Throughout this blog, I will be referring to my plan for grocery budgeting and travel. [here]. Thank you.
With my food stamps landing on a Sunday this month, I had a few variables to consider. For starters, I will be doing this trip completely on foot, since the buses aren’t running. I have to be mindful of the weather and the timeframe of my trip because they will affect what I am able to buy and how much time I have against the clock. With that in mind, I also went about creating my grocery list in the Albertsons app so I can track pricing and what’s on my list in real time. I could have easily just made a digital and/or traditional list, but I like tracking prices at the same time.
As you can see, I used two different apps to track the weather for the day because the difference can make a major impact. Between the two, the average starting temperature was 62.5 Fahrenheit. And I had until 12 pm before the temperature crossed into the early 80s. This meant my walk would be much cooler and easier to pace myself.
These are my steps before my grocery trip within my apartment. And from the looks of it, I was running on my battery, which was at 71%.
You will notice with my grocery list there will be some alternatives to certain items. This is because I plan for understock and price differences. If I do not find what I originally want, or wish to change versions, I like seeing them before I get to any store. Doing it this way removes decision fatigue in the moment, and the impulse to buy outside the main scope before getting what I need.
This first leg of my trip to WinCo ended with me walking a total of 7,088 steps, after removing my pre-trip steps. With that said, during my walk to WinCo, I took plenty of breaks and made a few stops to take photos. What also went against me was crosswalks. But the crosswalks in the morning aren’t as bad until later.
As you can see by the two different apps, my walking metrics aren’t consistent in certain areas. Yet the overall average is where things really matter. By the time I got to WinCo, my phone battery was down to 37%.
During my trip I managed not only stay within budget, but also buy 2 out of scope items. For starters, there are a few items I took advantage of WinCo’s bulk section. These were the cinnamon sticks and the quick oatmeal. These items tend to be more costly due to paying more for the packaging vs the usable product. Not to mention, bulk cinnamon sticks, in my opinion, seemed much larger than the pre-packaged spices. This is likely due to packaging, but I could be wrong.
The items I focused on were pantry goods that did not go in the fridge, as well as items that can be frozen. That meant dairy products were not an option in this run. I am grateful that WinCo chicken is frozen, which gave me a longer window to return home. That being said, there were plenty of items that was more expensive at WinCo than another store I will be grocery shopping, but that’s for another blog.
The 2 out-of-scope items were still within budget. Because the second leg of the trip would be much hotter than the first, I chose to get water. I could have easily bought Gatorade, Powerade, or even soda. But those items are much more expensive in multiple ways. For starters, thirst levels would be a great issue to tackle. The length it takes for the drinks to warm up. The taste of a warm drink. The second item I got was dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt. I personally love getting chocolate whenever I go grocery shopping because it’s a reward and an energy boost to finish the trip.
With that out of the way, let’s take a quick look at the price difference and how much I saved during this sprint before looking at my walking metrics for the return leg. This is keeping in mind that I am an Albertsons/Safeway member. So prices reflect member discounts.
| Item Description | Albertson Price | WinCo Price | Price Difference |
| Chicken Breasts | $25.56 | $12.08 | -$13.48 |
| Frozen Blueberries | $10.98 | $9.98 | -$1.00 |
| Tomato Sauce | $2.30 | $0.96 | -$1.34 |
| Tomato werete | $1.19 | $0.76 | -$0.43 |
| Mezzettiat Peppers | $3.94 | $2.87 | -$1.07 |
| Sriracha Mayo | $6.87 | $5.49 | -$1.38 |
| Carrots | $2.03 | $1.98 | -$0.05 |
| Cream of Wheat | $6.41 | $4.82 | -$1.59 |
| Long Grain Rice | $17.40 | $6.90 | -$10.50 |
| Quick Oats | $2.56 | $0.79 | -$1.77 |
| Cinnamon Sticks | $7.90 | $1.11 | -$6.79 |
Given how Albertsons/Safeway prices were set, I would have spent roughly $87.14. With a small price difference from the chicken, due to it varying with exact weight. In my past experience, for one pack of chicken breast at Safeway, I have paid about $8 to $12 for under 3lbs. That translates to a total of roughly $16, $20, or $24 in any given month. So even at Safeway’s lowest prices, I would still be paying more than at WinCo.
Again, regarding packaging costs, the difference between bulk and per-package is clearly shown for the cinnamon sticks. This makes the savings $2 more than the cost of the chocolate I bought. When it comes to the $2 difference for everything else, it’s really a matter of preference. Some of these items can easily be argued to get the expensive brand when it comes to texture and taste. I like finding brands I like at a lower price if I can.
The officially temperature of when I finally got home was boarding on the 80 degree Fahrenheit. So, to my great relief, I’m glad I made it back in time. Especially when I used stacking foods together and packing the frozen chicken and blueberries to keep it cold longer, since I do not own a cold bag.
I did not track the steps I took during my shopping at WinCo, but the total steps for the trip are still impressive. Especially when the second leg of the trip had less time during breaks and my only enemy, that I didn’t pause the timer for, was the stop lights. This is largely due to the fact that the streets were becoming busier. I do live in a car-dependent town, and also many are churchgoers. This actually helped the shopping go more smoothly.
Speaking of which, my return time was much faster than my first leg of the trip.
