Grocery Store vs Trader Joe's vs Super Target vs Wholesale Club

[Notmuchlonger]

Gator,
Wow. Your diet is so much healthier than anything I've ever heard of. For a few years, we had a nice vegetable garden going in the summer, until the deer destroyed it. We ate our fill of tomatoes, peppers, string beans, canteloupes, and the health benefits were very noticeable for that 2 month period. We'd like to do the farmer's market thing, but the closest one is 15-20 miles away.
Urchina, our purchases at BJs are much like yours at Costco. Through work, I get a discount on the BJs membership fee, which quickly pays for itself. Without big-box stores, we'd either be spending a lot more, or not eating nearly as well.

Come hunting season. Those deer seem to be organic.

 

[RAE]

One of the clues to saving money on grocery shopping is plan your meals around what is on sale . I get the food circulars and circle the things I want and decide on several meals and go shop .My food budget is $400 a month for two people but we usually come in under that amount . That includes food, paper products , cleaning supplies , shampoo ,and wine . Clue number two is never ever shop when hungry . You'll end up with bizarre things in your cart .

Ditto on what Moemg said. We have two grocery stores near us, and I get thier sale flyers each week in the mail around tues/wed.. I go through them both, make a shopping list for each place based on the items on sale that we can use, and then hit both stores on sat. morning, lists in hand (and I rarely buy anything that is not on the sale list). We are a family of 3, eat very well, and I rarely exceed $65 total in groceries from both places combined (and I only shop once per week). Of course, a portion of our meat comes from the 2-3 deer that we harvest every year (we have a big chest freezer), so that does help cut down on the meat bill.

 

[bright eyed]

I go to 3 of the 4 on the list, try to avoid regular supermarkets, except for emergencies. Most of their food is sooo marked up, except for the "specials" and I find it offensive! haha they spend way too much on tv AND radio, mailers, coupons etc no wonder the food is expensive - and they are having a hard time staying above water...

I go to target for household stuff anyway and can pick up any commercial item we want/need that is not at trader joe's or don't need in bulk at costco, so this includes bread (if we don't buy bulk at costco) and the Target brand is good, organic milk, and target brand frozen pizza (it's also really good!).

At costco i get juice for the kiddos (fresh OJ and regular apple/cranberry), lunch meat, cheese (shredded, string, blocks), honey, cereal, soy milk and other household stuff.

Then at tj's we get fruits and veggies, yogurt, eggs (organic, free range etc) some of their frozen foods, frozen fruits, grains (flax, oatmeal, rice), some meat/sausages, and wine/beer. I find most of tj's prices to be lower and you don't have to try to find the deals. plus the kids get a balloon, scribble on the chalk wall and coloring pages...they love it!

We go to tj's and target weekly, costco about every 3 weeks.

 

[FUEGO]

I didn't see this really mentioned, but check out Super Walmart. I'm not sure exactly where you live, but I know there are a few supercenters within 30 minutes of your general location. Pretty good deals on produce and most staples. Ex: eggs $1/dozen, apples at $1/lb or some other fruit at $1/lb like grapes or strawberries. And good quality stuff too. Green peppers at $0.68 each (these are usually 2-3x this much at local grocery stores). The Teeter is ridiculously expensive and I wouldn't shop there if you like saving money unless you are really in a pinch.

Another idea for protein: ethnic grocery stores. We have one near us that is a full size, full service grocery store (around 30,000 sf) targeted towards latinos. The meat is good quality based on personal experience, and dirt cheap. $5/lb is the most I've seen any meat that most americans would consume (ribeye, tbone, sirloin, london broil, etc), and some cuts are $2-3/lb. Trimmed neat with very little fat on it generally (depends on cut though).

 

[friar1610]

Trader Joes for wine only-3 buck chuck by the case.

My wife and I would kill for a TJ's here in Vermont (and not only because of Mr. Shaw, although we like him.) When we lived in MD we used to go to the one in Towson fairly often. Every time we visit either of our daughters in MA, we hit a TJ's. We especially like the one at Coolidge Corner in Brookline because it sells Chuck.

