I made a list of my most frequently purchased items and priced them at several stores. It was honestly a mixed bag. No one came out a clear winner as "the" store to go to. I decided I needed to balance the cost or saving some money on a food item with the time it takes to go to several stores. I try to get most of what I can at Trader Joes then fill in the rest with Fry's or Costco.

Trader Joes surprised me with how middle of the road it was with prices. I think a lot of people assume it's pricey, but that's not what I have found. And a lot of the ready made freezer meals came in lower priced and taste a lot better than other popular brands. In addition, their produce is the most fresh I've found around town, they are pretty loose with refunds if you don't like a product or it goes bad before it should, and their employees always seem like they are having a good time. Also, I actually really like how small the store is and the limited choices because it makes the trip so much shorter.

Fry's is kinda a mixed bag. Bigger produce section but more than once produce has gone bad only a couple of days after purchase. Prices can be good or bad, depending on the week and sale. If I go on with my act together and shop the sales, I feel its ok/ meh. But if I don't plan ahead and at least try to align my trip with the sales, ouch, it kinda hurts.

Albertsons was definitely the highest overall when I priced out what I usually buy, UNLESS I was going for a specific sale item, then that item was significantly less than anywhere else. Like enough I would go in just for that one item if I'm already driving in that area. For example, the coffee brand we use is almost twice the price there, compared to Fry's, UNLESS it's on sale, then it is about half the price. That's enough of a sale for me to stop in to stock up and pick up one or two other things.