"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 8/8/2012 1:46 PM, sf wrote:
>> Okay, thanks... remember that cruising from store to store in search
>> of a bargain takes time, gas and wear & tear on the car - all of which
>> contribute to the total expense of groceries; but people tend not to
>> take that into consideration.
>>
> A lot of people don't take that into consideration. What good is saving a
> few pennies if you burn up the savings by having to drive from store to
> store?

My mother always did that. She only bought meat at one store, produce at
one and canned things at another. We started in the morning and stopped at
the one store with a lunch counter towards the middle of the trip. The
meats were bought last so they would still be cold when we got them home. I
can see why she did this because the one store has really lousy meat and the
one with the cheap canned goods had lousy produce. Not even sure if they
sold fresh meats. They might not have but if they did the meat was likely
not good. Those stores were all off of the same street though and all well
within a mile of each other. So it's not like she was wasting much gas.
But she was burning up a lot of our time.

I usually hate just driving to one store. Winco is the exception for me
because the savings are so great that it is worth the approx. 7 mile drive
for me. I do really try to stock up on things there. When canned goods are
on a super good price I will buy enough for at least a month. I keep the
extras in the garage. I do have a chest freezer so can buy extra frozen
stuff. I have to be careful not to buy too much fresh food but I will buy
enough for a week or possibly two, depending on what it is.

There is a Costco next to the Winco which should be good but... This
particular Costco is smaller than the one we prefer to shop at. The layout
of the store is totally different making it hard to find things. And we
also found that they don't carry some of the things we like to buy there.

So... It is better for us to go to the other Costco which is near the
Target. There is also another grocery store near there. We don't go to
that store often but once in a while. They do have a salad bar. There is a
Ross, TJ Maxx, some shoe stores and a Pet Smart. The Sprint store is there
and there are also a few other places we go to from time to time. So while
I don't really like having to drive the 6 miles out there, it is worth my
while because we will go to at least two of those places. And the gas at
Costco is a lot cheaper than at other places.

My trips to various stores and other places are almost always planned out.
If I need to go somewhere, I think about what else might be in that area
that I have a need for. Exceptions being emergency purchases or rare really
hot days. We have no AC in the house. So on those days will will spend as
much time as we can in my van or stores that have AC.