In the Philippines, we usually bought our groceries from the Hypermarket at SM North EDSA The Block or at Waltermart Munoz (North EDSA). For fruits and vegetables, we went to the nearby palengke.
After more than 2 years of staying in Nashville, TN, in the USA, we have come up with a system of grocery shopping that involves 4 different stores: Aldi, Kroger, Sam’s Club (or Costco), and Asian Store (or World Market).
We have compared our options for buying the goods we need and looked for the best grocery stores to shop at. Take a look at our family’s grocery list and what we buy from each of the stores below:
What to buy at Aldi
Before we discovered Aldi, we bought our meat, meat products, and most of our groceries at Kroger. But we discovered that several things are affordable at Aldi.
- Meat (pork, chicken, beef) and meat products (bacon, hotdogs, etc)
- Eggs and dairy products (eggs, milk)
- Some fruits and vegetables (cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, carrots, corn)
- Canned goods
What to buy at Kroger
Kroger is a great place to buy groceries from. Their stores do have a great layout, the products are easy to find, and they have a great loyalty program which helps you save money on gas.
Fruits and vegetables (bananas, grapes, occasional mangoes, and other fruits, green beans, onions, cabbages, and a lot more). Go to their produce section and you’ll see a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.
What to buy at Sam’s Club (or Costco)
We recently joined Sam’s Club after reading about it and learning about buying things in bulk. I could say that it has helped us save some money. The basic membership fee of Sam’s Club is $45 annually. The membership at Costco is about the same.
When you buy groceries at Sam’s Club, be prepared to buy them in bulk and in big sizes! Because of the big sizes that we buy there, we only go to Sam’s Club once every 2 months or so.
- Cooking oil and olive oil
- Household cleaners (toilet bowl cleaner, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, dishwashing pacs, paper towels, table napkins)
- Hygiene products (soap, body wash, shampoo & conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush)
- Snack items
What to buy at an Asian Store or World Market
Lastly, there were several things that we wanted to enjoy and eat, but we cannot find in American grocery stores. That’s why we also make a monthly trip to an Asian Store or a World Market. We usually buy the following items:
- Condiments: Datu Puti soy sauce, Datu Puti vinegar
- Fruits and vegetables that remind us of home (ampalaya, talong, sitaw, etc), turon, frozen saluyot, bangus, and several snack items from the Philippines such as Mr. Chips, Flat Tops, etc.)
This may seem complicated but we have developed our system as a family. We usually buy groceries at Aldi and Kroger every 2 weeks. We usually order online what we want to buy at Sam’s Club then pick it up. We go to Sam’s Club once every two months and we go to an Asian Store once a month.
