"Samois2001" wrote

>> one works. If it works for you, swap when it saves money. Be sure to do
>> as
>> Dmitri says and check unit prices. Sometimes a sale can make the store
>> brand more expensive.

>I'm definitely trying to do my homework and watch unit pricing as
>Dmitri thoughtfully suggested.

There have been several threads here on wise shopping and Dmitri's advice is
good though I didnt see him type in the other threads.

>I have a Dominicks and a Jewel both
>within walking distance but the distance to Jewel prohibits buying
>refrigerated items with the current outdoor temps, unless I take a cab
>home blowing any savings.

Grin, you just hit a serious help with that one. I just moved back about 6
months ago from Sasebo Japan. For the first 4 years we lived outin town and
did not have a car. Due to 9-11 results, no taxis were on any usable route
for getting groceries home. Had a car the last 2.5 years but then we moved
to base housing and were so close, we didnt really need it!

I used a pull cart, slightly larger than a large paper grocery bag. This
cart was vinyl and had pockets here and there which we could put 'blue ice'
bags in. It is frequently 115F in Sasebo and about 100F is the norm for 3
months of summer. (Web looks will not show this as the monitor station is
the other side of a mountain in a cooler zone).

http://www.atrendyhome.com/foshca.html

Thats a decent one from the picture. If you need to carry food back, you
can put blue ice bags in there from home and it will keep things cool well
enough. I cant tell if this one is waterproof (mine is since I often had to
walk home in the rain with groceries).

Do *not* get the loose open metal frame @$^%@$^ carts. They are not only
cheaper and will break (often at the wheels), they have no insulation from
the heat and no way to really add any.

I used more often than not, a bicycle to get about and had a nice basket at
the front for small trips.

Grin, foot based shoppers learn that sometimes it's better to get a smaller
box for a higher price so it fits in vice having to use a cab to get home.
In your case, possible net savings the others may not think of. It worked
out for us that we saved 1,200$ a year on car costs (gas, Japanese
insurance, taxes in Japan) but spent an extra 35$ or so a month due to
selecting smaller sized boxes we could carry home. About 800$ a year saved.

We turned a neccesity into a family outing and used it as entertainment
value, just shopping our way down and back. Charlotte's 'backpack' also has
wheels and she'd bring the bulky but light stuff, I'd use my cart, and Don a
backpack. All frozen food went in my cart with the ice packs.

> I'll definitely try the one store brand product at a time approach.

I find at least 60% of the store brands work for us. Our selection criteria
is often based on sodium levels (Don had a mini-stroke some time back and is
sodium restricted). Some store brands are very sodium high so have never
been tested, but others are _radically lower_ and are better tasting than
the 'name brand' stuff.

> The Dominicks is hit or miss with
> accepting online coupons as well which is frustrating.

Unfortunately many scammers have made it so that online coupons are often
not accepted at all. People learned how to edit them.