Author Topic: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?  (Read 4431 times)

onemorebike

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Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« on: July 20, 2015, 05:18:45 PM »
My wife and I are recovering from a slightly downward spiral after our recent move. A review of our finances last week showed our "grocery shopping" at Costco, Target, Cub was WAY out of control. Mostly because we end up buying unneeded stuff (or stuff not on the list).

Does anyone else use online grocery shopping to limit what is bought even though it is slightly more expensive per item? Any tips for doing this well?

Thanks!

onemorebike

vhalros

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2015, 06:45:02 PM »
If you happen to live in an area where Google Express is available, you can get stuff from Costco delivered to your house at Costco prices. There is a 3 month free trial, and after that they charge $95/year, $10/month,or $5/delivery but they have given me so many coupons it has more than made up the delivery costs (I use it infrequently, so I pay per delivery); that will probably end when/if it catches on.  They will only deliver the non-perishable foodstuffs, but at least for me that is where I get the best deals at Costco. Unfortunately it is only available in a few metro areas so far.

You could also try grocery shopping at Aldi if there is one near you; there is just not that much stuff in the store, which might limit your impulse shopping.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2015, 06:46:59 PM by vhalros »

asiljoy

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2015, 06:48:18 PM »
My wife and I are recovering from a slightly downward spiral after our recent move. A review of our finances last week showed our "grocery shopping" at Costco, Target, Cub was WAY out of control. Mostly because we end up buying unneeded stuff (or stuff not on the list).

Does anyone else use online grocery shopping to limit what is bought even though it is slightly more expensive per item? Any tips for doing this well?

Thanks!

onemorebike

We did it while I was on maternity leave and we were out of control spending on impulse/convenience food. We've been better about meal planning based on the Sunday circular lately and only buy the materials to make the meals/what's on the list. That rule would probably work here too, although, really, when we were using it, we were just happy we weren't buying takeout so take that with a grain of salt.

DeltaBond

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2015, 06:14:53 AM »
I started viewing the stores as being "against" me in trying to trick me into buying things I didn't need.  Since we don't have delivery systems where we are, I had to just change my mindset.  AND before checking out, I'll look in my cart and take a few things out.  Over time, I got a lot better about what I buy.

TrMama

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2015, 01:03:58 PM »
I sometimes order groceries online from a local, higher end chain. I always save money over shopping at the discount superstore because I don't make impulse purchases and I don't overbuy.

4alpacas

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2015, 05:05:01 PM »
I sometimes order groceries online from a local, higher end chain. I always save money over shopping at the discount superstore because I don't make impulse purchases and I don't overbuy.
I'm glad I'm not the only person that struggles with impulse purchases at the grocery store.  It's also helpful to sit in your kitchen while putting together the order.  I don't have to remember if I have something; I just open a cabinet to see if I'm out of something.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2015, 06:34:25 PM »
Make a list. Stick to the list. (Excepting produce sales.)

Zikoris

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2015, 06:53:03 PM »
I used to have a delivery service, but it was fairly expensive - I was using it more for quality and convenience than saving money. Now we just use a grocery list, keep minimal supplies on hand so we always know exactly what we have, and focus on having as close to a zero waste food system as we can. I think just focusing on zero food waste can cut the average grocery bill by a fortune.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2020, 11:37:12 AM »
Target, Walmart have grocery items. I only order non perishable items to be shipped. However, Walmart especially ships with absolutely no care whatsoever. I have ordered things like pasta sauce in glass jars and they come broken and the sauce will be all over everything, not to mention glass. They will put cans in the bottom of a big box with the equivalent of a sheet of paper to protect the items and all the cans will come dented and bashed all to hell. I have complained to them numerous times to no avail. They will resend things that broke or will refund the money.

You can get a variety of items thru Imperfect foods.com. Veggies, grains, meat, cheese, beans, and other stuff. To my area they ship Fedex. My delivery is supposed to be on Fridays. In the beginning I was getting my order on Saturdays. My meat and cheese would be warm when it got here. I had to ask for refunds on that too. It took a while, but now I seem to be getting my order on Fridays. You pick and choose items you want and pay for each item. To me I like this service. You can  to youtube to see what people unpack from their boxes.

There is another company called Boxed.com and I have had good luck with that. No fresh foods with them.

We live on the east coast and we can order from Peapod which is now Stop & Shop. This is a truck that delivers the groceries to your home. You choose a time slot. They were always affiliated with Stop & Shop but seems they are now going by Stop & Shop. I like it a lot because you can go over your list and add or delete. The only bad this is during this pandemic, they tend to run out of stuff and you don't know it till your delivery comes. They don't charge you but it is a total inconvenience after you took time to add items to your list and not have them arrive.

