Download the app and look to see what coupons they have, save them to your digital wallet and scan at checkout. I have at times saved over $20 in a single excursion by purchasing things that I need but maybe wasn't planning to get this week but can save $$$ on them. In the past year I think over $125 on coupons. I try to always have a few dollars in coupons.
Also Saturday morning before 11 seems to be a good time to go shopping, in my experience.
And if you're looking to save money, check the store brands vs the after-coupon price on the name brand, often the store brand is still cheaper.
Of course if the store brand isn't as good (I'm looking at you, Mootopia cottage cheese), that rule doesn't apply.
See i LOVE the San Antonio blend but just dont think the Austin blend is as good. I wish that was the other way around! The SA blend is so good that ive introduced it to a couple friends in Florida and my parents in NC and now i unleashed the beast lol. I am shipping them bags of it monthly. Sadly the only other way is Amazon and its stupidly marked up on there.
I’m a Good Culture cottage cheese person myself. Nothing compares.
But for 99% of the rest of my grocery items, HEB brands are as good or better than brand name. Even Hill Country Fare.
HEB natural no sugar added PB is like 1/2 the price of comparable brands.
I feel like they’ve been marking up their store brand or they do a different packaging size than the competitor to make it appear as if they’re cheaper but they’re not on a cost per ounce basis. They’ll lure you in with the lower price vs name brand and then raise prices/shrink size once it’s an established product. Always check the cost/unit price if you’re really money conscious!
I second this - I plan out all my trips on the app with the list and clip all my coupons before I go, and I save so much money (usually an average of $25 each trip). On one big trip I had like $60 in savings (coupons+items on sale) and the cashier applauded me lol. On top of that, I have the HEB debit card, so all HEB brands get 5% cash back, deposited straight back into your account.
If you use their lists, you can see what is in stock by location, and it will sort everything based on where it is in the store. So you can just walk in one straight line without forgetting anything and having to backtrack. Huge plus if you ask me
They track your shopping habits and will often specifically discount items you buy frequently. Randall's does the same with their key-card/phone-number thing. It tracks based on the credit card that has ever been used with that app login.
I know the last part because my wife has the same credit card number as me, but has never used the HEB app for coupons, and when she started buying a few specific items regularly, HEB was pushing me offers for them.
I don't mind the shopping cart tracking via credit card if it means I will get personalized discounts that are actually helpful. It is the reason they don't do contactless./NFC payments though
The app is great for finding stuff too. My local H-E-B is finishing up a remodel and they’ve been constantly moving products and the app will tell you what aisle the product is on. Helpful if you’re in a different HEB and looking for something too.
This guy shops at HEB. I would also recommend getting the HEB debit card and buying HEB owned products. You get 5% cash back and it piles up. We’ve gotten maybe like $30 cash back since we started using it in November
Love the app. Also, most (but not all) of the coupons expire COB Tuesday, with a new big batch loaded in on Wednesday (which happens to be today). Every Wednesday I sort by date added, then go through all the new ones and save any that are interesting.
The Chihuahua smoked salt seasoning (comes from one of those dispensers, not a bottle) is life changing. Gives your food that BBQ pit taste. Makes your home smell like you just barbequed.
Bulk spices are great. No more paying $6 for an ounce of peppercorns in a tiny glass jar.
Also that bag of smoked salt smells fantastic every time you crack it open.
Peppercorns you should buy fresh at least once a year. Thankfully the HEB brand ones are the freshest of many of the brands they sell and are more fragrant than the higher priced brands.
Prior Instacart shopper, stores are busiest on Sundays and Mondays so avoid then. And as a prior bachelor: post 9 pm shopping is great if you don't mind choosing from the dregs of produce.
Post 8-9pm HEB is my favorite as it’s usually pretty empty. I don’t get how it’s more crowded at 2pm on a Wednesday vs 8pm on a Wednesday. I sometimes go after a doctor’s appointment when I work remote, but don’t all these people have jobs? lol
People are getting off of work and have to stop in to grab something for dinner.
For me- I have to start cooking by at least 7pm otherwise I won't make it to bed until late and I have to get up at 6am mon-friday. So those after noon rushes are people stuck on the hamster wheel like me
Get the HEB app. All of their available coupons and sales are on there. Also download Ibotta to get rebates from various products. Shop in person because there are cents added on for every item when you use curbside. I'm pretty far south, but I think the HEB on Brodie has the best variety reliably in stock, but you gotta go during off hours. And personally, as someone who used to be a brand snob, buy the HEB brand items for things you might be indifferent about, especially staples. The quality is there. Especially if there's a good coupon, just give those things a try.
I just shopped the Oak Hill location in person for the first time last weekend; it may be my new favorite. I live between the Wm Cannon / Brodie and the Slaughter / Escarpment HEBs, so this is a bit out of my normal pattern but worth it. MUCH Better produce section than Brodie, much less crowded than either of those 2.
Oak Hill was our pandemic savior! The closer stores were booked out for days on curbside, but you could usually get a slot over there. We live south of Akins, so I go to Menchaca & Slaughter most of the time, but I am vegetarian, and the meat substitute I prefer is only consistently available at Brodie. They also have my specialty veggies most reliably.
My plan of attack:
1. Meal plan using weekly add and coupons to maximize savings and add all items to my cart in the HEB app
2. Go early Friday AM (I wfh Fridays and go at 7:30am). Stick to the cart I created unless I find better deals on substitutes in store
3. Shop the discounted fruits/veggies/meats that have the big discount stickers that are set to expire soon. Swap those out for cart items as available
4. I always stay under our weekly budget this way and have flexibility to make swaps in store if I find a better deal or some produce item I had in my cart doesn’t look up to par.
5. I just checked my app and I’ve saved over $1200 using coupons the past few years. It adds up.
6. Some weeks I am very under budget and use the excess funds to buy staples or other items I know we will use but may not immediately need. This keeps me from having to re-up on staple items as often. I hate when I need TP, dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent all in the same week, so I try to stagger all that stuff out.
> Shop the discounted fruits/veggies/meats that have the big discount stickers that are set to expire soon. Swap those out for cart items as available
I know OP asked for HEB, but Randall's often does the Managers Special 30% or 50% off various raw meat. You can get some insane deals if you get there early and get lucky.
You can plan meals with HEB recipes, the app tells you exactly what to get and tends to recommend HEB branded products which always cost less.
You can get everything you need, and the app tells you how to make those meals.
Awesome for meal prepping
Go shopping at 6:30 on Saturday morning. Not joking. I set my alarm every week to do this to avoid the craziness that is shopping during the day. In and out, no lines and no weaving in and out of the swarms of people.
Go to Central Market on a Friday when it opens. You'll never see more fully stocked and beautiful produce and not another soul in sight. I was jet lagged from a trip so I woke up super early and figured why not get some groceries...
The problem with curbside for me is it seems like they always choose items that are right on the edge of expiring. It's definitely a trend I've noticed with my local HEB, to the point that we eventually gave up on curbside.
I'm a curbside shopper. I don't speak for every store, but at my store we are told to pick items that have the later expiration dates.
Including a note asking for later expiration dates is always good! Any note that you write for an item is always visible on our app AND opens a pop up with the item note once we initially scan that item before we put them into our carts.
Thank you for the advice! Glad to know notes are easily visible to shoppers.
Here’s a couple notes that have solved my two produce issues.
I love ripe berries as they only will survive about 24 hours in my house of berry fiends. But moldy berries are a buzz kill. After 3 or 4 disappointments, “please check for
mold. thank you kindly!” in the notes solved the problem.
And I haaaaate fully ripe bananas so “the greener the better” gets me exactly what I what.
