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grocery shopping

So with our recent expendatures, IRS screw up and soon to be new addition ( read an extra 800$ in month in childcare alone)......Shaun and I have "adjusted" our spending habits.

First things to go, non essentials like voice mail, caller id, the gym and (hold your breath) my every other week cleaning service. Our dish network is magically immune to these cuts due to an impossible to get out of service contract.

Next to go is food. Not all food. Just the good kind. Like grocery shopping at Target which inevitably means buying a coffee or a popcorn ( for O) on the way in, purusing the dollar spot ( which is now mainly the 2.50$ spot), checking out the clothes, for me, O, and now the pink section. Maybe a quick stop in accessories, or books or home decor before finally hitting my shopping list. Target is soothing. Wondering up and down the nice wide aisles always puts a smile on my face. They have spent goood money on aesthitics and I am more than willing to pay slightly more for an enjoyable shopping experience. Even their store brand (archer farms) comes in pretty packages with unique flavors ( try to find a Sams brand pesto or sushi!).

I am starting to forget what the inside of my pretty Target looks like. For the last month or so my weekly grocery shopping has been done at Wal-Mart. It is a new Wal-Mart but it only takes a few days for that novelty to wear off. I am greeted by the smell of Subway ( not Starbucks) and some friendly elderly employee who is usually too busy putting stickers on people returning things to help me find a cart with 4 actual working wheels.

The aisles are too close together. The lighting is poor. You are guarenteed to see something crazy. And can expect to wait in line for at least 15 minutes and right before you are next the person in front of you will need a price check or the cashier will decide to take a break. More often than not, I am solicited in the parking lot for money. They also only put those cart returns like every 50 parking spaces or so.......meaning I either have to haul O a good ways back to my car or leave him sitting in the sweltering car while I make the half mile trek to return my cart.

I am not sure how much cheaper my groceries actually are, but I will tell you there are few extra purchases. I do not linger. I rarely check out other departments like housewares, although lately I have had my eye on the school supplies. With those facts alone, I have probably made up for the extra money we have been spending on gas. On the other hand, after you subtract the bag that is inevitably left on their genius round spinning bagging contraption....we might just be breaking even.

Comments

Alyssa said…
That round spinning thing has gotten me a time or two too many, so I no longer shop at Wal-Mart. Maybe that's how they keep their prices so low.
July 20, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Jacob Hildebrand said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
July 20, 2008 at 8:39 PM
Jacob Hildebrand said…
we use our re-usable target bags when we go to wal-mart. plus i think the school supplies are cheaper at target. i buy those packs of 10 spirals at target for $1 then sell them all year long for 50 cents.
July 20, 2008 at 8:41 PM
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