Here’s how much you can save on 10 essentials at Trader Joe’s

Can you reduce your grocery spending by shopping at Trader Joe’s?

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Key points

• Trader Joe’s is a grocery store with a large following, in part due to its lower prices than some of its competitors.
• At Trader Joe’s, you can save on staples like bananas, milk, and peanut butter.
• Since Trader Joe’s offers so many unique products, it can be hard to avoid overspending.

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Trader Joe’s has many products that fans love. But will you charge more or less on your credit cards if you buy groceries at Trader Joe’s compared to other popular competitors? This is a question that is important to answer.

The good news is that Trader Joe’s products are often cheaper than the amount you would likely pay if you were shopping at other department stores. In fact, the list below shows how much you can save on some household essentials.

You’ll Never Guess How Much Cheaper Trader Joe’s Is For These 10 Products

To see if Trader Joe’s is really a bargain or not, it helps to compare the fees charged by the grocery store for commonly purchased items.

Recently, a CNET article revealed the math on this, checking the prices of some common groceries at Trader Joe’s versus Stop & Shop. Here’s how the costs stacked up on 10 key elements.

As you can see, many of these items are significantly cheaper at Trader Joe’s, and none cost more at the competing store.

This does not mean that Trader Joe’s is still cheaper on each item, however. The head-to-head comparison found that a pound of 15% lean ground beef was about $0.50 cheaper at Stop & Shop ($5.49 vs. $5.99). The chicken was also the same price at both stores.

Yet for the vast majority of commonly purchased items, Trader Joe’s provided the best deal.

Should you shop at Trader Joe’s?

If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s near you, you might want to consider buying at least some of your groceries there. The store is not only known for its low prices, but Trader Joe’s also offers samples, a generous return policy, and excellent customer service.

Of course, there are potential pitfalls to shopping there. One of the issues is that it can be tempting to overspend, especially since Trader Joe’s offers so many food samples, as well as unique seasonal items. You might end up buying items you don’t really need and going over your grocery budget.

Trader Joe’s also does not offer coupons on its private label, although outlets do accept manufacturer’s coupons for brand name products they carry. In some cases, this could mean that when other grocery stores put items on sale or issue special coupons for them, they could end up being cheaper.

If you want to make sure you’re getting what you pay for, it can be helpful to compare the prices of a few basic products yourself to see which ones really cost less at Trader Joe’s. And, when you’re shopping, be sure to stick to a list so impulse buys don’t negate the savings that Trader Joe’s cheaper prices can provide.