Shop Discount Groceries and Save $1,000

There's Aldi, Save A Lot, and Wal-Mart (also mainstream supermarkets' organic departments)

While not all markets have a Bottom Dollar Foods (or a Whole Foods for that matter), most shoppers tend to shop at mainstream supermarkets such as Kroger, Safeway, or Giant Eagle. Still, while Whole Foods tends to be pricey (as well as attract the vegetarians and the treehuggers), many mainstream supermarket chains carry organic and natural products as well...without the Whole Foods prices. And many such products are sold under those chains' store brands. Even Aldi, Save-A-Lot, and Wal-Mart carry some lines of organic and natural products. But, like many shoppers who could care less if something is "organic", the mainstream (non-organic) product lines still save you money over the organics. And many grocery shoppers, typically lower-income or budget-minded, are gravitating more toward "limited selection" stores such as Aldi and Save-A-Lot. Aldi, in fact, is owned by the same company as Trader Joe's...the German Albrecht family owns both chains. And Trader Joe's is a lot cheaper on some of their items than Whole Foods...and they primarily carry the "healthier" lines as well. Aldi and Save-A-Lot mainly carry store brands, and don't accept credit cards...but do a lot of business with food stamps/EBT cards. Wal-Mart's prices are much cheaper than mainstream supermarkets, but carry prepackaged meats. Some Save-A-Lots have meat departments where the meat is cut and packaged in-store, like most mainstream supermarkets, while Aldi's meats are prepackaged. Some people don't care much for prepackaged meat, since it sometimes contains preservatives and nitrites for longer shelf life. Fresh-cut meats don't contain preservatives. If you just want to cut your grocery bill to the bone, shop Bottom Dollar, Aldi, Save-A-Lot, Wal-Mart, or other such stores. Whole Foods...good, healthy food, but you pay a price...you can probably do better with Trader Joe's or a mainstream supermarket chain's organic/natural offerings.

Toby Radloff of OH @ Mar 23, 2009 16:48:28 PM