Grocery Store Shopping for College Students
Are all grocery stores the same? No, not all grocery stores are the same. College students need to know what grocery stores have to offer and what types of grocery stores there are. Knowing this came save you a whole lot of time and money.
One-stop stores or Grocery stores
There’s a difference? Yes, a big difference. Let’s say you need to go buy clothes and groceries. You’re not going to find clothes in a grocery store like Kroger, Safeway or Albertsons. However, you can find all the items that you are needing in a one-stop shop like Walmart, Target or Kmart.
Just Groceries
Grocery stores offer just that, groceries. Kroger, Albertsons, and Safeway are the most popular grocery stores. They are the largest traditional grocery stores in the US. They may or may not be found in your area. Sometimes, they do have other items such as toys and clothes but don’t count on it. These are more of a seasonal item and they’re generic. They don’t keep them in stock year-round nor do they keep them in bulk.
All-in-One Stop
One-stop shops offer a large variety of items as a customer service. Walmart, Target and Kmart can usually be located just about anywhere, especially Walmart. They want your money; buying from them keeps their doors open. Therefore, they sell just about anything you need from groceries, clothes, toys, tires, lawn and garden and even furniture.
Discounts – Club Cards, Loyalty Cards or Coupons
Discounts like Sam’s Club vs Kroger
Looking for ways to cut cost? Just about every one-stop shop and grocery store offers discounts. They offer them in a variety of ways.
Club Discount Cards
Sam’s Club offers club discount cards. You must purchase a membership in order to be able to shop at Sam’s Club. They offer two prices for their club membership: Sam’s Club Member is $45, and Sam’s Plus is $100. The Sam’s Plus is for the use of businesses where the Sam’s Club Member is for anyone. Sam’s is more of a warehouse. Here is where you would want to shop if you are needing to buy in bulk.
Costco also offers club discount cards. They have Gold Star Member and Business Member; both sell for $60. Then, they have Gold Star Executive and Business Executive; both sell for $120.
As you can see the club discount cards probably aren’t going to be cost effective for a college student.
Loyalty cards
Kroger is the largest traditional grocery store in the US. They have what’s called a Kroger Plus Card. You can pick one of these up and fill out the application right there in the store When you check out be sure to scan your card in order to receive the discounts. Not only do you get discounts, but you also can accumulate points. For your convenience you can create an on-line account and check your points. Another perk to their loyalty card is that these points can be used to purchase gas at Kroger. Yes, it’s also an excellent way to save on gas.
Safeway’s has a loyalty card as well as an app. Their rewards also include gas making them very comparable to Kroger. They have great BOGOs weekly. Provided that you are old enough to make an alcohol purchase as it is over 21s in the USA. Safeway gives a 10% discount when you purchase six alcohol items.
Albertsons’ reward system is a bit different than Kroger and Safeway’s. When shopping here, you accumulate points that can be used toward groceries and gas. Here you will need to buy more in bulk in order to save money. For example, if you buy any 5 items or more (some items you can mix and match) then you’ll get the discounted price. This is a great deal if you like Ramen noodles or eat a lot of can veggies.
Who doesn’t love being rewarded? You can’t go wrong shopping at three of the largest traditional grocery stores in the US. Not only do they have an in-store loyalty card reward system, they each have an app that you can download to your phone. If you are fortunate to have all three in your area sign up. This will only make things easier if you’re out and about just pull into the first or closest one. Grocery shop away!
Clip-it Coupons
Coupons are discounts but you have to clip them out of the newspaper. Clipping can be time consuming. Except, they will eventually be a thing of the past. Better get used to using those grocery store loyalty and discount cards and phone apps.
Coupons Updated
Want a much easier way to coupon? Of course, there’s an easier way. College students there are apps available.
The top three apps are Ibotta, Rakuten, and Honey. Gotta love digital couponing! Apps are way more convenient than clipping coupons.
The most popular app is Ibotta. They have over 275 participating retailers. Ibotta doesn’t give you a discount; it gives you cash back via Paypal once your reward balance hits $20.
Rakuten promises a 40% discount with more than 2,500 retailers. There are three ways that you can save money with them; coupon codes, affiliate cash back and double cash back. Coupon codes are redeemable at the time of purchase. Browse their offers, make your purchase with the app left open and receive cash back once the retailer confirms. Double cash back is used with select retailers and often expire quickly.
Honey claims their average savings to be 18%. Used every day their payouts average $126 per year. Honey is user friendly, has instant savings with thousands of retailers and you can add products that you’re looking for and get notified when their discounted.
Sack Your Own or Traditional Stand In-line
Let’s talk sacking groceries! Walmart has an option for you to self-checkout. It is a major convenience when you only have a few items and are in a hurry. Otherwise, it’s easier to place your items on the conveyor belt, send them down to the register and let someone sack them for you. The self-checkout space is very limited, and it can be quite tedious to sack your items, make room in your basket for the items you’ve sacked, or shuffle items on the small space that they’ve provided just to try to at the end make sure you’ve managed to pay for all your items. Sound confusing? Trust me, it can be. I suggest that if you have more than a few items go through a legitimate check-out register.
Now then, if you are into sacking your own groceries and using your own sacks. Aldi’s is the place for you to shop. Assuming you’re not liking the idea of loyalty cards or apps, Aldi’s has your back! Here you can get already low-cost, pre-discounted items. No math required.
Generic or Name Brand
Generic brands cost less than name brand products. The amount of the discount will depend on which product you are buying. Most offer a generic brand and a major brand. For example: Milk, you can purchase a name brand like Highland or a generic brand like Great Value. Not all brands will be sold in your area. But you do have a choice as to how much money you want to pay for an item.
Organic or Traditional
Basically, if you want healthier and more nutritious food then you’ll want to buy organic. The difference is that organic food isn’t grown by using synthetic pesticides, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation. You will spend more money purchasing these items because they cost more, and it takes longer for the produce or animals to grow. Organic food can be purchased in the produce section of a traditional grocery store or an all-in-one stop shop. In addition, you can go to a whole food or an organic store as well.
Whichever way you decide to do your grocery shopping make sure you take a list and stick with it. You could end up spending more money than you have.