Decided to try Bottom Dollar for my groceries this week...

[shanvan]

I'm not convinced it's any cheaper than my usual grocery store. But what do you think?

 

The only meat I got was stew meat. Lots of fresh fruits and veggie--too many to list, cereals, bread, milk, pasta, cheeses, yogurt, granola bars, bagels, some frozen blueberries for Dd to snack on, a lot of other assorted items. Also TP and shampoo. We got cat food and cat litter too (and I won't do the cheap brands).

 

Basically it was my weekly shopping for 4 people including juicing ingredients, a few bathroom supplies, and the cat's stuff. Grand total $120 I thought that was still high. Are my expectations out of line?

 

Pros were that the store was not as crowded and was more spacious. i also like that there are no 'tricks' in the pricing. Cons were a lack of name brands in many items.

 

At my usual store there are lots of tricks used. Like the sale price is in big numbers and the fact that you need a coupon from the flyer or that you need to buy 4 of the item to get the sale price is in tiny print. Or only a specific size of an item is on sale yet the sign and display contain mostly the sizes that are not on sale.

[Guest]

Have you ever done a price book? I find that I just cannot compare as well as I think I do unless I have a price book to refer to. It really helps me cut through those "tricks" you speak of.

 

I have never been to Bottom Dollar, so I can't speak from experience. That total would be high for me, but of course that depends on many factors.

[shanvan]

Have you ever done a price book? I find that I just cannot compare as well as I think I do unless I have a price book to refer to. It really helps me cut through those "tricks" you speak of.

 

I've got the tricks pretty well figured out and they rarely get me anymore, but it takes time to examine the sale carefully.

 

I have never been to Bottom Dollar, so I can't speak from experience. That total would be high for me, but of course that depends on many factors.

 

Well, the cat food and litter alone add up to about $14, and that is usual for us. No savings, but it didn't cost me more. I also didn't realize that Dd threw in Carnation Instant Breakfast drink (which is less than at my usual store, but still expensive) until I finished putting everything away.

 

I do think the total is high, but it may have been higher at the other store.

[Jenny in Florida]

Basically it was my weekly shopping for 4 people including juicing ingredients, a few bathroom supplies, and the cat's stuff. Grand total $120 I thought that was still high. Are my expectations out of line?

 

I had never heard of Bottom Dollar. I just looked it up, and we don't have them here.

 

In terms of whether your total is high, I honestly have no idea. That kind of thing varies so much with location and what kinds of products you're buying. How much is your total weekly bill at a more traditional store? How does your $120 total here compare?

 

I feed four people, all adult-sized, plus a dog and two cats. I don't always buy the pet food as part of the grocery budget, but I do so probably about half the time. The cost of living in this area, when it comes to food, is dead average, apparently. I "can" keep our weekly spending to about $125, but only with very careful planning, cooking almost everything from scratch and doing without most treats. When I try to hold us there too long, there is usually rebellion, and my husband and kids will go out and spend the equivalent of a week's budget on junk food. So, I've decided it's not worth the trouble to scrape when we don't really have to do it, and I aim nowadays at keeping us about $150 per week.

 

If I could save $30 buying more or less what I do normally simply by changing stores, that would be worth it to me, assuming it didn't require a lot of extra driving or hassle. But it wouldn't be enough to make me jump for joy.

[Rebel Yell]

I think their produce is better than Aldi- with more variety. fresh cilantro! They also have a delicious hummous with no preservatives.

 

Their breaded frozen chicken tenders have one of the shortest ingredient lists I;ve seen- tasty- but get soggy if you use them on something like a salad.

 

I think a lot of their stuff is cheaper and/or better quality. They don't have everything I need, though. And their Breyer's ice cream is different- never have "all natural:" vanilla. :cursing: There is one on the way home from Piano lessons- if we don't ave piano, I don't make a special trip. I love that I can be in and out quickly. except for that time I ran into an older homeschool friend. :coolgleamA:

[shanvan]

I had never heard of Bottom Dollar. I just looked it up, and we don't have them here.

 

In terms of whether your total is high, I honestly have no idea. That kind of thing varies so much with location and what kinds of products you're buying. How much is your total weekly bill at a more traditional store? How does your $120 total here compare?

 

I feed four people, all adult-sized, plus a dog and two cats. I don't always buy the pet food as part of the grocery budget, but I do so probably about half the time. The cost of living in this area, when it comes to food, is dead average, apparently. I "can" keep out weekly spending to about $125, but only with very careful planning, cooking almost everything from scratch and doing without most treats. When I try to hold us there too long, there is usually rebellion, and my husband and kids will go out and spend the equivalent of a week's budget on junk food. So, I've decided it's not worth the trouble to scrape when we don't really have to do it, and I aim nowadays at keeping us about $150 per week.

 

If I could save $30 buying more or less what I do normally simply by changing stores, that would be worth it to me, assuming it didn't require a lot of extra driving or hassle. But it wouldn't be enough to make me jump for joy.

 

Your situation sounds very similar to mine. Yes, I try to keep to $150 a week or less. But, we don't buy dog food at the grocery store b/c one is on a special diet and the pet food store has a reward program that makes it worth it to buy dog food there. Cat food I will buy at the grocery store most weeks.

 

So, yeah, the 'savings' are not making me jump up and down for joy especially considering I did buy a couple of their brand instead of my usual brand.