 

[REWahoo]

The May issue of Consumer Reports rates 59 supermarkets in four categories: Service, Perishables, Price and Cleanliness.

Those scoring best on price were Trader Joe's, Costco, Market Basket, WinCo Foods, Aldi, and Sav-a-lot.

The overall score had Wegman's #1, Trader Joe #2, Costco #7, Super Target #20, Sam's Club #38, and Walmart Supercenters #56.

 

[tmm99]

REWahoo,

Thank you for listing this.

Good to know.

tmm

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Trader Joe's is not that good. I swear that place must have cult magic going on. I should expect a knock at my door anytime now.

 

[Sparky]

The May issue of Consumer Reports rates 59 supermarkets in four categories: Service, Perishables, Price and Cleanliness.

Those scoring best on price were Trader Joe's, Costco, Market Basket, WinCo Foods, Aldi, and Sav-a-lot.

The overall score had Wegman's #1, Trader Joe #2, Costco #7, Super Target #20, Sam's Club #38, and Walmart Supercenters #56.

Wow. I'm surprised by these ratings. I LOVE Trader Joe's and find most of their prices lower than supermarkets. But Aldi's is, by far, much less expensive. Then again, I don't have any experience with Sav-Alot or Super Target or Walmart supercenter.

On another note, my organic buying has gone out the window when my bank stocks stopped paying dividends and I've got a lot less to spend on food!

 

[Sparky]

Trader Joe's is not that good.

You don't think so? I've always liked their products and their return policy (just bring it in if you don't like it, no receipt required, and they'll refund your $$). I think that their veggie juice is much better quality and about $.79 cheaper per 64 oz. than veggie juice at the supermarket. I was buying organic chicken at TJ's for $2.69 per lb. (Whole Foods organic chix is $3.99 per lb.)

But, my organic buying is no more (Aldi's frozen whole chix $.79/lb.)

 

[Bestwifeever]

"Cult magic" is a good way to describe the Trader Joe's near me, NML! Every time I've shopped there, the checkout person has commented on what I'm buying (like, "Aren't these dried cherries wonderful? I buy them all the time."). Some people must like that, but I don't.

Worse, however, was last week at Whole Foods, when the checkout person picked up the bunch of dillweed I was buying and stuck his nose right into it to rapturously smell it and pronounce it the best ever. Thanks for ruining my dill, idiot.

 

[GatorBuzz]

Gator,
Wow. Your diet is so much healthier than anything I've ever heard of. For a few years, we had a nice vegetable garden going in the summer, until the deer destroyed it. We ate our fill of tomatoes, peppers, string beans, canteloupes, and the health benefits were very noticeable for that 2 month period. We'd like to do the farmer's market thing, but the closest one is 15-20 miles away.

Yeah, it's healthy, no doubt. Trust me, I have come a long way thanks to my wife's prodding. You could say I went kicking and screaming. I grew up in the South to very Southern parents and let's just say I was not raised on or even introduced to nearly any of this food I eat now. But there is no denying the health benefits I've gotten.

Yeah, 15-20 miles away is a far drive, but maybe you could combine that trip with some other errands. With the cost savings at the market you might easily make up the difference in gas. Anyway, good luck to you.

 

[Moemg]

I've only been to Trader Joe's in Boston while visiting my daughter but I'd love to have one around here . I've been to Wegmans a lot since they are near my daughter and my Moms former home but frankly I think Publix of Florida has it all over Wegmans .

 

[REWahoo]

I've been to Wegmans a lot since they are near my daughter and my Moms former home but frankly I think Publix of Florida has it all over Wegmans .

FWIW, Publix was rated #3 overall.

 

[randyman65]

"Trader Joe's is not that good. I swear that place must have cult magic going on. I should expect a knock at my door anytime now."

