Brand-name items are interesting for me. I've never been one to worry too much about brand-name clothing or shoes; I don't really care if I have Fred Meyer pants or Payless shoes. If they get the job done & don't fall apart after a few washings, I'm happy with them. Groceries are a different story. I used to really feel good about my pantry, cupboards or refrigerator if I had "Kellogg's," "Heinz," "C&H," etc. I was really making it if I had some Trader Joe's items in there. After reviewing our budget a while ago, we decided to try shopping at WinCo to see how it went. The savings were pretty obvious; especially if I went with the generic brand. However, I didn't want to become a regular WinCo shopper. For some reason I really kicked my heels in at the idea of having all those generic brands in my cupboards, and more importantly, that I would have to bag my own groceries!
Well, with gas prices (going down, though--yeah!), food price increases, and the point that WinCo is just minutes away, I couldn't keep giving excuses when Keith would ask "Tell me again why we don't just shop at WinCo?" I finally gave in when I saw how much I had spent at a competing store, only to get home with one bag of groceries. At WinCo, I knew that amount would buy twice as much!
Although going to WinCo is still a bit of a difficulty for me, I like it a little more knowing that I'm saving a lot of money & that I've noticed more people that "look like me" there, in terms of silly superficial demographics. You really can see every range of people there; it's quite interesting. Sometimes I forget "the rules;" for example, yesterday I was there & without thinking, pulled my cart forward when the lady in front of me pulled hers to the end to bag (gasp!) When she came back to pay, she said--somewhat rudely--"exCUSE me, MISS!" I apologized and backed up, only to run into the guy behind me who had mistaken my pull-through as valid.
Anyway, it's a work in progress. I've decided the benefits outweigh the negatives, and, as Senia has pointed out, you can't beat their bulk section!
2 comments:
This is a perfect blog topic. Good work!
I'm sure the "competing store(s)" appreciate your discretion. ;-) I agree, it's not my favorite store to be in, but you can't beat the prices. I wish they'd take over Cub Foods in Minnesota, too! :-/
The bulk foods are awesome. Just stay away from the giant malted milk balls. Trust me on this one. They are addicting.
If you have a Grocery Store Outlet near you, you should check them out. I saw a story about them on the news and the reason they are able to offer products for so much less is that when a company changes their packaging, which they do all the time, they have to use up the old packaging, but they want the new packaging on the store shelves, so places like Grocery Store Outlet get the same product in the old package. The food is just as fresh, but much, much cheaper.
I think they are not competitive on milk and eggs though, and sometimes they have odd foods that never show up in regular grocery stores, but I've heard the savings are phenomenal.
I love shopping at good ole Fred Meyer, but I always buy the Fred Meyer or Kroger brand if it's offered. Winco is just too hard to shop with little kids.
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