have prices lower than Kroger--but not lower than the deal you can get when using the Kroger digital coupons.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I second this recommendation. Kroger has some great deal *IF* you use the digital coupons. I only have two problems with them. First, there are hundreds of them. I have to spend a half-hour or so just scrolling through the tremendous selection. Second, some of the products--I have no idea what they are or what they are for. Often they have a name, but I will have no idea what the name means.

I also shop at Walmart Neighborhood Store--the Walmart version of a supermarket. They often have prices lower than Kroger--but not lower than the deal you can get when using the Kroger digital coupons.

Yeah, I usually open another tab just for researching certain products if I'm not familiar with them.... but I've noticed, over time, that the coupons offered are becoming more & more geared toward stuff I usually buy. For instance, so far I've uploaded lots of coupons for Simple Truth products, frozen veggies, naked potato skins, pet food, etc....


But for sure, these massive coupon dumps do take a bit of patience. LOL This batch seems to be mostly Kroger brands (Kroger/Home Sense, Simple Truth, Private Selection, Abound, Luvsome)....

 

[Joe]

Two examples of savings with Kroger:

A 92 ounce bottle of Coldwater Tide is $11.99 at Kroger; $10.77 at Walmart Neighborhood stores. But Kroger has a digital coupon for $3, so the net cost is $8.99. Plus, you can use the digital coupon up to five times, as long as you buy the detergent in one transaction.

I just filled up my gas tank with a fuel "points" discount of 35 cents per gallon. I also went to a Kroger store a few miles further from my house than I usually
go, and the gas there is 36 cents a gallon cheaper (before taking into account the "fuel points" discount. Combining both discounts I saved $11.78, or about 33 percent on my purchase.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Check & see if you got this freebie from Kroger/et al....