If you saw their paychecks, you sign up to join their cult. All the cashiers, the sign artist, and the sample servers are part time employees, but everyone - including the store's general manager - does every job in the store. Its a pretty lean operation, and no one is saddled 100% with the mind numbing tasks.

Why else are they happy?

-the average worker makes $20/hour
-everyone gets health and dental insurance
-the company kicks in 15.4% of salary to their 401(k)
-supervisors and managers receive bonuses
-assistant managers receive a total compensation of about $94k
-store managers receive a total compensation of about $132k

It is also a store in which both the customers and the employees tend to be nice, which is not the case in most grocery stores in my area. Its easier to be happy and cheerful when people are nice to you than when they treat you poorly (imagine how the average cashier feels after eight hours of rude customers).

The cult of Trader Joe's works both ways - workers are loyal and happy, and many customers almost exclusively shop there, as would my financee if I were not to gently reminder of the myriad of cheaper and better options for many competing products.

 

[haha]

"Trader Joe's is not that good. I swear that place must have cult magic going on. I should expect a knock at my door anytime now."

If you saw their paychecks, you sign up to join their cult. All the cashiers, the sign artist, and the sample servers are part time employees, but everyone - including the store's general manager - does every job in the store. Its a pretty lean operation, and no one is saddled 100% with the mind numbing tasks.

Why else are they happy?

-the average worker makes $20/hour
-everyone gets health and dental insurance
-the company kicks in 15.4% of salary to their 401(k)
-supervisors and managers receive bonuses
-assistant managers receive a total compensation of about $94k
-store managers receive a total compensation of about $132k

It is also a store in which both the customers and the employees tend to be nice, which is not the case in most grocery stores in my area. Its easier to be happy and cheerful when people are nice to you than when they treat you poorly (imagine how the average cashier feels after eight hours of rude customers).

The cult of Trader Joe's works both ways - workers are loyal and happy, and many customers almost exclusively shop there, as would my financee if I were not to gently reminder of the myriad of cheaper and better options for many competing products.

I didn't know these things, but I have been a Trader Joe customer for about 10 years and I like it very much. I am sure I could get better prices at Costco, but I would have to drive down there, fight my way into and out of the parking lot, and buy enormous quantities that I have no place to store.

TJ's is an easy walk, and cheaper than anything else in my fairly well stored area, other than Chinese groceries which are a longer walk or a bus-ride.(They have no parking.)

I spent a short time in Bellevue, where there is a large Asian store (Uwajimaya) almost next door to a Trader Joe. Trader Joe was ordinarily cheaper, but Uwajimaya had a much larger selection of produce and fish and meats.

As far as customers being nice, I think that is likely more neighborhood dependent than store dependent.

ha

 

[Notmuchlonger]

"Trader Joe's is not that good. I swear that place must have cult magic going on. I should expect a knock at my door anytime now."

If you saw their paychecks, you sign up to join their cult. All the cashiers, the sign artist, and the sample servers are part time employees, but everyone - including the store's general manager - does every job in the store. Its a pretty lean operation, and no one is saddled 100% with the mind numbing tasks.

Why else are they happy?

-the average worker makes $20/hour
-everyone gets health and dental insurance
-the company kicks in 15.4% of salary to their 401(k)
-supervisors and managers receive bonuses
-assistant managers receive a total compensation of about $94k
-store managers receive a total compensation of about $132k

It is also a store in which both the customers and the employees tend to be nice, which is not the case in most grocery stores in my area. Its easier to be happy and cheerful when people are nice to you than when they treat you poorly (imagine how the average cashier feels after eight hours of rude customers).

The cult of Trader Joe's works both ways - workers are loyal and happy, and many customers almost exclusively shop there, as would my financee if I were not to gently reminder of the myriad of cheaper and better options for many competing products.

Their roasted red pepper and tomato soup is amazing.

 

[Dennis]

Re On Trader Joes..
It's A yuppie place and best to succeed only in the Upper Middle Class and higher neighborhoods..Like all the other 'speicalty" places, they have the Loss Leaders to get you sucked into their place to buy the other things that cost more vs other stores..