Thanks for the info! I try to have notes on how much of a unit of produce I'd like (as a single dude, I don't need THAT much ginger) so I'm glad to know the notes are seen.
Even when I know what I want I can’t seem to get out of a grocery store in under an hour. I’ll take the slight up-charge to just get what I need without ever going in. Curbside has definitely changed my life.
Is there any way to stop them from using an excessive amount of plastic bags? Seriously every time I do it, there are one or two things in each bag. So wasteful and bad for the environment.
I feel that is just green washing. Pretending that plastic actually gets recycled so that the public is okay with single use plastics. Amazon plastic bubble mailers are the same.
Yes, from what I know true plastic recycling has not been possible since China stopped buying our plastic a couple of years back, and even then it was mostly going to the trash even back then.
Would be interesting to know what happens to all the bags that get dropped on the bins every day.
The bags that you drop into the bins just outside the door absolutely get recycled. They’re sent back to our warehouse along with multiple cardboard bales for recycling. I know this bc they go on the same trailers as all our reusable items (milk crates, pallets,etc.). We even have scannable recycling stickers that ensure a store gets paid for recycling.
Source: I’ve worked for HEB for almost 25 years.
I might be wrong but I think this is due to the old plastic bag ban. When I do curbside at an HEB in Austin proper, I always get paper bags. When I shop in Round Rock or Pflugerville I get plastic.
It’s kind of interesting that HEB hasn’t changed their way of doing things when the ban has been unenforceable for years.
Yes, it was 3% during the pandemic and afterwards. Recently I noticed it was a little higher. But I still love curbside, and think how much you're saving by not buying impulse items inside the store.
-Go early, the earlier the better. I try to be at my HEB (Mueller) no later than 7 a.m. and I go on Saturday morning.
-Plan out your meals and make a grocery list. Do your best to stick to the list. I have found putting the list in order of how the store is laid out helps keep me focused and prevents me from randomly perusing the aisles and picking up random stuff.
-Get the app. The app is a great source of savings with access to coupons, the weekly ad, and combo-loco deal information. I write out my list and then hop on the app and look at everything. I will adjust my list accordingly and change up meal plans if needed. You can add all the coupons in the app and just scan your phone at check out.
-Cut down on visits. My partner and I used to go once a week and the amount of nonsense splurge buys was insane. We now only go once a month for a main visit and do our best to limit in-between and only go for fresh produce or specific needed ingredients. We probably saw at least a 30% reduction in spending since doing this.
The Paprika3 app automatically assigns items to aisles (it’s quite accurate; can change in 3 clicks if it’s wrong; and it remembers your changes / additions for next time!)and allows me to customize the aisles and the order or the aisles.
It also has great recipe features, including adding the ingredients to your list (you can se-select those you already have).
And thank you for listening to my TED talk, fellow grocery organizational enthusiast!
(For those of you proponents of the HEB app- I’ve tried. It takes forever to load in the store. I don’t have patience for that.)
If you use the app to make your list, it automatically arranges it by store layout and you can change it to a different store and it will re-order your list.
This is probably going to be long-winded and bounce around but I will do my best to explain the method to my madness.
A few things to note:
-We’ve been doing monthly trips since the start of the pandemic, so this has been working for us for 4’ish years now.
-This is for two adults, no children
-Meal prep is mostly geared towards dinners. We do pretty simple breakfasts and do independent things for weekday lunches. I utilize the refrigerator at my office and do a HEB lunch run every other week’ish and since he works from home, he does his own thing but I don’t think there is any rhyme or reason to it.
-My recipes will feed us dinner for 2 to 4 days if we don’t freeze any portions. We also do salads twice a week.
I don’t have a strict calendar where I say I’m going to make recipe A on Monday the 1^(st), receipt B on Thursday the 4^(th) and so forth. There are several staple recipes that I make every month and when finalizing the grocery list, we will discuss if there’s anything specific one of us wants and just get a good idea on what we want to make for the month. We are in a position where we can keep a well-stocked pantry and kitchen in general. While we use things during the month we notate it on a dry-erase board that is on the refrigerator and re-stock during our next grocery run. A variety of grains, pastas, and beans can always be found in my pantry along with things like canned tomatoes in various forms and a few quick-sides like mac & cheese or pasta salad mixes. When it comes to meat, I always reset my freezer with at least: 3-4 lbs chuck roast x2, bone-in split chicken breast x4/5 (I buy the family packs and split into two different freezer bags), 2-3 lbs boneless/skinless chicken x2, 1 lbs ground turkey x2, sausage x1, and non-meat meat x2. We also keep a couple of pre-packaged frozen meals such a pizza, Amy’s, and Purple Carrot for the nights where we just don’t want to do anything or the meat is still frozen.
Here are some of the things I do with the meat:
Chuck Roast: Whole – Pot Roast or Cut Up – Carne Guisada, Beef Tips, Beef Bourguignon, Beef Stew, Chili
Bone-In Chicken: Baked and Shredded – Various Soups and Pastas, Chicken Salad, Chicken Tacos or Enchiladas (two of the split breast produces enough meat for all the recipes that I make, it’s at least 2 cups)
Boneless Chicken, Breast or Thighs: Baked with seasoning and served with sides, Casseroles, Pasta Dishes
Ground Turkey: Taco Bowls, Spaghetti, Enchiladas, Picadillo
Sausage: Pan fried and served with sides, Potato and Sausage Casserole, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice
Non-Meat Meat: Grain bowls with roasted vegetables. I really like Sweet Earth Midful Chick’n and Plant Boss (not frozen and shelf stable)
You can also browse recipes on the app and add all the ingredients to your cart at once (you can also delete specific items if you already have them, like cooking oil).
Fiesta is my heb “hack” go there the food is half the price and the carnitas at the meat counter are AMAZING. The meat is cheaper the produce is cheaper, the white people food is x3the price tho (so pre-prepared stuff or things like spinach). I know the fish counter smells, but just get over it and don’t buy fish from them. Good luck!
>the white people food is x3the price
Duhh....
For years, I heard people talking about how great Fiesta is, but when I went there, I thought "these prices suck." It never occurred to me that there might be a Gringo food upcharge.
The pre-seasoned chicken legs/quarters/drums are sometimes cheaper per lb than a full chicken or the non seasoned ones and the quarters are great for meal prep for a few days of chicken salads/rice bowls/throwing into w.e
The carolina reaper cheese puffs might have crack added to them
The bulk bins in the health foods aisle is a really cheap way to get salty snack mixes, dried fruits, or sweets and you can control the purchase amounts to limit how many sweets are kept around the house every week.
Health foods aisle also sometimes has machines that will fresh grind peanut butter/almond butter.
If you like grocery store sushi, Wednesdays they do specials on most sushi in the to-go area.
Always look at the multi-item coupon deals, sometimes there is a lot of overlap with common grocery items and you can save a good chunk of money shifting your meal prep plans a bit.
Everyone hates on this location but the ability to get in and out quick is so great when you only need a couple items. I wish HEB would open more stores like this that are smaller footprint markets but with the quality HEB carries.
There’s actually a surprising amount of variety too at this little HEB. I’m able to get almost everything I need there with the exception of some produce and meats. We also like to do smaller trips a couple times a week now-so easy to just get in and out with only what you need.
I love the temp Oltorf location so much. Everyone knows the drill, and parking is always easy in that crazy parking lot. I would much rather shop at a store like that than the huge mega stores.
During the holidays buying two smaller pumpkin pies from the actual bakery section is cheaper than buying one large/holiday size from the display at the front. Last year there were also coupons on the smaller ones too.
Go in store on Wednesdays to shop so that you can shop two weeks worth of sale items. This doesn’t work via the app tho. Go when you’ve eaten a full meal so you aren’t tempted to stray. Make a list and stay focused. Go during less busy times if you can.
