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Maximizing Grocery Savings: Harris Teeter vs. Food Lion vs. Amazon Fresh (and online pickup vs. delivery)

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Just like my dad, I do most of the grocery shopping for our household. It’s partly because I’m a picky eater, but I also enjoy doing the math to make sure we’re getting the most value for our money. Most weeks, I shop online through Harris Teeter’s website and pick up the order the next day. But lately, I’ve been wondering– should I consider shopping somewhere else instead? And would it be worth paying extra to have the groceries delivered?

Food Lion beats Harris Teeter on price, but not convenience

Food Lion was $6.07 (6%) cheaper than Harris Teeter overall, and had the lower price on 15 of 23 items. However, Food Lion has a $1.99 fee for online pickup that brought their net savings down to $4.08 (4%).

Food Lion was significantly cheaper on fresh staples like chicken breast ($3.17 savings, or 29%), strawberries ($1.50 savings, or 60%), and spring mix ($1.30 savings, or 28%). But Harris Teeter made up some ground with a good sale on Greek yogurt ($1.98 savings, or 20%), and English muffins ($1.05 savings, or 28%).

Alternatively, if I did online pickup at both Harris Teeter and Food Lion, I could decrease the total grocery bill to $86.36, which is $10.51 cheaper than shopping only at Harris Teeter, or $6.16 than shopping at just Food Lion. Ultimately, even though it’s a little more expensive, I’m going to continue shopping exclusively at Harris Teeter because it’s slightly more convenient for me to get to.

Delivery adds about 13% to your grocery bill– not worth it unless time is your top priority

The fees are roughly the same at both stores; a $6-7 fee plus a recommended tip of around 6%. This would increase both grocery bills by roughly $12 (13%). I don’t mind picking up the groceries, so this probably isn’t worth it for me. Plus I’ll often need to go inside the store anyway in case I forgot to order something, or need to find a replacement for something that was out of stock online. If you do grocery delivery often, both stores offer membership options for $99 per year that waive the online fee (though you’ll still need to tip).

Amazon can also deliver groceries, although I’m still skeptical

In a subsequent week, I priced out a different batch of groceries on Amazon vs. Harris Teeter. Amazon’s subtotal of $73.24 was slightly cheaper than Harris Teeter’s total of $74.39, however after adding in Amazon’s service fee ($6.95) and tip ($5.00), it’s not very attractive. Plus 1. It seemed inefficient having groceries delivered from the closest Amazon Fresh store, which is 24 miles away in Raleigh. And 2. It’d be difficult to return an item or get replacements for poor substitutions. It could still be worth considering if you were dead set on delivery though since they have very competitive pricing on non-food items that you could otherwise find at the grocery store, like Tums or Naproxen. Note Amazon Fresh also has a $99/year subscription to waive their service fee (which is in addition to an Amazon Prime membership).

In conclusion, there are different ways to prioritize price and convenience (which could include delivery). However, I’m happy with the balance that Harris Teeter online pickup provides in terms of cost, convenience, and quality.

Want more?

Check out my post from earlier this year, where I compared the cost of meal delivery services and grocery prices over the past five years.

Top 10 Ices of All Time

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The best way to enjoy a Smirnoff Ice is by making your friends drink it (ideally when they least expect it). After much deliberation, I’m excited to announce the Top 10 Ices Of all Time.

1. George takes a shower

By this point in time, George should have known there was an Ice waiting for him in the bathroom at his bachelor party. I just skewed the odds by putting an Ice in all of the towels… just in case.

2. Sean tries “working from home” at Zach’s bachelor party

This man deserves a raise for trying to get work done while everyone else was playing beer pong. But little did he know there was a full bottle of Smirnoff Ice sitting inside his water bottle, with the straw perched inside the bottle.

3. George’s formal dinnerware

George is probably my favorite person to Ice because he’s a good sport about it. The scenario below played out at Evan’s wedding– Carter and I slipped into the venue before the wedding started and tucked an Ice into George’s napkin when he sat down.

4. The “Ice” cold birthday cake

With how many Ices I give out, I’m well aware that there’s a huge target on my back. I just didn’t see this one coming. I thought it was a little odd when Carol and Kayla insisted that I cut my own birthday cake, and for good reason… there was an Ice baked right into the cake.

