The key to shopping at an expensive grocery store is knowing what to buy and when to buy it. Unless you are fairly wealthy, you probably don’t do all of your grocery shopping at Whole Foods. But who wouldn’t want to? Fresh meats, gorgeous vegetables, unique brand names that look tasty… when I lived in LA I went there every few months. But since moving to Tennessee, I find myself returning week after week. Maybe it’s the familiarity– it’s the only grocery store in my town that we also have in California, so I like that. Maybe it’s cheaper here than there, but it doesn’t appear that way to me. My main draw are the produce and meats, which are higher quality than the other major grocery store chains I’ve toured so far. Most vegetables here are gross. They wilt within a day of taking them home or already look like a wreck on display. It’s sad.
Awhile back I found this thread on Reddit, posted by a former Whole Foods employee who kindly listed out what products were worth buying there and what to skip. I don’t exactly follow this, because like I said, desperate times. Plus he keeps referring to Aldi, which is a chain we have here–but it’s not everywhere. I recently read SoCal is getting thirty five stores soon, so congratulations to you if you live there! They are Trader Joe’s owned, so get excited, frugalites.
If you shop around a variety of places enough, you should be able to tell who has the better deal on what. Know your stores and know them well. For example, I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies tonight, but when I went to Whole Foods today, I noticed chocolate chips were way over priced compared to other places (between $4-5). I could sacrifice this non-necessity to get a better deal and make them another time. The same thing happened a few weeks ago when I was about to grab my go-to caesar dressing and noticed the price ($5+!) and put it back. If you know you’re making a run somewhere else soon, there’s no point in shelling out an extra dollar or three. Save it. Be flexible.
Know when things go on sale and try to plan your outing for that day. At this Whole Foods, sales tend to be on Friday and weekends. I pick what I’m going to make based on what meats have a deal. So that means I have to relax my dinner plans a bit and be willing to change it up on the spot. There are plenty of frugal people who will tell you to do the opposite–plan your grocery list down to the penny and don’t stray–that is a good mindset for budgeting in general. It just depends on what you’re looking for in your food experience and if you are going for quality or quantity. You know where I stand. Happy shopping!
Knuckles & Twine 