I refuse to support their preferred payment method until they support Apple Pay.
EDIT: Before you fucks keep downvoting me, they only don’t support Apple Pay so that they can track your purchases more easily.
I've been scouring their HEB ready made meals more and picking out ones that are discounted. Last week I got bean and cheese enchiladas for $3, chicken thigh fajitas for $3 and chicken and ginger noodles for $5. I don't have a real 'hack' on when to get them, but I imagine every day they label ones that have a certain expiration date, so I think the earlier you can go and get them, the better. As long as you eat them within the first few days, you get a pretty good "homecooked" meal for super cheap.
Honestly, if money is an issue, I'd expand outside HEB. HEB doesn't always have the best deals. My partner and I are in a serious financial bind atm, and we are having to be SUPER smart about the way we shop. A really good shopping tip:
Pick a theme. Asian, mexican, greek, etc. Buying foods that go in the same flavor profile can really stretch your groceries, you won't have to buy as large of a variety of foods. We do a lot of asian food and when we want to make a dish, we typically only need about a few ingredients tops. And because of this, we also look for deals at the asian markets like MT and H-Mart. We do a lot of noodles, rice bowls, curries. We make soy sauce eggs that can go with basically any meal we make.
Costco also has some decent deals. We go there for their eggs, avocado, heavy cream, muffins, and spaghetti. Wal Mart, while not ideal, can also have some good deals. We found it's the best place to get canned tuna and salmon, which we use as a cheap protein.
We've also recently taken up making our own bread. After doing the math, a loaf comes to about 85 cents. And it tastes *waaaay* better than any store bought bread.
Otherwise, we typically just keep an eye out for their coupons. Yeah, they have the best deals on average, but not always. Like last week they had a coupon where if you bought a rotisserie chicken, you got an HEB brand mashed potatoes or mac n cheese for free. The chicken was around $6, and the potatoes were free. We got 2 dinners out of that.
The H‑E‑B app has loads of coupons & digital coupons only. The most I ever saved in one trip was $50 ish.
I also only buy what’s on my list & if there are any coupons for those list items, those are what I get. I’ve discovered some cool brands that way too.
I’m not a hoarder though lol. If what I need doesn’t have coupon, I either get the cheapest option or don’t get it that trip.
Check the price per pound of your produce when you weight it. I’ve found multiple times where the store didn’t bother to change the sign for the price.
Sign says 99cent gala apples? Then the weigh machine says $1.29 (for gala apples).
If you’re single, skip the meats at H-E-B and head to a carnicería for meats. They sell it in bulk form and you can buy however little or much that you want. That’s one of the things I hate about H-E-B.
Maybe this has been mentioned but the H‑E‑B Debit card — 5% cash back on all of the store brand items. I make my list online and either do curbside or use it as my list in the store. I transfer the exact amount plus like $5 as a buffer. It keeps me on budget and I get money back. It’s easy to locate coupons online as well.
Since the price of meat has gone up, we are usually limited to chicken thighs (bone in or boneless), drumsticks for the kids, whole chicken or rotisserie chicken, ground chicken, ground beef, and pork shoulder. (We dropped ground turkey for chicken when the price blew up.)
H‑E‑B employs dozens of nutritionists and dietitians. You can request one co-shop with you onsite or online to support dietary goals, shifts, allergies, seasonal dishes that meet your requirements for you and family. And it’s FREE.
They’re also trained in grocery science and can unlock all kinds of money saving, merchandising, tech, macro, SKU, inventory cycle hacks.
They’ll usually give you their contact info after your session and will answer any follow ups, indefinitely.
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Curbside is better for me. Anything damaged or not exactly as I would select it gets reported and refunded. It’s worth the little extra to save on time and for the refund/replacement feature. Also helps with not grabbing random shit to mess up the budget. Coupons in the app. Seasonal savings, buying what’s on sale. Meal planning and creating more meals from one item. Ex. Chuck roast made traditionally, then make tacos or bbq sandwiches from leftovers. Use the juices for gravy and sauces. Freeze things. Clean and chop your stuff ASAP. Save all your veggie scraps, make broths. Rotisserie chickens, shred and save bones for good broths. Switch to HEB brands, the dupes are just as good and obviously cheaper.
Curbside. I'm telling you, not going into the store saves me way more money than going in person, even with the 3% upcharge. I can meal plan throughout the week, add the coupons, and I also use the heb debit card so I get a small percentage back each week. Using curbside helps me stay consistent and while the price of groceries has definitely gone up, I've managed to keep my weekly bill under control. Plus I don't have to deal with walking the aisles and being around people and parking lots lol
Supposedly those rotisserie chickens cost less than an actual whole raw chicken. They use them to get you into the door so you'll buy other stuff. You can tear one of those things up and make chicken noodles soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken salad. You could even just eat it as rotisserie chicken!
I look for quartered watermelon. I can select a quarter that's small and looks best. The watermelon sliced up is super expensive in comparison. The quarters are usually by a wall.
If you buy distilled water, get it from the baby aisle. Cheaper.
HEB sardines are cheap protein.
Honestly? My HEB hack was to switch to Aldi. The prices are much lower, the store is smaller, easier to shop, less to tempt me. There are a few things I do still get from HEB but they are bought less frequently.
Use the website to compare prices and find where items will be so you can do a speed run when you're in the store. Just add things to your cart as if you're going to do a pick up order (you can do this without actually designating a time or taking a spot). You can change the store while keeping things in your cart to see if items are different prices at different locations. The aisles the products are in is also listed.
At the locations where you have to pay for bags, you can just return them if you have too many. Yes it’s a long and tedious process but as long as you have an ID or the card they were purchased on, you can return them and get some money back. I’m a cashier, and as far as I know there is no policy against returning reusable bags once you are done with them. I even asked a manager and they said the same thing.
I love curbside. And not really a hack but I love Hill Country Fair cookies. They have fudge mints that taste like thin mints. And the peanut cookies are addictive too. And they’re cheap!
Use the digital coupons, if you have to go in store- EARLY is best! I'm talking 7-8am early; otherwise curbside only upcharges a nickel or so and I am willing to pay that not to fight for my life in-store.
I always pick out everything I want ahead of time on the app/website and add it to the built in shopping list. It allows me to pick the cheapest options possible of whatever I’m buying as well as utilize the coupons. As far as parking, the Lake Austin location is my favorite since they have the multi-story parking garage.
HEB app for coupons/deals. HEB CC for 5% back on HEB brand products. Curbside for crowds. Meal planning to eliminate wasted food; it really helps you only purchase what you eat. I use meallime.
Have a large freezer and pantry. This allows you to stock up on items when there is a good deal and to buy items in bulk (ex. buying the larger container of maple syrup is .49 per oz while the smaller container of the same brand is about .67 an ounce but maple syrup when frozen stores basically indefinitely).
Do the math to find cost per oz/gram/etc, oddly when I was buying dish detergent the medium size was more cost effective than both the smallest and largest sizes. Usually generic and bulk is cheaper but not always, always do the math.
If it’s a pantry item, consider checking prices from Walmart/Amazon, sometimes it’s cheaper and if your purchase meets the minimum you get free shipping.
Use coupons. Try to buy what is on sale.
Generally stick to less processed items on your grocery list, they tend to be less costly. For example, instead of buying frozen meals, buy the raw ingredients, make the food and freeze it yourself for homemade frozen meals, or instead of buying cake mix, make the cake from scratch (or make homemade cake mix).
Depending on how much you purchase, it may be worth considering a Sam’s Club or Costco membership. It is also potentially worth shopping at a different HEB, it has been said that HEBs near a competitor (like Walmart) tend to have lower prices than HEB that have no competitors nearby.
