I wish we had one closer to us, I love how their focus in on healthy foods. For those that shop there regularly, do you have any tips on what products are the best deal or how to score a bargain?

(I know about Two-Buck Chuck - that's my only tip! )

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I will be getting one close to dd's school but not for awhile yet.

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allgirls, mom to 3 girls

I'm going to have to follow this thread. I love Trader Joes but my husband complains about how much money I spend there.

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Vicki
Mama to Princess, 5 and Wild Thing, 3
Progress Since 1/6/09:

I primarily shop at TJ's and did spend more then I intended at first. Now I spend the same, if not less, than Safeway or Lucky (my other two choices). It is tricky since there are no sales and so many yummy snack foods and interesting treats.

The main thing I do is save my receipts. Then when I make a menu plan the next week, I have the receipt from the previous week to refer to. Prices do go up sometimes, but not by much and it tends to happen all at once instead of a little each week. So, when I make my grocery list, I write down next to each item approx how much it costs (rounding up to the nearest dollar). I find we eat many of the same foods each week, so I buy many of the same items. Then I add it together and bring that amount in cash, plus about $10 extra for anything I forgot or am intrigued by. I cannot go in and spend a bundle because I do not have enough cash for a big splurge.

On average I spend about $60/week there and we are a family of 3 (I know it sounds high, but VERY reasonable for the SF Bay Area). I do not buy much of their produce because I do not like all the packaging and the fact that much of it is from Mexico (instead I do an organic produce delivery that works out to about $20/week). I am also very careful about the amount of snack food I buy and we primarily eat chicken and ground turkey, which are both well priced there.

I do not just buy our food there, I also buy their laundry and dishwasher detergent and oxi clean, they are phosphate free, work well and are cheaper than other "natural" detergents.

I do occasionally shop at Safeway or Lucky if I need something TJ's does not carry or they are having a great sale. But, TJ's usually meet our needs and I do not have to run around to other stores.

I spend about $100 every two weeks there. I do like liamsmom was saying and buy mostly the same stuff each time I go. All of the frozen prepared stuff is very tempting for me (I don't enjoy cooking that much) so I have to really discipline myself to walk quickly down that aisle. I love the size of the store and the fact that I can be in and out of there in 15 minutes. It is very strange because my bill is almost ALWAYS around $100, plus or minus $5. I don't keep track of prices like liamsmom, but I guess I just follow my little routine.

I wish I had fresh organic produce delivered for $20 a week. You don't even know how much I would love that!

Trader Joes has great prices. They have big bags of shreaded parmessan chese for like 5 dollars. The bag is huge. They also have great prices on spices. About a month ago I needed more cumin and it was 5 bucks at the grocery store for a little jar and at Trader Joes it was like 2.49!

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We buy most of our sauces (hot sauce, cooking sauces) and nuts there. I find them to be about the same if not less than other stores plus they are organic. We do not get there very often 9too far away) so I don't have any real tricks on what we do to save.

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They usually have a good deal on frozen uncooked good sized shrimp too!!

this isn't really a tip but they have pea crisps that are really good too.

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We are always amazed at how much we can get for a small bill! We have to be disciplined as well because of all the unique things they have there, last time I went was a couple weeks ago, and it had been sooo long since I had been, I was reminiscing shopping there before kids! Buying other stuff we cant afford now etc. Anyway, we love their prices and products. We always laugh, that everything is about three dollars. So if we budget that way we are good.

This is not too much of a tip but I like to do a cheese and crackers tray when we have friends over. The Trader Joe's cheeses are way less than at any other grocery store. I went in the other day and picked out a wedge of aged gouda, an herbed goat cheese and an aged, English cheddar. My bill was about $14. That is much less than I would have spent at the regular grocery store. The last time I bought the same sized goat cheese at the regular grocery store, it cost $8.99 for just that! The only cheese I can't get there is a whole mini wheel of brie. They only have wedges, which does not work with my baked brie recipe. If I need a brie, I have to go to Costco to get a decent price.