Meal Deals: The Major Grocery Store with the Cheapest Prices

All this week we've been featuring the prices at Publix, Winn Dixie and Wal Mart. I went to those stores in my neighborhood on one day. With a typical grocery list in hand I compared prices.

In the produce section we bought veggies and fruit. Winn Dixie by far was the cheapest at $6.19.

In the meat department Winn Dixie again was the cheapest at $19.4. Wal Mart was a close second, but I should point out it had the least amount of selection and only sold frozen fish.

In the dairy section Wal Mart was the clear winner with a total of $8.47.

And for canned goods Wal Mart's Great Value brand crushed the competition.

Add up our entire shopping trip and Wal Mart is the cheapest, but not by much. Also you should take into consideration it wasn't the cheapest in all sections of the store.

So is it practical to go to all three stores to get the best deals? I did the math and that would only save you about 3 dollars.

That may not be enough to go through the extra hassle.

Publix admits it's price aren't always the cheapest, but it prides itself on quality and service. You may want to factor that into your budget as well.

Here is the complete breakdown of my shopping trip: 

Produce

                        Publix               Winn Dixie        Wal Mart

Tomatoes          $1.99                $1.00                $1.88

Broccoli            $2.49                $1.50                $1.68

Strawberries      $2.50                $2.00                $2.88

Oranges            $1.99                $1.69                $.96

Winner: Winn Dixie

Meat

                        Publix               Winn Dixie        Wal Mart

Ground Beef      $2.99                $4.39                $3.89

Pork Chops       $5.39                $4.99                $5.18

Chicken            $3.99                $4.04                $3.49

Salmon             $7.99                $5.99                $6.98 

Winner: Winn Dixie

 Dairy

                        Publix               Winn Dixie        Wal Mart

Milk                  $4.49                $4.49                $4.19

Butter               $.98                  $.87                  $.62

Eggs                 $1.69                $1.82                $1.44

Cheddar            $2.86                $2.48                $2.22

Winner: Wal Mart          

Canned Goods

                        Publix               Winn Dixie        Wal Mart

Baked Beans     $.63                  $.73                  $.46

Green Beans     $.89                  $.79                  $.51

Corn                 $.89                  $.75                  $.50

Peas                 $.89                  $.75                  $.51 

Winner: Wal Mart

Final Total

                        Publix               Winn Dixie        Wal Mart

                        $42.65              $38.28              $37.39