What to buy where

I apologize up front, these prices are for the Seattle area and are the best shot I have,  I very well could have missed a good buy.  I can't be everywhere.  I shop at the places well known for their regular food at low prices.  

Dairy :
Eggs - Winco - there are low prices at Costco too, but we can't use five dozen eggs at a time.
Milk - Fred Meyers puts milk, amd chocolate milk on for a dollar a 1/2 gallon about once a month.
Milk, dried - Winco bulk isle,
Butter, unless there is a good sake, Costco is the best bet
Cheese - Costco or grocery outlet - my target price is close to two dollars a pound.   Buying a 1/2 pound bag  is the priciest way to buy it.
Cleese, sliced - grocery outlet
Sour cream- Fred Meyers has it for a dollar  at times, otherwise, of you use a lot Costco.
Cottage cheese - same as sour cream
Yogurt - yoplait - Winco or Fred Meyers, usually you can find a coupon that gives you ten cents off , or makes it .40

Meat :
Ground beef - Winco or Fred Meyers - I want 7-9 percent for close to three dollars.
Pork loin - just about everywhere when it is 1.69-1.79
Pork tenderloin - on sale at Winco for two dollars a pound was my best price, so,stomps on Alberways 5 dollar Friday.  
Jimmy Dean sausage, bulk : Costco is close to 2.00 a pound in three pound chub.
Dinner sausage : grocery outlet has chicken with veggies for anywhere from 1-3 dollars at times.  Ise coupons ( stacked) at Fred Meyers or womcowinco has a good price with coupons.
( I use the processed meat  on a limited basis )
Hot dogs - Winco has Nathan's on sale a lot- use coupons this time of year.  We generally on,y eat hot dogs in the summer .   ( limit use)
Whole  chickens - Fred Meyers sometimes has them for .87.   Winco always has 1.08 or close to a dollar for a two pack all the time.   - I only buy Foster farms or draper valley .
Chicken parts- thighs: Winco has had them for as low as .68. Their sandstorm? brand comes from Idaho.   Fred Meyers has them on sale at times for a dollar or so.  

Notes : if a roast or round steak is cheaper than ground beef, you can so,stores make out grinding your own.

The most efficient, cost effective way to buy protein is to buy in bulk and cook and portion control, or portion control if it makes more sense( pork loin) when it is at its lowest price.    Buy enough to take you through a four week cycle.    IE: if you eat ground beef once a week, you need to buy enough for 4 meals.   If o a, using ground beef, I buy three to five pounds and make a meatloaf, some meatballs, and some crumbles or taco meat.

I buy rice in 25 pound bags at Costco.   I buy beans wherever I find them the cheapest. The cheapest dry beans (pinto) I have found are at the dollar  tree. Otherwise, they Re cheapest at Winco and sometimes Fred Meyers on sale - usually with an in ad coupon it ha limit.

Diced tomatoes are .58 often at Winco and .50 sometomes with an in  ad coupon , limits with beans also.

I worry about the things I use a lot- our staples.
THE BEST TOOL YOU CAN HAVE TO CUT YOUR GROCERY BILL IS TO KNOW YOUR RBP's - you don't have to know everything on the store, just the things that you use on a regular basis.
I have a rule of thu,b - I want cheese and meat at less than two dollars a pound.   I want veggies less than a dollar.  That price used to be .39, then it was .69, now it's a dollar.  

Try not to get caught spending more than the RBP for anything.   Buy enough to last you until it goes on sale again ( non perishables) .  When perishables are at their peak price, ( eggs this winter) buy just what you may need for the week: when they are closer to a dollar, buy a months worth so you don't have to worry about those again for a month.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 Perspective . The  emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stabll/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.