5. Ryan claims his spot as “The Winner of The Losers”

In our fantasy football league, you have to Ice yourself if you score the least amount of points in any given week. Here’s a recap of last year’s Ices– check out the full blog post here.

6. Carter goes 4 for 4 in the Revolution Blind Taste Test

There are somewhere between 18 and 24 unique flavor of Smirnoff Ice. Our group has probably kept Smirnoff in business over the past 10 years, yet somehow only Carter could correctly identify all of the flavors in this variety pack.

7. The Gift of Giving

If you receive a Christmas present from someone in the Revolution, be wary— chances are it’s an Ice waiting to happen.

8. The Easter Beer Hunt

I think Carter actually likes Smirnoff Ice– In fact he’ll often go out of his way to find them. For Easter, George hides beers in his yard instead of Easter Eggs (spoiler alert: there are always Ices mixed in). Several people but pretend not to see the Ices… but not Carter.

9. The wedding party assembles

Most people give their friends a gift when asking them to be in their wedding party… These guys all got Ices.

10. Revenge served “Ice” cold

Ugh someone (I think it was Bobby?) got me at my own wedding. I had brought a 12 pack so I could strategically plant some Ices throughout the day but it mysteriously disappeared at some point during the day. Several hours later I go up to the bar to find out everyone else (including the bartender) was in on it.

Honorable Mention: The Long Game

Sometimes the best Ices require delayed gratification. Carol dodged Ices all night but ended up finding a sugary beverage to go with breakfast.

Bonus Content: Andrew shotguns a Fresca

We must’ve run out of Ices this day but Andrew is a legend for taking down a Fresca this quickly.

Blind Taste Test: Can You Tell The Difference Between Different Types of Apples?

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To help celebrate John’s birthday, Martha put together a blind taste test for seven different apples. Can most people tell the difference between different types of apples?

The answer was a clear “no.”

  • The math suggests we could have guessed the same amount of correct answers just by chance. For example, with each apple, you have a 1 in 9 chance of guessing the right variety since there were 9 options listed in the answer key. So across 7 apples, statistics suggest the average person would get ~0.778 picks correct (1/9 chance of a correct pick * 7 picks). As a whole, our group made 4 correct guesses across five contestants, meaning our group had 0.8 correct picks per person on average (4 correct picks / 5 people). This rate of 0.8 average correct guesses per person was almost exactly even with the blind guessing prediction of 0.778 correct picks per person.
  • That being said, if you have a favorite apple, you may be able to pick it out of a crowd. Kyla easily picked out her favorite (Cosmic Crisp), and I picked out my favorite (HoneyCrisp). In a way, this helps me justify paying the high price for Honeycrisp at $4.49/lb.
  • Snap Dragon, EverCrisp, Cosmic Crisp, SweeTango, and Honeycrisp were often confused for each other in the chart below, likely because they’re all similar in flavor and texture.
  • McIntosh stood out more clearly, maybe because of its distinct softness.

Want some bad apple recipes?

Or another blind taste test?

Getting to Know Bobby

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My core friend group is a tight circle that hasn’t changed in over 10 years… until recently. One of the core members got a new boyfriend (thanks online dating) and we’ve decided to fully welcome him into the group. The only problem is this new member hasn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with Bobby yet, who’s apparently too busy being a new parent to hang out with us every weekend now. Whatever. Bobby’s a simple enough guy that I can tell you everything you need to know about Bobby in just a few pictures.

1. Bobby is always hungry. His goal is to put 2,000 calories in every smoothie. And his idea of a side for a bagel is a croissant.

2. He never misses a good photobombing opportunity (especially when he’s in costume)

3. I’m pretty sure he could have been a model.

4. Although he’s also kind of weird.

5. And makes this one face he makes when he’s disappointed (although thankfully we don’t see this one very often).

6. But overall he’s a great friend and gives great hugs.

The Rising Cost of Groceries vs. Meal Delivery Kits: A Five-Year Comparison

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Almost five years ago today, I was on the fence if meal delivery boxes were worth the added cost. The COVID lockdowns had just gone into effect, and with all restaurants closed, I was looking for new foods and recipes. I also had plenty of time to run a cost-benefit analysis comparing the cost of the meal delivery box to buying the same ingredients at the grocery store.

