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I've found the Spinx gas stations to be the most reasonably priced. They also have an app for rewards, so might as well use them. As far as food, I would say Costco or BJ's ONLY if you're buying large loads of groceries each visit. That will also depend on where you live and how far you want to travel as Costco is in upper Mount Pleasant and BJ's is in Summerville. We've cut our grocery bill in half using mostly Aldi, but tend to also visit Publix or Walmart for other odds and ends. Aldi doesn't always have everything you're looking for though. It's gonna be mostly their brands which are of comparable quality, but also have many regular store brand options.
A good site to help reduce grocery expense is Southern Savers. Jenny matches up weekly sales and coupons for all the local grocery brands to show where to get the best deals.
My SIL who watches pennies says overall Wal Mart is the cheapest for grocery and the quality is not bad then Food Lion. Myself I prefer Publix, Harris Teeter, and Lowes Grocery. Overall Spinx and Costco for cheap gas.
We will do Walmart for canned foods and staple type things. Our Walmart has just become horrible with lines and complete lack of stock on the shelves. I'll never buy meat from Walmart unless it's like frozen Tyson or something of that nature. Publix or Lowes for meats.
Surprisingly, Costco has a good fruit, vegetable, meat, and bakery section.
The chains -- Harris Teeter and Publix mainly -- have their stuff on regular rotation of sales. Some say it is 12 weeks. So if you are really wnting to , you can get on that cycle and if there are specific brand name items you like you can shop based on those cycles.
Everything else -- yes Walmart is the cheapest generally for dry goods, etc. I also don't buy meats/proteins from there. I use Costco regularly and sometimes Harris Teeter/Publix when proteins are on sale.
Aldi has some interesting items that are inexpensive. The maintenance of the stores is kind of rough -- they seem to be a little messy, not so pristine as a Publix but they have some good off brand goodies to explore.
Depending on where you live, many areas in Charleston have access to multiple chains. In Mt. Pleasant I am 10 minutes away from 2 Publix, 3 Harris Teeters, Aldi, Trader Joes, Whole Foods...and there is going to be another chain to compete with ALDI soon. It's crazy.
I'm an Amazon shopper --don't overlook Whole Foods because you have Amazon discounts. Sometimes their proteins that are historically very expensive go on sale and with another discount for being an Amazon shopper you can get some great deals (short ribs -- yum).
Costco for meats, produce, cheese, frozen goods, chips and cereal. The quality of their meats is the best I have found from a chain, and the prices are very reasonable as well!
Walmart for eggs, milk, canned goods and bread. The Walmart on Dorchester Rd has super cheap eggs and milk! I would also consider Aldi's for those items, just haven't made it a habit of going there.
Food Lion is right around the corner from my house so I go there for anything I missed. They do have good prices, just not great quality on some things (meat and produce).
Publix and Harris Teeter are the nicer grocery store chains in the area. I just don't shop there often because they tend to be more expensive--unless you only buy their sale items.
Costco for meats, produce, cheese, frozen goods, chips and cereal. The quality of their meats is the best I have found from a chain, and the prices are very reasonable as well!
Walmart for eggs, milk, canned goods and bread. The Walmart on Dorchester Rd has super cheap eggs and milk! I would also consider Aldi's for those items, just haven't made it a habit of going there.
Food Lion is right around the corner from my house so I go there for anything I missed. They do have good prices, just not great quality on some things (meat and produce).
Publix and Harris Teeter are the nicer grocery store chains in the area. I just don't shop there often because they tend to be more expensive--unless you only buy their sale items.
All of the above -- without the Food Lion because we don't have one near us.
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