I live about a half mile from a Walmart Market, and a Buy4Less. They are across the street from one another. Makes it very easy to just get on my bicycle and ride and get what I need/want.

But, when I am north, or east, I go to one of my favorite stores and buy bulk.

Moni

once a week and have a set shopping list as we do Costco, sam's club and wm (about every other week)...and if we hit the timing right, we do sams early then can be at Costco when they open...(add gas there)

Usually several times a week. I source from farmers markets to Costco and have supermarkets within minutes of my home.

I go once a week. Mostly to take advantage of loss leaders, manager's specials, and clearance items in order to keep to a really tight food budget ($125/month for 2 adults). I try to never pay full price for anything.... I plan meals from our home food storage - literally shopping-at-home first. I include other errands, library, etc., that same day and try to only go out one day a week.

I purchase powdered milk in bulk, and order enough for a year at a time (this also comes out of my food budget). I've done this since 1981 and have never needed to run to the store for milk. Other food items are also purchased in bulk amounts - grains, seeds, beans - lots of dry goods - all from the food budget.

In the winter I avoid high-priced (so-called) "fresh" produce (imported from who knows where?) at the store and grow ours indoors in the form of herbs, wheatgrass (which we juice), sprouts and micro-greens. I use dehydrated and frozen produce from the garden and freeze-dried fruits/vegetables as well. My sister brings us fresh-picked citrus from Texas when she comes at the holidays, which is a huge savings on the food budget. :-)

-Grainlady

But i hate powdered milk. Unless it's gotten as good as fresh? Howe does it compare? I almost use no milk in baking, so it has to be drinking quality

I go once a month to restock the freezer, but I go to town every day, so I will usually stop by the supermarket (Kroger) because it is on my way out....very edge of town, and I can check my own groceries, so I will run in, if I need something. I don't keep bread or milk on hand and only buy it if I need it for something. Hardly ever eat sandwiches, so bread goes to waste....or would, if I didn't feed it to animals. Same for milk. I cook with it but I don't drink it. Usually I will only buy a pint at a time.

We probably hit the local grocery store 2-3 times a week based on what we feel like having for dinner. We have a once weekly run to Wal Mart too.

Even though I live in assit. living and have meals available, I sometimes do cook for me. I either go to Walmart, Marketplace or Cost Plus, but the problem with Cost plus, if something is advertised 4 for $$, you have to buy all four items to get the special pricing. But they do have some things the other markets don't have.

Do watch out at Walmart now, I read and yes it is true, Walmart is really pushing their own products, and they are cutting down on other brands. I lost one of my favorite ice cream brands and I did notice many others missing. I read that they will eventually stock only one brand and of course the WM brands.

I do a big shop once a week, but fill in usually one or two times a week. Our lives are unpredictable and so i usually just plan about three dinner meals and then figure out as I go along.

Every few months I do a bulk shopping at Costco.

Marie, I have noticed that Stop & Shop is also trying to push their brands. I had to go to a different store for my Pillsbury pie crust and Kraft marshmallows. Not saying that theirs wouldn't be good, but Thanksgiving is not the time to start experiementing.

Probably 2-3 times a week. I usually have to restock bananas so I'll go into a vegetable market and restock fruit/vegetables fresh. The main stuff, milk, bread, baking stuff, etc is one big shopping.

I was brought up on powdered milk and will never do that to my own family. Perhaps the quality has changed.

rob333 - If your only powdered milk experience is what you get from the grocery store, there are some I purchase that you can't tell from regular commercial milk. Grandma's Country Cream (also goes by "Country Cream" - you can find it at Amazon.com) is the best-tasting for drinking straight from the glass. I purchase it in 25# buckets in order to pay less per (reconstituted) gallon than by #10 cans. It works the best for me for making milk kefir than some other brands I've tried (and I've tried any number of them since 1981). The brand I've used for over 20-years is Morning Moo's Whey-based Milk Substitute (I use it for the lactose intolerant family members - it's LOW lactose, not lactose-free).

