I heard the alarm sound at 6:45 a.m., and already I had a feeling of dread, and a major headache to boot. I had plenty of rest, so there was no real reason that I should have an evil headache, and then I remembered that I had made my shopping list yesterday… That means another trip to the “grocery store” (insert scary voice) was on the agenda for today.
A year ago a trip to the store was no big deal, I saved locally, and I was a happy shopper. I could even drive out of town and shop a few other places to find even better deals. Now that gas is sitting steady at $4.00, a trip out of town to go and shop is no longer a good deal, and saving locally is a thing of the past .
My last 3-4 trips to our local Supercenter haven’t been very pleasant. Customer Service is a distant memory, and waiting in line for 10-15 minutes has become a mainstay. I even dread the drive across town, every stop light means more gas wasted, and pulling into the parking lot gives me a panic attack. I’m already grumpy, and I haven’t even seen a price yet.
Lately I’ve noticed price increases from $.50 on up to $2.00 an item! It is ridiculous, and frustrating. I spend an extra 15-30 minutes a trip comparing item to item, ounce to ounce, just trying to save a little. Occasionally I give up on picking up an item, because it has gone up so much, and it just isn’t worth it.
Last week I was out stocking up for the Fourth of July BBQ, and I had finally made it to check out with one overflowing cart, and two grumpy kids. I was fifth in line behind 4 other people with overflowing carts, and grumpy kids too, and there were only 3 lanes open, 2 of them were 20 items or less lines. A few people in line were getting mad, and asking why there were so few lines open, and then the overly chatty (and mean lady) greeter came over and said, “there wouldn’t be a problem with the lines if everyone didn’t come in on the same day”. Suddenly spending as much as we were on groceries made me even more mad, even though we were there shopping and over paying, our business wasn’t appreciated.
So here I am today dreading another trip to the store, and dreading another round of price increases, already grumpy and I haven’t even left the house. I’m hopeful that today will be a better trip, but realistically thinking that it is going to be a big bummer like the last one.
So share a story with me either good or bad about your recent trip to the grocery store. Feel free to vent too…
I hear you, Nico! It’s horrible, isn’t it? We have a store here called Superstore: cheap groceries, they have clothes and purses (my favourite) and I used to love, love, love going there. I looked forward to it. It’s still the most inexpensive place in town, but you have to bring your own bags or these things that look like laundry baskets to put your own groceries in. Carts cost $1, which you get back if you put the cart back (customer service is really lacking).
Now they’ve put in self check-outs because they can’t find enough staff…lineups are huge, sometimes it’s a half hour wait in line…I really don’t look forward to grocery shopping now 🙁 .
I try to listen to my mom, who is 73 and lived through WWII in France where everything was rationed. She says as long as potatoes are cheap we’ll all eat like kings :D. No more convenience foods for us, everything is getting made from scratch now…which is tasty but really time consuming. Gas here just went up to $1.34 a litre, which I think is about $3.48 a gallon for you…it’s cheaper in Alberta because we produce it here…I can’t imagine what the rest of the country is paying 🙁 . Stinks for everyone, never mind us families with one income 🙁 .
I scour the ads every week, make a list and get my coupons ready and sorted. Then I plan how I’m going to combine trips to get to the store or stores. If something is on sale at a killer price, I stock yp. I plan my meals around what’s on sale and that’s what we eat. I have been shopping at Food 4 Less more often, for their loss leaders, and I am a person that HATES bagging her own groceries. Not because it’s hard, but because I am picky about bagging and make the baggers at regular stores put all of my frozen together, veggies in a bag of their own, fruit in one bag,be careful with my bread!- cans, non food, refrig. items, all together in their own bags. So when I am bagging my own- into my reusable and insulated grocery bags-I feel that I am too slow and am holding up the line. Stresses me out big time. When my kids come along it’s great. I have them trained to bag my way and it’s a breeze.I bag that way because I want to put my groceries away fresh and as fast as possible at home. I’ve also noticed that at Food 4 Less the employees really don’t know where anything is or even what some items are. I love Ralph’s and Albertson’s, but I’m shopping to save and only go there when I can save big.The gas prices have taken a toll. My biggest price gripe is the price of produce. I like to shop the ethnic markets, latino and asian for produce, and even their produce prices are really high. It’s killing me and I now hate grocery shopping a LOT!
Thanks Susan! I have to say you have one Super-cool and very smart Momma! I agree with you too, customer service has left the planet 😉 Checkout used to involve a hi how are you and a smile, and now it is a sigh and an eye roll, nobody seems happy anymore.
The gas prices are crazy here, and I’m (even though I stay at home) looking for ways to drive less. Saving on groceries is really tough, but I keep trying 😉
Wishing you all the best and sending you big hugs too!
Thanks Mimi! I absolutely dread grocery shpping! We used to live in a larger city, and there were many places to shop and save. When we moved to a smaller city, you have about 4 choices to shop at, or you can spend the gas money and shop out of town. Either way, I seem to be losing.
I’m picky about my groceries too. Milk has to be in a bag, and I like all of my veggies together too. That is one nice thing about shopping at Aldi… At checkout all of your items are back in the shopping cart, and they have a bagging station so you can take your time bagging the groceries.I seem to take forever, but it makes it easier to put them all away at home. That is great that your kids help out too 🙂
Wishing you all the best and sending big hugs your way!
Thanks Nana! Your Farmer’s Market sounds amazing, and what a great way to support your local Farmers. I dread the Wal-Mart trip, but locally Wood’s is worse 🙁 Wal-Mart becomes a necessary evil to save a little. I keep hoping that our little town will grow a bit more and we will get an Aldi!
Wishing you all the best and big hugs too!
We did get an Aldi(speaking of little towns growing) in the next town over. But gas being so high I have tried to buy most of the groceries here in our hometown store. I do get sick of always having to buy what is on sale and not items I would like or have a craving for. I need to buy more fruit for our family, but it is so expensive. That’s my rant. Heather
Thanks Heather! I love to shop at Aldi too (ours is 30 mins away), but the gas prices keep me shopping locally. I’ve been working on a jumbo stock-pile list to shop for at Aldi. I think that if I can pick up 2-3 months of canned goods,it will be worth the gas money.
The fresh produce is another story all together, I’m sticking with the basics: potatoes, bananas, carrots, and celery. I’ll buy strawberries if I can find a good price. I’m just hoping that my little garden will help out a little and bring in some fresh fruits and veggies.
Wishing you all the best and sending big hugs too!