Where do you do your shopping?

mimivan

Sat, Jul 26 2008, 9:07 pm

My dh drives and shlepps things home from the shuk...usually, there isn't quite enough, so I have to buy alot of items from the macolet, which can be expensive, and it is a waste of money. We are trying to find a solution to this...becase even though he drives, he can't fit everything we need on one of those small carts and schlepp it around the shuk...he says the supermarkets are too expensive.

Tamiri

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:00 am

mimivan wrote:

This is how I went to the shuk, baby in tow: stroller plus a back pack. I stuffed things in the stroller basket and hung them on the handles then loaded up my back. If I did not go with a baby, I would go with a grocery cart and a backpack and a pack to put on top of the cart when it was filled. Perhaps suggest the extra bags to him.

TAPS

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:17 am

If I can't get to the store I do a lot of online supermarket shopping from shufersal yashir. Even if you don't buy fruits and veg from them you can get all your other stuff and not have to shlep.
I find that I spend less money this way bec I can keep track of what I am spending in the"sal". If its too much I remove it. Plus I always check whats on sale.

catonmylap

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:33 am

Lately we go to Mega every week. Their sales have been the best.

When we go together, we each take a backpack and the stroller with ds. Dh takes the heaviest stuff in his bag, I fill up my bag, and then we fill the stroller basket and put bags over the handles of the stroller. If there is any left, we then carry some bags too. It is VERY IMPRESSIVE how much we can carry home.

By myself alone I've done around 300 NIS, dh can do way more then that. Together we can do a super crazy amount.

There will be like huge containers of bleach buy 1, get 1 free, and I'll ask dh, can we get these home, and he goes, "no problem!"

I've been alone and the checkout woman will be like, "you're doing a mishloach, and I'm like no, I don't need it....."

Every once in a while, we do a mishloach though....

Right now though we also don't buy any produce at the grocery store(unless we go to shefa shuk)---that's a separate trip to Otzar Haaretz... and dh walks home (20 minutes) with watermelons, potatoes, and onions etc--again, just crazy what he manages.

Last edited by catonmylap on Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:36 am; edited 1 time in total

cubbie

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:34 am

I never do one big shop, I buy fish from the shuk, once every 2 weeks and freeze. Meat, chicken, fruit and veg from shefa shuk (again I buy meat and chicken for 2 weeks and freeze) and all dry things from mega - then only things that I've forgotten and also bread and milk from the mekolet.

Imaonwheels

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 2:54 am

Mimivan, there is a way to save money in the mecolet. paamonim even recommends it as the overall spending is less because of the lack variety and things you don't really need.

Fruit and veg is cheaper in the shuk, but only on certain days. But the shuk scares me during shmitta, Too easy for those out of tomatoes to quickly take from the basta next door, esp because for some stupid reason the charedi stores think their Arab workers don't need to be constantly supervised. I don't think shefa and such charge much more.

Milkics and bread you should buy in the mecolet.

For you, Of Anash delivers to the door. They have a moked artzi where you call and they bring it to you. They have sales going on now and have (as nearly all places do) box sales before chagim. If you order a carton of chickens and split with a friend you may get it cheaper. My ds is their agent between Eli and Petach Tikva. He would like to branch towards Y-m but the biggest customer in that direction,Tel Tzion, has their own guy. They also have fish and frozen foods.

The big buy can be made once or twice a month and be delivered to the house. It is worth it.

If you go to the right super it is better. In my opinion Alef has too much shtuyot and charges too much. Shefa has more real food and is cheaper.

I know from experience, for 2 years I would shlepp 10 boxes under an egged bus with baby and agala or belly. There comes a time when you realize it is more trouble than it is worth and your time and health is also something.

pinkbubbles

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:16 am

wow I am so suprised how much of you carry everything home- and with a baby!! I almost never carried unless it was from the makolet (around the corner) or really a small shop from the shuk, I couldn't do big shuk shops- too much! As soon as I need something heavy I would do an overall supermarket shop for detergent, water, toilet paper, etc.. (the store is in the shuk, so OK prices) and get a delivery. I just couldn't shlep, even with the cart. Maybe because I had to worry about stairs on the way home, and stairs once I got home too...

Tamiri

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:27 am

BTW, I don't think it's a very good article. When I shopped at the shuk, I found I could save an average of less than 20% but I had to take into account parking (which is not always free) the heat, the need to pay in cash and the shlepping. It was not quite worth saving 20 shekels or so. Also, although I could find less expensive fruits and veggies, in comparison to my supermarket in Rishon, the quality was not always the best. Sometimes, if I am in Machane Yehuda, I will pick up a little of this or a little of that at great savings but in general, you get what you pay for in the shuk. The day you shop also makes a difference. All my comparisons were done before Shmitta. I don't know how to shop in the shuk during shmitta.

Tamiri

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:42 am

I don't know about translating, I never had that problem come up :) . Whatever, it says that the stores intentionally lower their produce prices to lure customers into the stores, and the savings add up when you compare to the shuk. They added that the shuk prices and quality varies. Nothing new.

catonmylap

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:44 am

Tamiri wrote:

It's definitely true if you buy "regular" vegetables(which we don't during shmitta).

The veggies are/were regularly 99 agurot a kilo around here and the shuk can't beat that.
It was interesting to see that Yerushalayim/Talpiot was amongst the cheapest in the entire country.

We've spent way more this shmitta year in fruits/vegetables then we did before when we bought all the veggies in the supermarkets(supersol deal/or rami levi).

We still don't go to the shuk. It is too time consuming, plus we need to pay for bus fares both ways, and shelp a stroller onto the bus...etc.. I only go the shuk if I'm already out in that area... When you subtract out the parking and/or bus fare, and you factor in how much time it took you, are you still ahead?

It's different if you like it. I love the shuk. If dh liked it, we'd go once in a while. Or if I was the one at home, I might go, just to get out with ds....

ora_43

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:52 am

When I was in Jerusalem I went to Shufersal once a week or so for most of the shopping, especially to get the cheap chickens. Sometimes I'd shop for dry goods in shefa shuk. Dh or I would go to the shuk once a month to stock up on cheap ground meat and eggs. Once it got to be shmitta year we went to the otzar haaretz store as well, so things really got complicated.

Now I shop once every several days in whatever store has the best prices on diapers. Alef usually has good sales, at least on the products we need. Dh goes and buys meat wherever it's cheapest (usually Shufersal) once or twice a month. Veggies, fruits, and mid-week refills on milk and bread we get at the local grocery store (which has otzar haaretz, but is ridiculously expensive when it comes to anything but price-controlled goods).

HooRYou

Sun, Jul 27 2008, 4:53 am

I go shopping pretty much once a week and go locally since we don't have a car and shlepping on the bus is really not worth the effort for me. Where I live there is Shefa Shuk and Rami Levi. I go to Rami Levy since I defintley byu less there since the store is arranged in a way that I practically skip the whole middle section and just shop the perimeter (dairy, bread, etc) If I go into a middle aisle I know it is just to grab one specific thing like oil or chocolate chips. There are way fewer temptations that way. I used to get a weekly treat of a mishloach (I started when I had a home based baking business and there was no way I could shlep home that much flour and sugar!!) but now that RL's mishloachs went up to 18nis (a real chutzpah considering how many problems we have had with them) I just shlep everything home on the bus. I also buy my produce at the weekly shuk-like sale across the street from my house. The stuff is great and usually a very good price. Again I shlep it home but it is just across the street. We buy chickens once every few months from the Mir sale our neighborhood and stock the freezer. We buy by the case but it is good to know that I have extra in case of last minute guests or other surprise occurances.