Here's an old review for powdered milk. I've tried every brand on the test, except the store-brand powdered milk.

http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/the-great-powdered-milk-taste-test-and-review/

-Grainlady

We usually go every weekend for the groceries for the week and any stock up items, especially if they are on sale. I keep a very well stocked pantry and freezers. I could get by for quite some time with what I have on hand if need be. Neither of us drink milk, I use it occasionally in cooking, if I buy any it's the smallest amount just for what I am needing. I buy fresh fruit and vegetables weekly, when the farm stores are open I buy strictly from them. About once a month or so when the mood strikes us we go to Costco or Sam's, I don't buy much in bulk anymore. There's just certain things we like that are only available there. I try to make a menu for the week and shop by that, it can change at the store if I find something else on a great sale or no good looking product for the planned meal.

Yesterday for instance I didn't have pork loin roast on my list, but it was at such a great price I bought it and dropped something else. I shop at Kroger a lot, we signed up for the senior discount long ago, and I check the online digital coupons weekly and add them to my Kroger card by just a click. I love that feature, no clipping coupons but still get the deal. Plus they have the discount for gas coupon there too. We buy the cheapest gas prices there with our discount. In addition if I pay with my credit card I accrue lots of points which I cash in occasionally and have it put in my savings account. I pay the card off each month.

Kroger also has an increasing number of their own brand products. I buy them as much as possible because they are cheaper, great quality, and I get an extra discount with the senior discount on those items. I have not found a single one we didn't care for.

We used to shop only once a week, till WM opened a BIG store, less than a mile from us. I still do a 'big' shopping, once a week, but can always find an excuse to make a 'Wally Run' at least two other times during the week. It's not always for food, it could be Rx medicine, toothpaste or stuff like that. The store is so big and spread out, I try not to walk from one end to the other, unless it's for something we have to have--like cat food or ice cream!

I go to Costco for certain items every other month or so and Trader Joe's every week to 10 days for certain perishables. I rarely go to the regular grocery store unless I need things that TJ's doesn't carry.

I started buying heavy cream instead of milk because I only need it for recipes. I cut back on whatever fat is in the recipe to compensate. Heavy cream is usually good for at least six weeks - two months by date and lasts even longer than that in reality.

My parents go to the grocery store almost every day because they don't plan their meals.

We don't have a set schedule, we seem to go to either TJs, Whole Foods or a regular store every few days as the need (fresh fruit and veggies) or moods dictate. We similarly go to Costco when there's something particular we want from there. It's not a major decision, it's 10 minutes away.

Powdered milk is hideous, I'm not sure why anyone would want to drink it when fresh milk is such a consistently good product and is sold everywhere.

It's random. I'm not one of those admirable people who can plan ahead as to what to server or what I'll even be in the mood for on any given day. I either graze on what's in the frige/cabinets or decide to make something - - - which is when I'll run to the store.

Nowadays I don't have a regular schedule. I usually pick things up as I'm at stores getting other things. Working back toward a more typical schedule but that's going slow so it's as needed more and more.

powdered milk? She answered that. She said it was cost efficient, and that she tested and tried some until she found one that tasted good, aka NOT store bought. It's an alternate thought. Thanks grainlady!

I'm in town, so everything is closeby. I generally shop about once a week, usually dictated by when we run out of bananas. :) When I spot shop and just get bananas and a few other things, I still have to shop. If I don't, I end up needing to go to three different stores in one week, which I hate. :)

I'm retired, live alone, and don't cook very much. I usually go to the store once a week.

Once or twice a week. I live in a small apt. There isn't a lot of room for storage.

Once a week. I don't buy alot, it's just me now.

No hard and fast rule here, but Saturdays tend to be farmers market days except in winter. And the regular grocery shopping tends to be Thursdays after work.

I go every two weeks, when we get paid. I keep my budget around 600 a month, this is for a family of 6 and that amount includes toiletries, paper goods, cleaning supplies, batteries, etc, not just food.