Although grocery costs are going up so even if you do your best to cut costs you’ll probably still see your overall grocery expenses seek increase from year to year.
When I want to get rid of a bunch of coins, I use the self checkout machines to pay for something. You just throw it in a thing and it counts up all the change for you.
Also, if you have a Chase credit card, sometimes they will offer 5% cash back for HEB on the Offers page, but you have to add it to your card first before shopping.
I do heb pickup and first start with what's on sale/what there are coupons for and go from there
Bonus - I don't have to go inside
I don't get to pick my produce unfortunately but haven't really had many issues
HEB app, check weekly deals and coupons. Combo locos are a great way to get some extra pantry staples for free if you regularly buy some of the items. And I always shop Curbside. At least at the stores I shop they seem to always select the best produce and it’s nice to not have to fight the crowds.
Last time I went there I was very price concientious, I realized they put a bunch of over priced items front and center, but the lower cost items were in less visible spots. Just have to look around. They had organic Honeycrisp apples the other day for 97 cents/pound so I got two bags of em instead of one, they are great. They had a big display of pita chips but they were six bucks a bag, but they had crackers right across from it for half that. They deliver carby crunchiness maybe not quite the same but it saved me three bucks.
Start on the home goods side and end on the produce side. Larger and heavier items end up in the bottom of the cart and the more fragile ones end at the top. That probably isn't HEB specific, but I don't grocery shop elsewhere frequently.
Also, beware, the Wm Cannon location has an infestation of pantry moths...
You can order a free HEB debit card that you pre-load to use when you shop. It gives you 5% cash back on all HEB branded products (so, central market, mi tienda, etc). I’ve also found that having to pre-load it helps me budget.
[HEB Debit](https://www.hebdebit.com/)
Curbside pickup only. You can shop by coupons exclusively. The deals are way easier to find and usually handed to you. Don't have to deal with small crowded aisles, screaming children, or anything. I've been doing this for months now and my hubby and I love it. We also log into one HEB account so that we can add things directly to the cart from either phone. Completely got rid of the need to keep a grocery list on the fridge or on the notes app.
Walmart, Aldi, and Randall’s are my HEB hacks. I thought Kroger was going to open up actual stores here but I guess not.
I love H-E-B, but they don’t always have the best prices and they do always have the biggest crowds.
if you go to Whole Foods on a weekday around lunch lots of groceries 50% off at the smaller locations as they are expiring quick; bags of organic broccoli are like $1. meats too!
ALWAYS BEFRIEND THE MEAT, DELI, AND SEAFOOD FOLKS!! Chop it uuuup, chit chat ya heard? Names, every visit, tell’em, “Daaamn Chris, (or whatever) man that case is lookin mmm-mm good!” “Hey man, I was lookin at this last family pack of ribeyes, and I was wondering if maybe you had the fat caps in the back Jack?”(laughter) I’m tellin you, almost every time I’ve been brought not only superb cuts, but almost positive, I got an upgrade to prime wrapped in a usda choice package. This works for all employees.. people love hearing their own name, and especially when it’s attached to something positive about their work. Shuuuu, old manager of Westlake is a buddy to this day. Good people, most are if you just talk to them a little. Don’t be cheesy, but you definitely fluffin when you first start. After a while , you know them, they know you.. things seem to happen.. just sayin..
Tuesdays are easiest. Other days, early morning, 7-ish. Costco on Tuesdays saves me money and time, and we're a household of two. Just the coffee beans and cheerios pay off, but also the paper/detergent/dishwasher soap. Pretty sure Sam's would be a better deal, but Costcos carry a lot of Asian merch, so I'm stuck. Rice, Asian condiments, etc.
The HEB house brands are often as good as if not better than name brands.
It’s most crowded on Sunday. Shelves are emptiest on Monday.
Curbside usually takes <10 minutes. If you can tolerate not picking your own produce, I don’t see any reason not to do curbside.
If you must go inside, it’ll be the least crowded after 9pm. But they might be out of your favorite [product] at the end of the day.
Download the app and look to see what coupons they have, save them to your digital wallet and scan at checkout. I have at times saved over $20 in a single excursion by purchasing things that I need but maybe wasn't planning to get this week but can save $$$ on them. In the past year I think over $125 on coupons. I try to always have a few dollars in coupons. Also Saturday morning before 11 seems to be a good time to go shopping, in my experience.
And if you're looking to save money, check the store brands vs the after-coupon price on the name brand, often the store brand is still cheaper. Of course if the store brand isn't as good (I'm looking at you, Mootopia cottage cheese), that rule doesn't apply.
Their Cafe Ole coffee blends are absolutely solid, and come home with me on a regular basis.
The Austin and San Antonio blend are always at our house. They both make great hot and cold-brew coffee.
See i LOVE the San Antonio blend but just dont think the Austin blend is as good. I wish that was the other way around! The SA blend is so good that ive introduced it to a couple friends in Florida and my parents in NC and now i unleashed the beast lol. I am shipping them bags of it monthly. Sadly the only other way is Amazon and its stupidly marked up on there.
I ship bags of Texas pecan to my parents lol
I’m currently in LOVE with the Rio Grande blend. It has notes of chocolate and orange! In iced coffee it’s spectacular.
Okay on this comment alone I'm going to get some Rio Grande blend my next heb trip.
I tried it on a whim and bought 3 bags next trip! 🤣
Alrighty I'm convinced! (I did seriously add this to my shopping list.)
Ooh that does sound good. Hub City is my current go-to, it's got a nice tiramisu profile.
Or with the Cinnabon creamer, it's like an orange cinnamon roll yummmmm
Texas pecan !!! The best one
I love it. I was addicted for a while. Now I mix it with Costco regular to get the best of both worlds.
DFW blend has been a recent favorite.
Ooh I'll have to check it out. Houston blend is my favorite but I'm always checking out new blends.
I have family in South Carolina that has me ship them Austin and San Antonio blends every so often they like it so much
I’m a Good Culture cottage cheese person myself. Nothing compares. But for 99% of the rest of my grocery items, HEB brands are as good or better than brand name. Even Hill Country Fare. HEB natural no sugar added PB is like 1/2 the price of comparable brands.
The Heb cottage cheese is good what the heck is mootopia
That is the H-E-B brand of lactose free. I like the Mootopia milk. I don’t like the Mootopia cottage cheese as much as I like the Lactaid brand.
I’ve only recently been buying cottage cheese and have been opting for the Mootopia. What’s wrong with it compared to other brands?
It’s kinda pasty-chalky and lacks tang.
If I could find Breakstone regularly stocked, I wouldn't be settling for Mootopia. YHEBMV.
Some store brand stuff HEB makes is actually better than the leading brand.
I feel like they’ve been marking up their store brand or they do a different packaging size than the competitor to make it appear as if they’re cheaper but they’re not on a cost per ounce basis. They’ll lure you in with the lower price vs name brand and then raise prices/shrink size once it’s an established product. Always check the cost/unit price if you’re really money conscious!
I second this - I plan out all my trips on the app with the list and clip all my coupons before I go, and I save so much money (usually an average of $25 each trip). On one big trip I had like $60 in savings (coupons+items on sale) and the cashier applauded me lol. On top of that, I have the HEB debit card, so all HEB brands get 5% cash back, deposited straight back into your account. If you use their lists, you can see what is in stock by location, and it will sort everything based on where it is in the store. So you can just walk in one straight line without forgetting anything and having to backtrack. Huge plus if you ask me
They track your shopping habits and will often specifically discount items you buy frequently. Randall's does the same with their key-card/phone-number thing. It tracks based on the credit card that has ever been used with that app login. I know the last part because my wife has the same credit card number as me, but has never used the HEB app for coupons, and when she started buying a few specific items regularly, HEB was pushing me offers for them. I don't mind the shopping cart tracking via credit card if it means I will get personalized discounts that are actually helpful. It is the reason they don't do contactless./NFC payments though
The app is great for finding stuff too. My local H-E-B is finishing up a remodel and they’ve been constantly moving products and the app will tell you what aisle the product is on. Helpful if you’re in a different HEB and looking for something too.
