15 Things Not to Buy in a Grocery Store

Stuff is expensive. Cutting costs today means being an ultra savvy shopper. The days of stopping at one store and buying everything in one location are long gone. That often means hunting and pecking for the best deals and driving around town to the dollar stores and other retailers. We've put together a list of items you shouldn't buy at the grocery store and we show you where to get them.

Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.

Related: 17 Ways Grocery Stores Have Changed Over the Past 50 Years

Is it really worth buying expensive olive oil? We don't think so. This 68-ounce Iberia Premium Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil sells at Target for $9.69. Reviewers love this less-expensive alternative saying it's great for, "sauteing, frying, or for everything else." Compare it with a standard 17-ounce size of Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil — much less oil, selling for roughly the same $9.99 when it's not on sale.

Target offers a 24 pack of 16.9-ounce bottles of purified drinking water for just $3.99. Alberton's will charge you $2 more for the same size and number of bottles of water.

Essentially a product from Chicken of the Sea, 5-ounce cans of Van Camp's Chunk White Albacore Tuna in Water are available for $1 per can at Dollar Tree. A similar product in the grocery store costs 59 cents more per can.

Head to Dollar Tree for your hair and toiletry needs, where 1.8-ounce Speed Stick Men's Regular deodorant is just $1. That same deodorant will run you $2.89 at Albertson's. A 15-ounce bottle of Signature Care Baby Shampoo for $3.29 is the cheapest at Albertson's — it's the chain's generic. For only $1, you can get a 15-ounce bottle of Angel of Mine baby shampoo at Dollar Tree. At Dollar Tree, a 2.6-ounce bar of Dove Moisturizing Soap costs a buck each (38 cents an ounce), but it will run you $4 for two 2.4-ounce bars of the same product at Albertson's (about 44 cents an ounce).

It's such a great feeling to have a clean house, but such a drag when the supplies cost almost as much as hiring a cleaning person. Don't let grocery store prices get you down. A three-pack of Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponges will run you $4.59 at Albertson's, but at Target you can pick up a 12-pack of Scotch Brite Non Scratch sponges for $10.69 — that's four times the number of sponges for a little over twice the total price. At Albertson's, a 64-ounce jug of Clorox Bleach runs $4.09 (6 cents an ounce), while at Target, 116 ounces of Splashless Clorox cost $3.99 (4.1 cents an ounce) giving an overall better price for quantity of product.

For storing food, children's supplies, or whatever your household needs may be, there's nothing better than plastic storage containers. But why pay through the nose for them? Albertson's has two half-cup Rubbermaid Easy-Find Lids food storage containers at $6.89. But you can six of those from Target for $7.99 — four more for about a dollar.

At grocery stores, a Hallmark card will run you upward of $4 or $5, and that's just the starting price. Dollar Tree has hundreds of cards starting at 2 for $1. Now you can celebrate every moment with family and friends with exclusive greeting cards at the perfect price.

A 50-count pack of napkins will go for $1 at Dollar Tree, while you get 10 fewer napkins for more than two and a half times the price when you buy at Albertson's.

Related: 20 Party Essentials You Should Always Buy at the Dollar Store

Dixie brand 8.5-inch paper plates in a pretty designer pattern may seem like a great deal at $3.69 per 48 count but not when you realize that at Walmart you can buy 140 count of heavy-duty 9-inch paper plates for $6.22. That's a difference of more than 3 cents per plate, and it adds up.

You might not realize the savings you can reap on vitamins simply by buying them at a different store. A 100-count bottle of Vitamin D softgels can run $11.29 at the grocery store. A 180-count bottle of Trader Joe's Vitamin D 1000 iu softgels is only $11.99. That's almost double the amount.

Three 8-ounce tubes of Colgate Cavity Protection toothpaste with fluoride cost a mere $4.99 at Target. Compare that to $2.99 for one 6-ounce tube at Albertson's  Target gives you toothpaste at 20 cents per ounce vs. 49 cents per ounce from Albertson's.

Need 9-volt batteries for your fire alarm system? Dollar Tree has Sunbeam 9-Volt Batteries two-count packs available for $1 per pack. Compare that with the $7.49 price for just one Duracell Coppertop 9-Volt Batteries.

Whether you lose one in the dryer or just wear through 'em, socks should be replaced once there's a hole or the elastic gets loose. Dollar Tree has a good selection of men's, women's, and children's socks. Women's mini-crew socks come in three-count packs for $1. A three-count of similar socks at Albertson's will cost $6.59 (and there's much less variety).

Spices are spices are spices. Roxanne Edwards of the Consumer Affairs Department at Stop & Shop told the Kitchn she believes that "the cost differential between the store brand and the marquee names is primarily based upon one simple factor: marketing." Albertson's Spice Islands 1.9-ounce ground Saigon cinnamon retails for a whopping $6.99, while a 2-ounce bottle of ground cinnamon at Dollar General will run you $1.

Shoppers can save loads — so to speak — on laundry supplies at the Dollar Store. Breezy floral-scented fabric softener dryer sheets are 55 count and $1 per box. At Albertson's,  Bounce costs $7.49 for a 105-count box.

Related: Are You Making These Laundry Mistakes?