I used to coupon like a madwoman ... back when it paid to use my time that way. I no longer shop that way because I am so stocked up. I have like a twelve-month buffer plus a month of normal pantry meals. When the freeze dryer arrives I will be extending the LTS food and meals extensively and I'll have the dehydrator and canner going at the same time.
I mostly shop loss leaders these days or for meat/proteins. My husband has particular brands of items that go near his face that he prefers and I get those at Walgreens and save up my points that I occasionally get $5 off at the register. Walgreens used to be a much better savings/points program but not so much these days, at least for me.
I shop Winn Dixie for most of my meats when they have a sale. They used to have really good BOGO sales but I don't buy a lot of the stuff they have BOGO these days due to changing diets in the house.
My kids prefer Publix. I'll shop there for some specialty items ... they have a fantastic international aisle ... and sometimes their BOGO items but that's about it. Don't really care for their meats too much.
IGA are seasonally great for things that I use ... I got pineapples a buck a piece last year as an example.
Gordon Food Store ... I buy the commercial size bags of frozen veggies and fruits to feed my dehydrator. Saves me time and waste to have everything prepped and pre-blanched. I also get #10 cans of things that I then turn into soups and stews and home can them. They have great sauces ... like sweet n sour ... that I put over meatballs and can them as well. Getting the commercial sized bags of storebrand meatballs is a lot cheaper than making my own and saves me time I don't have to spare. I also get my large pork loins that I cut down for chops and "tube" ground beef at this store and it winds up being cheaper per pound than anywhere else unless WD has a deep sale which isn't happening lately.
Wallyworld ... if you watch the Great Value Brand canned veggies, you can get some less expensive than at Aldis. I just got canned corn, canned green beans, and something else that escapes me at the moment for 54 cents a can. That is on par or less than what Aldis is charging.
Aldis ... some canned veggies ARE cheaper here. Canned potatoes, canned mixed veggies, and canned carrots are the three off the top of my head. Their cooked, shelf stable bacon is also cheapest here and it isn't bad quality. I also get my canned hams here when I can find them. Lately I can't. All the local Aldis are badly understocked and are more junk food than anything else unless you are in the frozen food section and I just really don't do that much these days.
@Cardinal covered IGA but if you have a Sav A Lot near you they have some really good sales as well.
Here in Florida, before a bad storm is predicted to hit, you might be able to get good sales from meat markets that don't want to have to worry about their freezers going down for any length of time. I've gotten some really good deals doing this. The sales aren't necessarily advertised and sometimes you have to have a cultivated relationship with someone at the store but it is possible.
I have some international markets that I frequent for certain things. Fowler Ave has several and there are days I just run down the strip going from store to store: Patel Brothers, Meat Depot, the Oriental Market and just off Fowler are several other ones like a Caribbean store, G-Town (limited hours so you need to learn to go when they say they are going to be open), and a lot of little neighborhood type stores dedicated to certain nationalities. I also have my Cuban stores and bakeries that I frequent for holiday meal stuff though WD and Publix carries that stuff seasonally as well.
I also shop at the big box stores like SAMs and Costco. Lately I tend to shop at Costco more than SAMs but that could change tomorrow. LOL
Dollar General ... they don't keep their stock very deep on their shelves these days but I've been getting my clothes detergent there for a while because I can find something cheap in name brand when none of the stores have it on reasonable sale.
Dollar Store ... now unofficially known as the Buck and a Quarter Store ... I can get thinks here only ever so often these days. This is the place I walk in and spend way more money than I anticipated so I haven't been going there much. Toothpaste and toothbrushes used to be best from here but wallyworld now has them beat.
Bottom line for me is that coupons and store clubs no longer save me the money they used to, not even on hygiene items. Now I make up my grocery list for the month using a menu that I've devised, and group items to stores that in the past have done the best for me price wise without coupons. For everything else I watch sales flyers. Plus I have my mother watching the flyers and she'll usually spot a good deal for us to get and put in the deep freeze for canning and/or whatever. She's as excited about the freeze drier as I am and we are already starting a "cook book" for it. ROFL!!
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