Of course, Time and Cost have to be figured in.. if it's going to cost oyu more to buy at 2-3 different stores vs what you save? Why bother.. and that is what these kinds of stores capitalize on..

The old using Coupons at the stores offering the best quality has held up for us For decades.. If shopping at Stores like TJ's or whomever makes you Fell Better and you can justify it? More power to you..

 

[Urchina]

We started shopping at our local Trader Joe's when the big supermarkets in our area had an employee's strike and we decided not to cross the picket lines.

Whaddya know, the bread, milk and eggs at our local TJs are far less expensive than the comparable products at our local Albertson's or Vons. If I was going for cheapest food possible TJs wouldn't win, but we prefer natural and whole foods and TJs wins that situation hands-down around here. Also, we've found that organic products at TJ's often are LESS expensive than the non-organic products at our bigger supermarkets.

A final note: our TJ's is much smaller than the big supermarkets in our area, and they're constantly restocking food. One day I asked the store manager how quick their product turnover is and he told me that the store average is, right now, six days. So the whole inventory of the store gets turned over, on average, once a week. That's pretty good!

I'm not saying TJs is the only store to shop at, but we have found them to be a frugal option where many organic and whole foods are concerned.

 

[FUEGO]

The May issue of Consumer Reports rates 59 supermarkets in four categories: Service, Perishables, Price and Cleanliness.

Those scoring best on price were Trader Joe's, Costco, Market Basket, WinCo Foods, Aldi, and Sav-a-lot.

The overall score had Wegman's #1, Trader Joe #2, Costco #7, Super Target #20, Sam's Club #38, and Walmart Supercenters #56.

That walmart is almost last in the CR survey is no surprise, when you consider that "service" and "cleanliness" are two of the four evaluation points.

But those two points don't influence the actual products that I take home with me.

 

[W2R]

I went to TJ's last November when I was in Oregon visiting my daughter. What really impressed me was the variety of delicious-looking pre-prepared, or partly prepared, or microwavable foods. TJ's looked like a wonderful place for a working person to pick up a delicious, healthy, and interesting meal that doesn't require much work to prepare. (They also had a huge variety of other foods, of course.)

I didn't notice low prices, but then I was just there to gawk while my daughter picked up a few things.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

That walmart is almost last in the CR survey is no surprise, when you consider that "service" and "cleanliness" are two of the four evaluation points.

But those two points don't influence the actual products that I take home with me.

I would prefer no one talked to me when I go shopping. Chatty checkout people make the whole process take longer Where do I apply for my grump card.

 

[haha]

I would prefer no one talked to me when I go shopping. Chatty checkout people make the whole process take longer Where do I apply for my grump card.

It's in the mail!

Ha

 

[randyman65]

I've found TJ's to be good for certain things:

-nuts
-frozen meals, of limited variety but good price and quality
-frozen fish (the is very little "fresh" fish in most markets - mostly it is thawed frozen fish)
-A handful of other shelf items.

Its not so good for:

-doing all your shopping
-produce, dairy, and meat

That's in comparison to my other shopping options, but in a 20 minute radius of my house I have six grocery store chains, TJ's, Fairway Market, a Korean supermarket, BJ's, Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, numerous bodega's, several italian pork stores, butchers, korean grocers, a German deli, fish markets, and a couple of independent gourmet-style markets. If I were in a less well-served market I would probably have a different opinion. But in my market, TJ's has a lot of stiff competition.

 

[FUEGO]

I would prefer no one talked to me when I go shopping. Chatty checkout people make the whole process take longer Where do I apply for my grump card.

Sounds like walmart is a good fit for you! There is the obligatory "how are you doing" when you first step up to the cashier, then a "have a nice day" when they hand you the receipt. Sometimes you get a "what you want?" greeting thrown in, but that's usually a disgruntled employee that realizes making $6.50 an hour is an insufficient wage rate for putting up with the typical walmart customer.