TLDR version at the bottom
I did my main shop today and have been pondering the efforts i've gone to and whether it was all worthwhile for the savings i've made. Curious as to whether others have thought about it too or run the numbers?
Anyway, my story.
I usually shop across 3 different places. Fruit & Veg market or greengrocer, Coles & a misc other supermarket based on what is on special this week. In SA that means Foodland/Drakes/Woolworths. Prefer Coles over WW due to proximity - 3 of the 4 supermarkets near me are Coles. Usually a "cuisine specific" supermarket in there too from time to time (Korean, Indian etc..to buy things like rice, panko crumbs, noodles, sauces and spice mixes). I don't really buy any convenience foods (unless marked down, see below) and most things are made from scratch. Also occasionally make cheese, usually make our own yoghurt, toast/mix our own muesli for brekky etc..
Long term average of our grocery spend is between $150 and $175 a week. 2A-2K (10yo eats 90% of an adult portion, 6yo 50%). Almost all our weekly meals are from home incl work lunches etc.. We probably buy 10-15 of the same items week after week and the rest varies depending on seasonality, price, discount cycles and tastes. This is increasingly harder to stick to but i've been able to find some new ways to keep this down (buying certain items in bulk etc..)
First stop was a produce market. Spent $16 in total which was quite a bit lower than i usually would as i still had a fair bit left from last week. Would normally spend $25-30 here. Priced this against Coles at $29 so there is a saving there but is it worth the effort to go somewhere else to save that $13? Fuel, time etc.. Perhaps on the weeks where i buy twice as much, a $30 saving could be worthwhile but otherwise not.
Second stop was Drakes to scan the meat section for markdowns and buy chicken - they sell a "Mixed chicken portions" which i often buy. Sadly they've finally just gone up to $5/kg but have been buying these for a long time at $3.50/kg or less - sometimes as low as $2/kg. They're made up of breast cuts (with cartilage/bones attached), thigh cutlets with some extra bones attached, wings and drums. Bought 3kg - it was all breast cuts and thigh cuts. When i got home i butchered them up into 3 categories - Breast pieces, thigh cutlets and "bones/skin for stock" which i will usually freeze until i make a big batch of soup (8-10 litres at a time) and i will cook for stock first. I worked it out if i had bought 2kg of breast fillets and thigh cutlets, i would have probably spent the same and therefore my only saving was the ~800g of bones and skin i got "free". I could have just bought 1kg of chicken frames for $2 to make my stock out of instead.
I then will visit coles about 3-4 times in the next week.
1 big shop - usually $60-70 of the basics (cereal, first bottle of milk, first loaf of bread, canned veg (beans/lentils etc..), anything i couldn't get at the veg market, cold meat for sandwiches, cheese etc..
2-3 visits at "Markdown hour" during Monday-Wed/Friday (not Thurs/weekend, markdown schedule is different and harder to pin down on those days plus more competition from other shoppers). Some of my recent buys in the last week was 1.2kg Pork belly for $7, 2 x packs of Sausages under $2, Lamb cutlets (price/kg about $8 vs the $40+ regular price) and a boned leg of lamb approx 2.5kg for $18 (So $7.20 /kg). These stops usually cover 60%+ of our meat requirements for the week. Often pick up salad bags for 50c (which make a good lunch for the wife and I at work the next day), 2L milk for 40c (day of expiry - always lasts 1-2 days beyond this or if i get a lot i sometimes make yoghurt/cheese) and other random things (last week i got some ready made meals to freeze for work lunches at $1-1.50 each, a bag of limes for 50c, bag of 5 avocados for 50c etc…). Of course, i buy some full price top up stuff here too like bread and full price milk if i can't get it marked down.
There will also be approx. 6 trips to Costco each year. Usually buy bulk kid cereal if it is on special, couple of roast chickens, cheese slices and a few other items which are consistently cheaper than the supermarket discount offers. We always fill up the car and pick up some other items as well which you can't seem to get anywhere else (American foods etc..)
After price comparisons, reviewing time and effort spent and costs associated with the above (fuel between locations, membership for costco etc..), i've decided to pull the pin on the markets unless i need a big shop - otherwise i'm going to focus on a local greengrocer which is also an Indian supermarket so i can knock off 2 birds with one stone, pull the pin on buying chicken pieces and just pay for the convenience of what i need for each recipe. I'd like to pull the pin on Costco but they do have items we'd sorely miss without the membership. Maybe i try and piggy back on a shop with someone else once or twice a year or find some way to work the system and share a membership between 2 families
Maybe i drop the "big weekly shop" of a weekend and spread my purchases at coles over Markdown hour. Instad of buying $10 worth of markdowns each trip, pick up the staples at the same time and spend $30 each trip. No cost savings but would save me a weekend trip to the supermarkets which is often chaotic.
Part of me is tempted to do a big $200-225 online shop once a week, just buy what we'll eat that week and have it delivered. This is what a majority of my work colleagues/friends do. This would probably save me 3-5 hours a week and cost me $50-$75 more upfront, save $15 in fuel but picking up the markdowns is also a bit of a "Sport" for me which i think i'd miss. I think it'd be easy for the costs to really blow out in times like now too. The other hassle would be managing utilisaiton of our groceries. I think we'd start having things go off at a higher rate than we do now
Curious to hear others stories about things they used to/still do to save money on groceries but have found it to be a false economy or changes they've made to improve the weekly spend
TLDR:
I feel shopping around to save money on groceries is wasting a lot of my time. Where is the break even? Comment.
TL:DR