Since 2020, the Consumer Price Index (an estimate for household inflation) has risen by 22.3% according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. So, how much does it cost to buy the same ingredients at the grocery store today vs. in March 2020? And has the value of meal delivery boxes changes? To find out, I’ve tracked, analyzed, eaten, and broken down the costs of four meals over time; Falafel Veggie Bowl, Loaded Black Bean Tacos, Chicken Caprese Sandwich, and Pizza Tortellini.

The cost of ordering these four meals from Dinnerly increased from $51.32 in 2020 to $67.91 in 2025, a 32.3% increase. This means that the cost of meal delivery boxes has risen significantly faster than inflation. And Dinnerly is actually one of the cheaper meal delivery options– a similar box from Hello Fresh would cost $92.73. The only way to argue that a meal delivery box would save money is by comparing it to the cost of eating out. For example, buying four #1 combos for two people at Chickfila would cost $74.05. Or even worse, using Uber Eats to deliver two Crunchwrap Supreme combos from Taco Bell four times would cost $135.

However, despite inflation, the cost of buying these ingredients at Harris Teeter actually went down over time, from $48.78 in 2020 to $47.06 in 2025. This fact doesn’t disprove inflation, rather I think it shows that I hit the sales right this year. The biggest savings came from a sale on taco seasoning ($1.99 down to $0.59), buns and tortellini (both down $1.01), and tortillas (down $0.99). Meanwhile, staples like cheese, chicken, and tomato sauce were all up (21%, 8%, and 79%, respectively).

In 2020, the added cost of ordering the meal delivery kit was only $2.52 per week, or around 5%, which I thought was worth. However, today that premium has increased to $20.85 per week, or 44%. Meal delivery boxes may still make sense for people who eat out for every meal or value convenience over cost. But for the rest of you, I’ll see you at Harris Teeter.

The Winners of the Losers

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The rules of our Fantasy Football Football league are pretty simple: if your team scores the least amount of points across the entire league for the week, you have to chug a Smirnoff Ice and send video proof to the group.

There are 10 teams in the league but only four of us have had the (dis)honor of being the biggest loser of the week. But of these losers, who’s the winner with the fastest chug?

Video replay confirms that yours truly is the undisputed winner of the losers, sweeping first, second, and third place. Props to Carter though for stepping up with a massive 24 oz. Smirnoff Ice—double the size of everyone else’s—and taking it down like a champ (featured in the top left and top middle-right squares of the video). Zach snagged 5th, 6th, and 7th place, earning a few brownie points for the unique backdrops in his videos. Will, in his rookie season, faced a tough initiation with subpar performances both on and off the field.

Welcome to the big leagues, where even the losers can be winners—if they can chug fast enough.

“I just need to run to Lowe’s real quick”

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My dad was a general contractor so I used to hear those words a lot growing up. Well, I’ve been hearing them (and saying them) a lot lately too…

Since Brittany and I bought our house in June 2022, we’ve been to Lowe’s 94 times over the course of about two and half years, or about once every 10 days. My personal record was five trips in one day when I was trying to figure out the right size pipe and fittings to install a new sink (fifth time was the charm).

Cost wise, we’ve spent $6,075.84 at Lowe’s since buying the house, according to our credit statements. That’s about $65 per trip, however that average was skewed by a few large purchases including a new oven (~$1200) and 15 gallons of paint to stain the fence (~$600). The median of $31 is probably a better representation of our standard trip to Lowe’s.

To be clear though, our house wasn’t in bad shape by any means when we bought it. However we’ve been trying to flex our DIY skills as we’ve learned how to do routine maintenance (like taking care of the lawn), basic repairs (like changing the garbage disposal), and also some tasteful upgrades (like updating the bathroom). Take a look at my last DIY blog to follow along with some of the projects we’ve tackled.