We also order from Costco.com. Not a huge variety to choose from like at the store but it fills in the gaps at times. In our area they have Instacart but I have not tried that.

I was buying vegetables from Misfits.com for a while. I liked it but at the time you had to take what they sent you. They didn't allow you to pick what you liked. I was getting too many things I didn't like. I tried to find recipes but certain things I just don't like much. There is only so much kale, squash and eggplant I can eat. So, I finally stopped getting stuff from them. I think they may have the option to choose your own veggies in certain areas now. I have not checked that out. The veggies were really good.

There are many oddball places to buy food from. Of course Amazon has food items too but some are overpriced. Even ebay has some food items, also typically over priced.

terran

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2020, 11:49:10 AM »
I don't have much of an impulse purchase problem, but if you do I could definitely see this working in your favor. Avoiding situations/environments that tempt you to do things you don't want to do definitely works and I do apply it in other parts of my life.

Villanelle

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2020, 01:06:39 PM »
After an entirely unscientific study of not very many items (about half a dozen), I was shocked to discover that Amazon Fresh seems to be cheaper than my local grocery store.  I looked at a handful of items we regularly purchase (2 produce, 2 canned goods, flavored water, and a snack item) and all were at least slightly cheaper via Amazon Fresh.  Once I add in the tip, assuming those % savings are about the same across all items, I still come out very, very slightly ahead as long as I don't place a small order.  (Tip gets smaller, but not entirely proportionately so, though that's personal choice.)  And that doesn't factor in how much time I save. (Usually less than 10 minutes for the entire process, vs. probably an hour by the time I either walk or drive to the grocery store, wander to find all items, circle back for the item that I didn't grab while on aisle 2 now that I'm in aisle 19, wait in line, deal with the maddeningly slow checkers, load into car, drive or walk home.)  And the fact that--and this one isn't mustachian--i fucking hate people and this way I don't have to deal with the lady in line asking me what I'm making with those sweet potatoes and the checker asking about my day and the asshole in the frozen foods section who won't move so I can grab my frozen mixed veggies, and...  I'd pay to avoid that, but in this case, I'm saving money by avoiding it.

So, if Amazon Fresh is available in your area, do some price comparing. 

(It's probably worth noting that I live in a VHCOL area, and that I also live in an Amazon hub, and that both those things may lead to the numbers being what they are for me, if my small-sample size study was accurate.  But even if numbers are slightly different where you are, it could still be cheaper than Instacart or similar if Amazon Fresh is available in your area.)

(Note that Amazon Fresh is different than Amazon Whole Foods.  Both are available to me, but Whole Foods is much more expensive.  There's also Amazon Now, but I believe that doesn't include any fresh or perishable items.)

Runrooster

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2020, 07:01:49 PM »
I am open to the idea of online shopping to save time. My weekly shop took almost 3 hours with 5 stores (one twice).  It takes a long time to wait in checkout line, walk the stores looking for everything, then remember I forgot that one item after I've already spent 5 minutes to check out.  The stores are about 10 minutes apart so it's not a ton of driving. Oh, and go ask at customer service for the items I couldn't find.  I do get great deals, shop the sales and loss leaders and reduced produce.  Still, I spent $100 in 3 hours instead of taking 45 minutes at Costco.

Freedomin5

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Re: Spend more via online grocery shopping to save?
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2020, 04:46:56 AM »
Make a list. Stick to the list. (Excepting produce sales.)

This is how I shop when in Canada. I go to one store. If I can’t find something that’s on my list, I adjust what we eat that week. I’m not going to die if I have to eat something different than what I had wanted/planned.

In China, I shop online and get things delivered. It’s slightly more expensive but much more convenient and faster than shopping at the store. I shops 2 for 1 sales, and I make a list. It’s also more convenient because we don’t have a car here, and lugging two 5 kg bags of rice home (2 for 1 sale!) is painful. I don’t know if it saves us a lot of money, but we only buy what we eat

I usually add things to the cart throughout the week but don’t actually make the purchase until there’s a good number of items in the cart. Sometimes I’ll review the cart and take things out. I always check the app for coupons, and there’s usually a promotion where you can get a discount on certain items if you spend a certain amount. I plan meals for the week and only put those ingredients in the cart. I don’t browse the online app; instead I search directly for what I want.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!