TIL my $50 grocery budget stretch got way easier when I stopped shopping at the big chain store

I used to hit up Kroger every Tuesday thinking I was getting deals with my loyalty card. But I'd walk out spending like $80 on just a few bags of basics like rice, beans, and veggies. Then about 8 months ago I started going to this local Mexican market called El Rancho instead. The same bag of pinto beans that costs $4.50 at Kroger is $1.89 there. Avocados are half the price, and they have bulk bins for spices that are dirt cheap. My grocery bill went from $80 down to around $50 easy, and I eat better too because I can actually afford fresh produce now. Has anyone else noticed how much cheaper ethnic grocery stores are compared to the standard chains?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_hayes10d agoTop Commenter

Right, the avocados alone are a game changer. I go to a little Asian market near my house and the difference is NUTS. The bag of jasmine rice that would be like $12 at Walmart is maybe $6 there. And the produce section is just piled high with stuff that actually looks fresh, not those sad plastic clamshells of cherry tomatoes that are already going soft. It's like the big chains just bank on people not wanting to drive that extra ten minutes to a different store.

charlie2699d ago

Wait, $12 for a bag of jasmine rice at Walmart? That's actually insane, I can't even believe that's real. I get the same size bag at my local market for like $8 and i thought that was the norm. You straight up saved like half your grocery bill just by driving a little further, that's wild.