While spending $6,000 over 2.5 years sounds like a lot, homeguide.com estimates that home maintenance costs between 1-4% of a home’s value per year. We’ve certainly had to spend money at other places (i.e. 14 trips to Home Depot costing a total of $779.71), however we’re still probably on the lower end of that spectrum given that we’ve done a lot of the work ourselves. Rather than money, we’ve paid the price with our time… and trips to Lowe’s.

So next time you hear someone talking about the “joys of home ownership,” it really just means going to Lowe’s.

Can you guess where on the graph we bought the house?

Celebrating Two Years of Happiness

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A little over two years ago, our dear friend Terry was trying to figure out what to say at our wedding. It was her first time officiating a wedding and to put it simply, she wanted to know why I wanted to marry Brittany. Here’s how I responded on Thanksgiving Day 2022.

Hi Terry, Today especially, it makes sense to be thankful for Brittany on Thanksgiving. I know you’ve seen the photobooks of us smiling and posing for different occasions, but the best part of our relationship is really what happens in between those photos. Brittany is caring, sharp-witted, and full of love, which makes loving her so easy.

Brittany is caring

At times, I’d swear she was an angel. Earlier this year, I was sick for a full two weeks. Most people would have stayed away, or given up on me after a few days, but Brittany kept the tea kettle warm and would check on me in the middle of the night. I’ll never forget the compassion she showed as she poured warm water through my hair in the bathtub, bringing me back to life. This compassion extends to other people as well. A few years ago, we were driving through Chapel Hill and witnessed a terrible car crash, with one of the cars spinning twenty feet down a ravine and into a fence. Brittany instinctively pulled our car into a safe spot and ran down the slope to check on the driver. Another time, and very early in our relationship, Brittany got stuck taking care of both me and my dad at the same time after I’d just gotten my wisdom teeth taken out and my dad was recovering from a significant hip surgery. Brittany juggled both tasks with a smile… way above the call of duty for any caretaker, let alone a new girlfriend at the time. For my dad, an extra blanket in the middle of the night made a world of difference and cemented her status as an angel in the Kelley household. Her empathy and compassion seem to have no end, which makes her both a good medical provider and an easy choice for my lifetime partner.

Brittany is smart

And when she puts her mind to something, nothing can stop her. There was a brief period early in our relationship where Brittany and I were spending so much time together that her grades began to slightly slip. She was taking Calculus 2, an important prerequisite for pursuing a career in the medical field, and wasn’t happy with her first test grade. She looked me in the eyes and said, “I’m going to get an ‘A’ in this class.” Our dates quickly changed from ice cream and Old Chicago pizza to meeting up in Davis Library. But the results came quickly too; I don’t think she ever got anything less than ‘A’ throughout the rest of her time in school, including her master’s degree at ECU. Brittany’s not one to brag, but she scored in the top 1% of all PA school students on the final board exam. Plus, she’s not just school smart. She’s also good at answering my common questions like “what should we make for dinner?”, “what day was that event again?”, or “do you know where I left my shoes?”

Brittany has a kind and tender heart, and I’m so thankful she has chosen to share it with me

The sweetness and sincerity of her love is undeniable. If she has an early morning, she’ll leave a handwritten note on the counter to wish me a good day. When I get home in the afternoon, she’ll be waiting for me at the door with a warm embrace or a round of applause (silly but my favorite). Her favorite way to wake up in the morning is with a kiss on her forehead and a big smile on her face. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know how to walk beside me without holding my hand. She’s the most thoughtful planner and gift-giver for birthdays and holidays. These may seem like little things, but they mean a lot and provide a snapshot of why I can’t wait to marry Brittany.

 This list could just have easily been a hundred pages long but Brittany’s compassion, intelligence, and kind heart are just three of the reasons why I love her. I can confidently look forward to our wedding without any nerves and a lifetime of happiness to follow. 

As we’re celebrating our two-year anniversary today, I’m happy to report back that things are better than ever. Just take a look at the cover photo here– we’re so in sync that we even got each other the same anniversary card.

Want more? Check out my recap from our first anniversary

Is Perkins $25 Grab Bag Worth the Cost?

