. 2024 was the first year I tracked where I spent my grocery/food dollars. I generally try to minimize shopping at the more expensive stores like Stop & Shop, Big Y and Caraluzzi's, but these, unfortunately, are the closest to me. I like to stop at Whole Foods, Aldi's and Trader Joe's, but these stores are a good 15 or 20 minutes away.
I spent $4,717 on food in 2024.
Of that, I spent $1,200 at BJs. I let my membership drop this past fall. It takes so much time to shop there, and with the exception of the 3 or 4 lb bags of frozen berries, there's nothing I can't get somewhere else.
I spent $939 at Stop & Shop, which is like spending top dollar. I have to work on that, but it's convenient.
I spent $847 at Whole Foods, where I focus mostly on the 365 store brand, which is price-competitive.
Next, I spent $328 at Big Y, a regional supermarket that is priced about the same as Stop & Shop. Just a mile away.
Sadly, I only spent $292 at Trader Joe's, partly because shopping there is an absolute zoo with parking and other shoppers. It's a small store, always packed.
I spent $267 at Aldi's. We all know they have great prices, so I'd like to shop there more, but the challenge is they don't have a lot of what I need/like. I tend to shop only the fresh produce section and frozen vegetables there. That's it. Everything else is processed. While their parking lot is not quite as crazy as Trader Joe's, the traffic getting there is bad.
I also started shopping, to a lesser extent, at Target ($256), as they have a better price on soy milk, which I drink daily; it's on my way home from other places, too. I also shopped at Vitacost ($178) for a certain bread and cereal I like, at a local but expensive organic market which I think I will visit less often in 2025. I only spent $60 the whole year at Shop Rite(!) That's because they don't have great organic fresh produce, plus it's in a neighboring town (where my father lives) and it's just not somewhere I go regularly. This, too, should change.
Beyond that, I spent very small amounts under $100 at QVC, Amazon, Caraluzzi's, a local bakery, an Amish bake shop when visiting Dido, Harney & Sons, and even a local craft fair.
Conclusions: So I can perhaps whittle my overall grocery bill down a bit in 2025 (it's my #2 biggest expense) if I focus on these things, but if I end up spending more in gas to get there, it will defeat the purpose, so I will need to more carefully build in visits when I'm in the area.
I tend to make multiple trips to supermarkets each week. Why? Well, becus if I travel 20 minutes to Whole Foods or elsewhere and purchase frozen or refrigerated food items (especially in summer), then I know I won't want to stop in at other supermarkets for other items I want on the way home, leaving perishable groceries in the car. This happens often.
January 10th, 2025 at 11:40 pm 1736552448
Trader Joe's indeed is a zoo haha. I'd probably shop there more often if it wasn't that.
I personally find Whole Foods a bit more expensive in my area, unless I use an Amazon Prime credit card, which offers 5% off. But then, I asked myself if it's worth the generous discount if the prices are over-inflated to begin with, thereby canceling each other? So, I actually dropped that as well.
When it's all said and done, I have also found that it's easier to just shop at a nearby grocery store.
January 11th, 2025 at 02:29 am 1736562580
January 11th, 2025 at 02:03 pm 1736604197
Tabs: Prices at Whole Foods can be high, but I think it really depends on what you buy. If you try to stick to the 365 store brand, the prices are pretty good and about the same as Stop & Shop. I think their fresh produce is also comparably priced to other supermarkets and in much better condition than other stores I've seen. Like, I like Shop Rite prices, but their produce often looks like it's been sitting around a while.