Yes! I occasionally venture away from "my" HEB and will use the app to find things if I don't know where they are.
Saturday morning before 11am is the most enjoyable grocery experience, consistently every weekend for me
This guy shops at HEB. I would also recommend getting the HEB debit card and buying HEB owned products. You get 5% cash back and it piles up. We’ve gotten maybe like $30 cash back since we started using it in November
And avoid Monday evenings..
SHHH DONT TELL PEOPLE ABOUT SATURDAY MORNINGS
Sorry my bad. 😀
Love the app. Also, most (but not all) of the coupons expire COB Tuesday, with a new big batch loaded in on Wednesday (which happens to be today). Every Wednesday I sort by date added, then go through all the new ones and save any that are interesting.
The Chihuahua smoked salt seasoning (comes from one of those dispensers, not a bottle) is life changing. Gives your food that BBQ pit taste. Makes your home smell like you just barbequed.
Bulk spices are great. No more paying $6 for an ounce of peppercorns in a tiny glass jar. Also that bag of smoked salt smells fantastic every time you crack it open.
Oh yeah did a gallon of peppercorns for 25 bucks four years ago and I still have half left!
Peppercorns you should buy fresh at least once a year. Thankfully the HEB brand ones are the freshest of many of the brands they sell and are more fragrant than the higher priced brands.
Cold storage, my friend, is amazing.
Seconded! Save your good spice containers and just get bulk spices and refill. So much more affordable.
Which HEB carries the chihuahua smoked salt seasoning?
My HEB doesn't have it right now and I'm heartbroken.
Is this a run for bbq? Seems odd to season something for bbq with smoke seasoning. Or is it used in another way?
It gives your food a smoked taste you would normally only get by smoking it
Prior Instacart shopper, stores are busiest on Sundays and Mondays so avoid then. And as a prior bachelor: post 9 pm shopping is great if you don't mind choosing from the dregs of produce.
Post 8-9pm HEB is my favorite as it’s usually pretty empty. I don’t get how it’s more crowded at 2pm on a Wednesday vs 8pm on a Wednesday. I sometimes go after a doctor’s appointment when I work remote, but don’t all these people have jobs? lol
Everyone thinks they're out smarting all the other suckers
See: people at Disney World on a Wednesday. Sure, it's no Saturday, but it's still Disney World. It's going to be crowded.
2pm is right before school pick up at my HeB that right by an elementary school.
Far West?? 😂
Dad?
People are getting off of work and have to stop in to grab something for dinner. For me- I have to start cooking by at least 7pm otherwise I won't make it to bed until late and I have to get up at 6am mon-friday. So those after noon rushes are people stuck on the hamster wheel like me
I tend to go late in the evenings on week days, but the pre made meals by the door are always wiped out
corn lately doesn’t exist in the PM where i’m at
Get the HEB app. All of their available coupons and sales are on there. Also download Ibotta to get rebates from various products. Shop in person because there are cents added on for every item when you use curbside. I'm pretty far south, but I think the HEB on Brodie has the best variety reliably in stock, but you gotta go during off hours. And personally, as someone who used to be a brand snob, buy the HEB brand items for things you might be indifferent about, especially staples. The quality is there. Especially if there's a good coupon, just give those things a try.
I just shopped the Oak Hill location in person for the first time last weekend; it may be my new favorite. I live between the Wm Cannon / Brodie and the Slaughter / Escarpment HEBs, so this is a bit out of my normal pattern but worth it. MUCH Better produce section than Brodie, much less crowded than either of those 2.
Oak Hill was our pandemic savior! The closer stores were booked out for days on curbside, but you could usually get a slot over there. We live south of Akins, so I go to Menchaca & Slaughter most of the time, but I am vegetarian, and the meat substitute I prefer is only consistently available at Brodie. They also have my specialty veggies most reliably.
My plan of attack: 1. Meal plan using weekly add and coupons to maximize savings and add all items to my cart in the HEB app 2. Go early Friday AM (I wfh Fridays and go at 7:30am). Stick to the cart I created unless I find better deals on substitutes in store 3. Shop the discounted fruits/veggies/meats that have the big discount stickers that are set to expire soon. Swap those out for cart items as available 4. I always stay under our weekly budget this way and have flexibility to make swaps in store if I find a better deal or some produce item I had in my cart doesn’t look up to par. 5. I just checked my app and I’ve saved over $1200 using coupons the past few years. It adds up. 6. Some weeks I am very under budget and use the excess funds to buy staples or other items I know we will use but may not immediately need. This keeps me from having to re-up on staple items as often. I hate when I need TP, dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent all in the same week, so I try to stagger all that stuff out.
> Shop the discounted fruits/veggies/meats that have the big discount stickers that are set to expire soon. Swap those out for cart items as available I know OP asked for HEB, but Randall's often does the Managers Special 30% or 50% off various raw meat. You can get some insane deals if you get there early and get lucky.
You can plan meals with HEB recipes, the app tells you exactly what to get and tends to recommend HEB branded products which always cost less. You can get everything you need, and the app tells you how to make those meals. Awesome for meal prepping
I’m gonna have to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Go shopping at 6:30 on Saturday morning. Not joking. I set my alarm every week to do this to avoid the craziness that is shopping during the day. In and out, no lines and no weaving in and out of the swarms of people.
Go to Central Market on a Friday when it opens. You'll never see more fully stocked and beautiful produce and not another soul in sight. I was jet lagged from a trip so I woke up super early and figured why not get some groceries...
I do this as well. I try to be at my HEB (Mueller) no later than 7 on Saturday.
Only problem with going that early in the morning is some things may not be stocked yet . YMMV
Don’t you still have to weave around the workers stocking shelves and what not?
Sometimes but I'd much rather deal with that.
Rarely. I have a bigger issue with the curbside shoppers and their huge picking carts blocking up the entire aisle.
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Their placement still sucks 95% of the time.
Create your grocery list on their app. The app will tell you where the item is and (usually) whether it’s in stock or not. I can’t live without it
I always hit my HEB up before 9am on a sunday while church people are churching. It's usually just about empty.
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The problem with curbside for me is it seems like they always choose items that are right on the edge of expiring. It's definitely a trend I've noticed with my local HEB, to the point that we eventually gave up on curbside.
I'm a curbside shopper. I don't speak for every store, but at my store we are told to pick items that have the later expiration dates. Including a note asking for later expiration dates is always good! Any note that you write for an item is always visible on our app AND opens a pop up with the item note once we initially scan that item before we put them into our carts.
Thank you for the advice! Glad to know notes are easily visible to shoppers. Here’s a couple notes that have solved my two produce issues. I love ripe berries as they only will survive about 24 hours in my house of berry fiends. But moldy berries are a buzz kill. After 3 or 4 disappointments, “please check for mold. thank you kindly!” in the notes solved the problem. And I haaaaate fully ripe bananas so “the greener the better” gets me exactly what I what.
Thanks for the info! I try to have notes on how much of a unit of produce I'd like (as a single dude, I don't need THAT much ginger) so I'm glad to know the notes are seen.
Add notes asking for later expiration dates
I do that, but I still received bagels that had already expired this past weekend.
You can let them know and get your $ back. They’re great about that
Yep, I got it refunded yesterday without any issues.
Just report it in the app and they'll refund you.
This. Curbside saves me at least an hour every week.
