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If you're lucky enough to live near enough grocery stores to have a choice than make the best of it with careful consideration. Not all grocery stores are created equal. By deciding what is important to you and finding it, you can judge a store worthy of your business, or not.

You need to decide which criteria are the most important for you and then work from there. You might not be able to give rave reviews to all aspects of your chosen shop, but you should be able to give thumbs up to the ones that really matter to you.

HOW TO CHOOSE A GROCERY STORE:

1)Location. Make sure you don't have to drive a half an hour out of your way unless you're willing. Generally speaking grocery stores that are closer are better so that you can get things out of your trunk and into the fridge and freezer as soon as possible. There are ways around this of course, but for something you'll have to do so often it will get old quick.

2)Prices. Is the store within your budget? Does it save you money or just trick you into buying more than you can use? Try out several stores over the course of a few months if you can. Keep the receipts and take notes on what you got and how much of it (if any) wasted. If you're wasting food you aren't really saving money- you're throwing it away.

3)Atmosphere. One store in my area is really dark and the other is too bright. When I traveled south I saw a lot of nice stores that I wished I had at my home in the north. Atmosphere isn't crucial but it really does help make your shopping more pleasant. Do you like a warehouse feel? Do you want to feel as if you're strolling through a country store? A big chain?

4)Variety. This is important because if you don't find everything that you need in one place you're going to have to stop somewhere else. That gets old fast too. If you're into cooking really elaborate recipes you'll want a bigger store with more variety. If you're better at microwaving frozen meals you could try a chain with a huge ready-made dinner department.

5)People. This is something I tend to consider first. If the cashiers are rude I don't want to go through the line at the end of a trek through a store. If the place is friendly and filled with good attitudes it makes me leave with a smile on my face. That alone is worth the choice.

Learn more about this author, E. Rae Fallesen.
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