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Our local produce stand has a deal where you can fill a bag with as much fruits and vegetables as you want, plus a free item of their pick, for a fixed cost of $25. As a numbers person, I wanted to know– is this a better deal than going to Harris Teeter?

This week, the answer was yes. I only spent $25 at Perkins whereas those same items at Harris Teeter would have cost $26.24, plus I felt good knowing the produce was fresh and locally sourced. If you only need a few things though, it probably makes sense to pay by the item.

Another pro of Perkins– they sell a lot of pumpkins! In typical fashion, they’ll sell you as many pumpkins as you can fit in a wagon, plus a bag of produce, for the reasonable cost of $100.

See you next time

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Logan didn’t like to talk about the “c” word, even though it loomed over him every day for six and a half years. It’s something that happened, but it’s not who he was. Logan was smart, funny, determined, and one of my very best friends, and that’s how I’ll always remember him.

I met Logan around 2014 when he joined KA at UNC. In the fraternity world, Logan was my “little brother’s little brother,” which meant that Bobby and I were both supposed to be mentors for him. But Logan was always determined to find his own path and ended up being more of a role model for both of us. Against all logic, he decided to pursue physics, probably the hardest major at UNC, driven by his innate desire to understand how things work, particularly everything related to space. This scientific mindset later led him to earn a master’s degree in analytics.

Logan was often quiet, but when he talked, people listened. Even though he could be serious a lot of the time, he was also funny in his own sarcastic but loving way. One time, I accidentally put milk in the pantry instead of the fridge. Logan was over at my house the next day and opened up the cupboard. He saw the milk and, with a sly smile, said, “Oh cool, you have your own milk shelf,” then closed the cabinet and went about whatever he was doing.

Logan’s passions were simple yet profound: he loved craft beer, Marvel movies, videogames, spending time with friends, and Tar Heel athletics. He proudly wore UNC’s colors through his master’s program at NC State and later through the halls of Duke Hospital. He always knew all the latest stats and transfer portal rumors. For ten years, Logan was my right-hand man at nearly every UNC home football game, the kind of fan who never left early to beat traffic. When he could no longer attend because of health reasons, he made sure the tickets found their way into a friend’s hands to carry on the tradition.

Logan was loved and supported by so many friends, family members, fraternity brothers, classmates, and colleagues. To illustrate what type of friend Logan was, I remember a story he told about going to the beach with his aunt and uncle on a hot day. They knew he loved craft beer but didn’t know much about it themselves, so they got him a six-pack of Duck Rabbit Milk Stout, which would be about as refreshing as a large glass of thick chocolate milk. Logan politely thanked them and pretended to enjoy one to avoid hurting their feelings. I think he told them later on, and they all laughed about it. Another time Logan had brought a first date to a football game, and in an unlucky turn of events, Bojangles sold me chicken tenders that were raw in the middle. I was either too shy or disgusted to do anything about it at the time but Logan and his date graciously offered to “handle it” for me. They returned the tenders to the store and warned everyone in line about what had happened. Bojangles felt so bad about it that they gave Logan and his date triple their money back in cash. They ended the day with a grateful crowd of people saved from food poisoning and a first-date story that left us all laughing.

We were playing on an adult kickball team around the time Logan was diagnosed with cancer. I remember taking him to one of his first doctor’s appointments because of what he thought was just back pain at the time. There were a lot of ups and downs over the next six and a half years, including a brief celebration in 2019 when the cancer went into remission. But no matter how hard things got, Logan’s personality always shined brighter than the pain he was going through. He was always there for us, and we were there for him when he needed us. Our close-knit group of friends visited him in every hospital room, offered rides, brought food, and even lodged a formal complaint when the handicap bathroom wasn’t actually handicap friendly. The most meaningful event was when Councill rented out a movie theater, and twenty of our friends came from near and far to join Logan in rewatching his favorite movie, “Interstellar,” on the big screen.

Logan was a great person and an amazing friend, and it hurts to think about how much I’ll miss his quick wit, late-night space talks, sports commentary, and everything in between. But I know he’d want us to hold onto the good memories until we meet again. To his friends and family, Logan didn’t say goodbye—he said, “I love you, and I’ll see you next time.”