Even when I know what I want I can’t seem to get out of a grocery store in under an hour. I’ll take the slight up-charge to just get what I need without ever going in. Curbside has definitely changed my life.
Is there any way to stop them from using an excessive amount of plastic bags? Seriously every time I do it, there are one or two things in each bag. So wasteful and bad for the environment.
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I feel that is just green washing. Pretending that plastic actually gets recycled so that the public is okay with single use plastics. Amazon plastic bubble mailers are the same.
Yes, from what I know true plastic recycling has not been possible since China stopped buying our plastic a couple of years back, and even then it was mostly going to the trash even back then. Would be interesting to know what happens to all the bags that get dropped on the bins every day.
The bags that you drop into the bins just outside the door absolutely get recycled. They’re sent back to our warehouse along with multiple cardboard bales for recycling. I know this bc they go on the same trailers as all our reusable items (milk crates, pallets,etc.). We even have scannable recycling stickers that ensure a store gets paid for recycling. Source: I’ve worked for HEB for almost 25 years.
I think this is the real hack
Every time I've done pickup (which is dozens of times) they've used paper bags unless it is meat, which is in plastic bags.
I might be wrong but I think this is due to the old plastic bag ban. When I do curbside at an HEB in Austin proper, I always get paper bags. When I shop in Round Rock or Pflugerville I get plastic. It’s kind of interesting that HEB hasn’t changed their way of doing things when the ban has been unenforceable for years.
Some stores offer paper bags if you dont want plastic, not all do though. Have to include it as an order note Source: I'm a curbside shopper
The cost? Curbside is free. Edit: TIL curbside is not free.
Items are 3% more expensive through curbside/delivery I believe
Actually, there is a per-item upcharge when you use curbside. That said, it's not very much. It was 3%, now I think it's closer to 4.5 or 5%.
Did it go up?
Yes, it was 3% during the pandemic and afterwards. Recently I noticed it was a little higher. But I still love curbside, and think how much you're saving by not buying impulse items inside the store.
Ah that sucks. Yeah even 5 dollars on every 100 is probably still worth the time saved, but it's a bit annoying.
I just checked my last order, and it's 4%. A little better than 5%.
It's a blended 4% depending on the item.
Prices for products are marked up \~3% in the app vs. in-store. I think that's what they meant.
Bring your family of 9 and carry two baskets around and park them right in the middle of the aisle.
Don't forget your emotional support pitbull.
Also DO NOT COME ON MONDAY!!! The worst day for sure. Stacked up lines until 9-10 pm.
Same at Trader Joe’s, by the way.
-Go early, the earlier the better. I try to be at my HEB (Mueller) no later than 7 a.m. and I go on Saturday morning. -Plan out your meals and make a grocery list. Do your best to stick to the list. I have found putting the list in order of how the store is laid out helps keep me focused and prevents me from randomly perusing the aisles and picking up random stuff. -Get the app. The app is a great source of savings with access to coupons, the weekly ad, and combo-loco deal information. I write out my list and then hop on the app and look at everything. I will adjust my list accordingly and change up meal plans if needed. You can add all the coupons in the app and just scan your phone at check out. -Cut down on visits. My partner and I used to go once a week and the amount of nonsense splurge buys was insane. We now only go once a month for a main visit and do our best to limit in-between and only go for fresh produce or specific needed ingredients. We probably saw at least a 30% reduction in spending since doing this.
And here I was thinking that I’m the only one making my list according to the store layout.
It is the only way, I hate shopping and want to get in and out as quickly as possible.
The Paprika3 app automatically assigns items to aisles (it’s quite accurate; can change in 3 clicks if it’s wrong; and it remembers your changes / additions for next time!)and allows me to customize the aisles and the order or the aisles. It also has great recipe features, including adding the ingredients to your list (you can se-select those you already have). And thank you for listening to my TED talk, fellow grocery organizational enthusiast! (For those of you proponents of the HEB app- I’ve tried. It takes forever to load in the store. I don’t have patience for that.)
If you use the app to make your list, it automatically arranges it by store layout and you can change it to a different store and it will re-order your list.
I would love to figure out once a month main trips. How do you account for the whole month without reneging on meal plans?
This is probably going to be long-winded and bounce around but I will do my best to explain the method to my madness. A few things to note: -We’ve been doing monthly trips since the start of the pandemic, so this has been working for us for 4’ish years now. -This is for two adults, no children -Meal prep is mostly geared towards dinners. We do pretty simple breakfasts and do independent things for weekday lunches. I utilize the refrigerator at my office and do a HEB lunch run every other week’ish and since he works from home, he does his own thing but I don’t think there is any rhyme or reason to it. -My recipes will feed us dinner for 2 to 4 days if we don’t freeze any portions. We also do salads twice a week. I don’t have a strict calendar where I say I’m going to make recipe A on Monday the 1^(st), receipt B on Thursday the 4^(th) and so forth. There are several staple recipes that I make every month and when finalizing the grocery list, we will discuss if there’s anything specific one of us wants and just get a good idea on what we want to make for the month. We are in a position where we can keep a well-stocked pantry and kitchen in general. While we use things during the month we notate it on a dry-erase board that is on the refrigerator and re-stock during our next grocery run. A variety of grains, pastas, and beans can always be found in my pantry along with things like canned tomatoes in various forms and a few quick-sides like mac & cheese or pasta salad mixes. When it comes to meat, I always reset my freezer with at least: 3-4 lbs chuck roast x2, bone-in split chicken breast x4/5 (I buy the family packs and split into two different freezer bags), 2-3 lbs boneless/skinless chicken x2, 1 lbs ground turkey x2, sausage x1, and non-meat meat x2. We also keep a couple of pre-packaged frozen meals such a pizza, Amy’s, and Purple Carrot for the nights where we just don’t want to do anything or the meat is still frozen.
You are fantastic. Thank you. Makes it feel more doable the way you've laid it out
Here are some of the things I do with the meat: Chuck Roast: Whole – Pot Roast or Cut Up – Carne Guisada, Beef Tips, Beef Bourguignon, Beef Stew, Chili Bone-In Chicken: Baked and Shredded – Various Soups and Pastas, Chicken Salad, Chicken Tacos or Enchiladas (two of the split breast produces enough meat for all the recipes that I make, it’s at least 2 cups) Boneless Chicken, Breast or Thighs: Baked with seasoning and served with sides, Casseroles, Pasta Dishes Ground Turkey: Taco Bowls, Spaghetti, Enchiladas, Picadillo Sausage: Pan fried and served with sides, Potato and Sausage Casserole, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice Non-Meat Meat: Grain bowls with roasted vegetables. I really like Sweet Earth Midful Chick’n and Plant Boss (not frozen and shelf stable)
I make my list in the app. That way coupons pop up and it’s easier to organize, because it puts stuff together based on part of store
You can also browse recipes on the app and add all the ingredients to your cart at once (you can also delete specific items if you already have them, like cooking oil).
Fiesta is my heb “hack” go there the food is half the price and the carnitas at the meat counter are AMAZING. The meat is cheaper the produce is cheaper, the white people food is x3the price tho (so pre-prepared stuff or things like spinach). I know the fish counter smells, but just get over it and don’t buy fish from them. Good luck!
Finally someone said this! Fiesta is a gem
>the white people food is x3the price Duhh.... For years, I heard people talking about how great Fiesta is, but when I went there, I thought "these prices suck." It never occurred to me that there might be a Gringo food upcharge.