I don't use powdered milk. I think that review grainlady posted explains perfectly why I don't. Skim milk is GROSS in my opinion and the author even said it herself, plus I have young children that are supposed to drink higher fat milk for growth and brain function.

I usually have to go on the off week to pick up another loaf of bread, gallon of milk and fresh veggies but my big shopping trip is every 2 weeks.

I go every week, on Tuesdays, on our RetCom bus, most days to Kroger and some days to WalMart. The bus follows a weekly schedule which includes Target, and Aldies. My groceries, meaning anything I eat, must come from Kroger, and like Raven, I watch the ads, use the digital coupons, as well as those I clip from online, and get the senior discount. I buy a variety of other things from WM, but not food. I always buy ahead to have a variety of staples on the shelves and in the freezer. I don't cook like I did back in the day, and I'm not a big eater. "I eat to live; don't live to eat," as some folks do, unless it is chocolate covered.

Sorry to get off topic, but in answer to a few comments:

NIDO brand powdered milk contains fat (available at Wal-Mart in the Latino products isle), as does PEAK Dry Whole Milk Powder (I've ordered it from Amazon, but didn't really like it as well as other brands for drinking), and those are brands I would recommend for people who have to subsist on powdered milk with small children because it contains the necessary fat. You can also add butter, especially grass-fed butter or ghee to the diet to add a good source of fat. If there is one thing we normally don't lack in the Standard American Diet it's fat. And "taste" is subjective, I'll grant you that ;-).

When we started using powdered milk products they were lactose-free brands - a whey-based milk substitute called Meadow Fresh - suggested by our then 4-year old's pediatrician, due to our son's lactose intolerance - which hubby and our granddaughter also have in common. It made food preparation a whole lot easier, and hubby can enjoy his chocolate "milk" nightcap. Back then (1981) lactose-free nut milk, coconut milk, etc., were not readily available.

I have a friend who has a daughter living in Alaska, and each year he goes to visit, he takes them two buckets of Morning Moo's whey-based powdered milk because milk is so expensive there. Friends who visit their military family in Hawaii did the same thing. So powdered milk isn't a one-size-fits-all product.

I also regularly teach a class about using powdered milk at the local Food Bank, where it's a mainstay food item. It's not just for drinking. If all you have is non-fat dry powdered milk, there are so many things you can do with it, plus a few pantry items, and those are other ways to add calcium to your diet besides by-the-glass. Powdered milk is an important ingredient in homemade mixes for pancakes/waffles, baking mix (homemade version of Bisquick), hot chocolate mix, and the ever versatile "Magic Mix" which is a base mix you can use to make cream of ______ soup mixtures, gravy, pudding, Alfredo Sauce, and the ever popular "Magic Mix Fudgsicles". So you don't like powdered milk, but you might love it if that's all you had to use and you could use it for so many more things than just drinking it from a glass. How often necessity quickly becomes the mother of invention.....

-Grainlady

I use a lot of powdered milk in cooking/baking, but don't drink it. Saves a ton of $$ not having to have fresh milk on hand all the time, and when it is used in cooking I can't tell the difference between fresh and powdered.

I usually do a big shopping once a month at WM and then smaller supplementary trips for fresh veggies.

Shop every week.

Years ago we used Meadow Fresh, my husband sold it. We use two gallons of milk a week and there are only two of us.

Sue

We do our main grocery shopping on Fridays. Thursdays our large drugstore chain gives 20% off to people over 55. So we buy our milk every Thursday (2 bags). 1 bag is 4 litres. We like the discount stores and sometimes price match. Going to Costco is a treat and that's where we buy our toilet paper, kitty litter and other essentials.

I usually do a big shop for groceries once a month but if I need bread or fresh vegetables or if I see meat on sale I will go to the store every two weeks. Because i was working long hours since the beginning of September I hadn't done a big grocery shopping until last Saturday and then I went out again to pick up a few more things this week. My cupboards, freezer and fridge really needed to be restocked but now my cupboards are too full and my tomatoes, sauces, canned fish, flour and some of my fruits and vegetables are sitting on the counter