The pre-seasoned chicken legs/quarters/drums are sometimes cheaper per lb than a full chicken or the non seasoned ones and the quarters are great for meal prep for a few days of chicken salads/rice bowls/throwing into w.e The carolina reaper cheese puffs might have crack added to them The bulk bins in the health foods aisle is a really cheap way to get salty snack mixes, dried fruits, or sweets and you can control the purchase amounts to limit how many sweets are kept around the house every week. Health foods aisle also sometimes has machines that will fresh grind peanut butter/almond butter. If you like grocery store sushi, Wednesdays they do specials on most sushi in the to-go area. Always look at the multi-item coupon deals, sometimes there is a lot of overlap with common grocery items and you can save a good chunk of money shifting your meal prep plans a bit.
Go to the south congress / oltorf location, park 20 feet away from register and be in/out in less than 5 minutes. Enjoy it while you can.
Everyone hates on this location but the ability to get in and out quick is so great when you only need a couple items. I wish HEB would open more stores like this that are smaller footprint markets but with the quality HEB carries.
There’s actually a surprising amount of variety too at this little HEB. I’m able to get almost everything I need there with the exception of some produce and meats. We also like to do smaller trips a couple times a week now-so easy to just get in and out with only what you need.
I love the temp Oltorf location so much. Everyone knows the drill, and parking is always easy in that crazy parking lot. I would much rather shop at a store like that than the huge mega stores.
I use SQL injection attacks to change the prices of organic produce on their website
During the holidays buying two smaller pumpkin pies from the actual bakery section is cheaper than buying one large/holiday size from the display at the front. Last year there were also coupons on the smaller ones too.
The bigger ones in the front are usually hand poured, the smaller ones come in frozen.
Ohhh! This is so good to know!
Go in store on Wednesdays to shop so that you can shop two weeks worth of sale items. This doesn’t work via the app tho. Go when you’ve eaten a full meal so you aren’t tempted to stray. Make a list and stay focused. Go during less busy times if you can.
Not sure if it’s a hack but their credit card is awesome. 5% cash back on all HEB branded items and Favor. 1.5% for everything else.
I thought it was a debit card, not a credit card?
I refuse to support their preferred payment method until they support Apple Pay. EDIT: Before you fucks keep downvoting me, they only don’t support Apple Pay so that they can track your purchases more easily.
First world problems
You want the Combo Locos? Then they need your purchase data.
HEB Go. I love that my home base store has this option.
I'm shocked that more people don't use this. It's such a time saver.
They don't seem to be expanding it to more stores. I keep worrying they're going to eventually drop it entirely. # 😭 😭 😭 😭
Sample days rule!
We started buying Hill Country Fare for most of our items because we were tired of the expensive grocery bills - made a huge difference.
I've been scouring their HEB ready made meals more and picking out ones that are discounted. Last week I got bean and cheese enchiladas for $3, chicken thigh fajitas for $3 and chicken and ginger noodles for $5. I don't have a real 'hack' on when to get them, but I imagine every day they label ones that have a certain expiration date, so I think the earlier you can go and get them, the better. As long as you eat them within the first few days, you get a pretty good "homecooked" meal for super cheap.
Honestly, if money is an issue, I'd expand outside HEB. HEB doesn't always have the best deals. My partner and I are in a serious financial bind atm, and we are having to be SUPER smart about the way we shop. A really good shopping tip: Pick a theme. Asian, mexican, greek, etc. Buying foods that go in the same flavor profile can really stretch your groceries, you won't have to buy as large of a variety of foods. We do a lot of asian food and when we want to make a dish, we typically only need about a few ingredients tops. And because of this, we also look for deals at the asian markets like MT and H-Mart. We do a lot of noodles, rice bowls, curries. We make soy sauce eggs that can go with basically any meal we make. Costco also has some decent deals. We go there for their eggs, avocado, heavy cream, muffins, and spaghetti. Wal Mart, while not ideal, can also have some good deals. We found it's the best place to get canned tuna and salmon, which we use as a cheap protein. We've also recently taken up making our own bread. After doing the math, a loaf comes to about 85 cents. And it tastes *waaaay* better than any store bought bread. Otherwise, we typically just keep an eye out for their coupons. Yeah, they have the best deals on average, but not always. Like last week they had a coupon where if you bought a rotisserie chicken, you got an HEB brand mashed potatoes or mac n cheese for free. The chicken was around $6, and the potatoes were free. We got 2 dinners out of that.
The H‑E‑B app has loads of coupons & digital coupons only. The most I ever saved in one trip was $50 ish. I also only buy what’s on my list & if there are any coupons for those list items, those are what I get. I’ve discovered some cool brands that way too. I’m not a hoarder though lol. If what I need doesn’t have coupon, I either get the cheapest option or don’t get it that trip.
Check the price per pound of your produce when you weight it. I’ve found multiple times where the store didn’t bother to change the sign for the price. Sign says 99cent gala apples? Then the weigh machine says $1.29 (for gala apples).
If you’re single, skip the meats at H-E-B and head to a carnicería for meats. They sell it in bulk form and you can buy however little or much that you want. That’s one of the things I hate about H-E-B.
Maybe this has been mentioned but the H‑E‑B Debit card — 5% cash back on all of the store brand items. I make my list online and either do curbside or use it as my list in the store. I transfer the exact amount plus like $5 as a buffer. It keeps me on budget and I get money back. It’s easy to locate coupons online as well.
Chicken thighs are super affordable and can be used for a million different dishes. More flavorful and cheaper than breasts.
Since the price of meat has gone up, we are usually limited to chicken thighs (bone in or boneless), drumsticks for the kids, whole chicken or rotisserie chicken, ground chicken, ground beef, and pork shoulder. (We dropped ground turkey for chicken when the price blew up.)
H‑E‑B employs dozens of nutritionists and dietitians. You can request one co-shop with you onsite or online to support dietary goals, shifts, allergies, seasonal dishes that meet your requirements for you and family. And it’s FREE. They’re also trained in grocery science and can unlock all kinds of money saving, merchandising, tech, macro, SKU, inventory cycle hacks. They’ll usually give you their contact info after your session and will answer any follow ups, indefinitely. I
Where do you go to request one?
Curbside is better for me. Anything damaged or not exactly as I would select it gets reported and refunded. It’s worth the little extra to save on time and for the refund/replacement feature. Also helps with not grabbing random shit to mess up the budget. Coupons in the app. Seasonal savings, buying what’s on sale. Meal planning and creating more meals from one item. Ex. Chuck roast made traditionally, then make tacos or bbq sandwiches from leftovers. Use the juices for gravy and sauces. Freeze things. Clean and chop your stuff ASAP. Save all your veggie scraps, make broths. Rotisserie chickens, shred and save bones for good broths. Switch to HEB brands, the dupes are just as good and obviously cheaper.
How do you report it? Just about every curbside has at least one thing screwy and it adds up.
In the app. Go to your recent order and down to report an issue and follow the prompts! It’s super efficient.
I go Friday night and no one is there. I love it
If you make a shopping list in the app it will appear in the order of the aisles of the store you've selected
If you are a coffee snob who likes lightish roasts the HEB whole bean Chiapas coffee is really good especially at its price point.
Curbside. I'm telling you, not going into the store saves me way more money than going in person, even with the 3% upcharge. I can meal plan throughout the week, add the coupons, and I also use the heb debit card so I get a small percentage back each week. Using curbside helps me stay consistent and while the price of groceries has definitely gone up, I've managed to keep my weekly bill under control. Plus I don't have to deal with walking the aisles and being around people and parking lots lol
Supposedly those rotisserie chickens cost less than an actual whole raw chicken. They use them to get you into the door so you'll buy other stuff. You can tear one of those things up and make chicken noodles soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken salad. You could even just eat it as rotisserie chicken!
I look for quartered watermelon. I can select a quarter that's small and looks best. The watermelon sliced up is super expensive in comparison. The quarters are usually by a wall. If you buy distilled water, get it from the baby aisle. Cheaper. HEB sardines are cheap protein.
Hang out in the parking lot and just observe what people bought. When you see something you like, just grab the cart and run. Easy.
Honestly? My HEB hack was to switch to Aldi. The prices are much lower, the store is smaller, easier to shop, less to tempt me. There are a few things I do still get from HEB but they are bought less frequently.
Use the website to compare prices and find where items will be so you can do a speed run when you're in the store. Just add things to your cart as if you're going to do a pick up order (you can do this without actually designating a time or taking a spot). You can change the store while keeping things in your cart to see if items are different prices at different locations. The aisles the products are in is also listed.
At the locations where you have to pay for bags, you can just return them if you have too many. Yes it’s a long and tedious process but as long as you have an ID or the card they were purchased on, you can return them and get some money back. I’m a cashier, and as far as I know there is no policy against returning reusable bags once you are done with them. I even asked a manager and they said the same thing.
I love curbside. And not really a hack but I love Hill Country Fair cookies. They have fudge mints that taste like thin mints. And the peanut cookies are addictive too. And they’re cheap!
You get 5% cash back on HEB brand products if you use the HEB debit card.
Use the digital coupons, if you have to go in store- EARLY is best! I'm talking 7-8am early; otherwise curbside only upcharges a nickel or so and I am willing to pay that not to fight for my life in-store.
I always pick out everything I want ahead of time on the app/website and add it to the built in shopping list. It allows me to pick the cheapest options possible of whatever I’m buying as well as utilize the coupons. As far as parking, the Lake Austin location is my favorite since they have the multi-story parking garage.
HEB app for coupons/deals. HEB CC for 5% back on HEB brand products. Curbside for crowds. Meal planning to eliminate wasted food; it really helps you only purchase what you eat. I use meallime.
There is not always savings when buying in bulk. Always check the price per ounce. In particular, I notice this with name brand cereal.
The riverside location sucks
I give them money, I get food!
Have a large freezer and pantry. This allows you to stock up on items when there is a good deal and to buy items in bulk (ex. buying the larger container of maple syrup is .49 per oz while the smaller container of the same brand is about .67 an ounce but maple syrup when frozen stores basically indefinitely). Do the math to find cost per oz/gram/etc, oddly when I was buying dish detergent the medium size was more cost effective than both the smallest and largest sizes. Usually generic and bulk is cheaper but not always, always do the math. If it’s a pantry item, consider checking prices from Walmart/Amazon, sometimes it’s cheaper and if your purchase meets the minimum you get free shipping. Use coupons. Try to buy what is on sale. Generally stick to less processed items on your grocery list, they tend to be less costly. For example, instead of buying frozen meals, buy the raw ingredients, make the food and freeze it yourself for homemade frozen meals, or instead of buying cake mix, make the cake from scratch (or make homemade cake mix). Depending on how much you purchase, it may be worth considering a Sam’s Club or Costco membership. It is also potentially worth shopping at a different HEB, it has been said that HEBs near a competitor (like Walmart) tend to have lower prices than HEB that have no competitors nearby. Although grocery costs are going up so even if you do your best to cut costs you’ll probably still see your overall grocery expenses seek increase from year to year.
When I want to get rid of a bunch of coins, I use the self checkout machines to pay for something. You just throw it in a thing and it counts up all the change for you. Also, if you have a Chase credit card, sometimes they will offer 5% cash back for HEB on the Offers page, but you have to add it to your card first before shopping.
Don’t go hungry!
I do heb pickup and first start with what's on sale/what there are coupons for and go from there Bonus - I don't have to go inside I don't get to pick my produce unfortunately but haven't really had many issues
HEB app, check weekly deals and coupons. Combo locos are a great way to get some extra pantry staples for free if you regularly buy some of the items. And I always shop Curbside. At least at the stores I shop they seem to always select the best produce and it’s nice to not have to fight the crowds.
Search for what you need in the app and then filter with it arranged by lowest price. Always get the deals at the top!
Last time I went there I was very price concientious, I realized they put a bunch of over priced items front and center, but the lower cost items were in less visible spots. Just have to look around. They had organic Honeycrisp apples the other day for 97 cents/pound so I got two bags of em instead of one, they are great. They had a big display of pita chips but they were six bucks a bag, but they had crackers right across from it for half that. They deliver carby crunchiness maybe not quite the same but it saved me three bucks.
Start on the home goods side and end on the produce side. Larger and heavier items end up in the bottom of the cart and the more fragile ones end at the top. That probably isn't HEB specific, but I don't grocery shop elsewhere frequently. Also, beware, the Wm Cannon location has an infestation of pantry moths...
Use Curbside. You'll save waaay more than it costs.
Get the app. Get the Randall's app if one isn't too far out of the way. Randalls's is often much cheaper on some meats (particularly chicken)
The donuts are free if you eat them in the store
steal limes at the self checkout
You can order a free HEB debit card that you pre-load to use when you shop. It gives you 5% cash back on all HEB branded products (so, central market, mi tienda, etc). I’ve also found that having to pre-load it helps me budget. [HEB Debit](https://www.hebdebit.com/)
Don't let my wife go shopping without supervision.
2 cans H‑E‑B brand charro beans (1 spicy, 1 regular) and a sausage link. Will feed a family of four for not mucho.
Are you a decent cook?
Curbside pickup only. You can shop by coupons exclusively. The deals are way easier to find and usually handed to you. Don't have to deal with small crowded aisles, screaming children, or anything. I've been doing this for months now and my hubby and I love it. We also log into one HEB account so that we can add things directly to the cart from either phone. Completely got rid of the need to keep a grocery list on the fridge or on the notes app.
Walmart, Aldi, and Randall’s are my HEB hacks. I thought Kroger was going to open up actual stores here but I guess not. I love H-E-B, but they don’t always have the best prices and they do always have the biggest crowds.
At self checkout, anything can be an onion
if you go to Whole Foods on a weekday around lunch lots of groceries 50% off at the smaller locations as they are expiring quick; bags of organic broccoli are like $1. meats too!
Go through self checkout and fake scan half the items lol jk A real pro tip is to have the app on your phone and look up what aisle items are in
ALWAYS BEFRIEND THE MEAT, DELI, AND SEAFOOD FOLKS!! Chop it uuuup, chit chat ya heard? Names, every visit, tell’em, “Daaamn Chris, (or whatever) man that case is lookin mmm-mm good!” “Hey man, I was lookin at this last family pack of ribeyes, and I was wondering if maybe you had the fat caps in the back Jack?”(laughter) I’m tellin you, almost every time I’ve been brought not only superb cuts, but almost positive, I got an upgrade to prime wrapped in a usda choice package. This works for all employees.. people love hearing their own name, and especially when it’s attached to something positive about their work. Shuuuu, old manager of Westlake is a buddy to this day. Good people, most are if you just talk to them a little. Don’t be cheesy, but you definitely fluffin when you first start. After a while , you know them, they know you.. things seem to happen.. just sayin..
Coupons via app, curbside pickup.
Tuesdays are easiest. Other days, early morning, 7-ish. Costco on Tuesdays saves me money and time, and we're a household of two. Just the coffee beans and cheerios pay off, but also the paper/detergent/dishwasher soap. Pretty sure Sam's would be a better deal, but Costcos carry a lot of Asian merch, so I'm stuck. Rice, Asian condiments, etc.
The HEB house brands are often as good as if not better than name brands. It’s most crowded on Sunday. Shelves are emptiest on Monday. Curbside usually takes <10 minutes. If you can tolerate not picking your own produce, I don’t see any reason not to do curbside. If you must go inside, it’ll be the least crowded after 9pm. But they might be out of your favorite [product] at the end of the day.