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Jan 26, 2006

T-bone Response
I started replying to a comment made by Texas T-bone on my last post, but it was getting long so I thought I would make it a post and open it up for further discussion.

T-bone said:

But don't the prices at Kroger seem a little high to begin with?

Well, first off, I bought A LOT of food...for what I bought (enough feed a small family...) it was a good deal I think. I bought much more than I usually do, because I restocked my pantry and freezer from their previously desolate states.

But, generally I have found Albertson's to be much higher than Kroger on the things I buy, and Tom Thumb to be cheaper than both (which is totally counterintuitive). This is all assuming use of the store's reward card.

But here's another thought, it may be the food I buy. I tend to buy a lot of produce and fresh foods, versus boxed and bagged things. This may change the pricing dramatically. If one chain has a better source for cheaper produce and meats, my grocery bill probably changes significantly. The majority of my diet is vegetables and generally my only major source of carbs is a loaf of bread and some low-carb pasta (Dream Fields ROCKS by the way...). And I avoid entirely, any boxed meal or side dish like rice-a-roni or hamburger helper (with the exception of frozen lean cuisines).

But in the end, the tomatoes at Albertson's cost more than Kroger's and they last several days fewer than Kroger's or Tom Thumb's. I am lucky, if a tomato from Albertson's sitting in my fruit basket lasts three days. The same type of tomato from Kroger or Tom Thumb will last a week at least. Tomatoes and avacadoes seem to be my test foods. Their prices seem to be very indicative of the general pricing of produce and the store in general. They may go up and down with the season and crop production, but when you compare prices from store to store, they seem to be a pretty good indicator. For instance, hands down, the cheapest mainstream supermarket is HEB. If you live near and HEB, count your blessings. Someone loves you. Their produce is beautiful and amazingly cheap. And I distinctly remember moving to Dallas from Austin and going from HEB to Tom Thumb. My weekly food bill, which had averaged $50, jumped to $75 for the same food.

So, to answer your question T-bone, their prices are definitely inflated slightly due to the Plus card, but they seem to be a middle of the road pricer to me.

What do the rest of you all think? Have you ever taken the time to think about it even? I know I am a strange bird...These really are things I think about...
posted by Ty @ 1/26/2006 | 6 comments
Upperdaters
Hmm, I haven't said anything in a few day...uh, well, let's see...I spent $93 at the grocery store on Tuesday. For just me. AND I saved $17 with my Kroger Plus Card! But my pantry is now well stuffed with healthy food, and I found out that Best Maid, that really cheap (but quite tasty) pickle company makes pickled okra...ever had pickled okra?? It's really good...REALLY good...

I also paid all of this month's bills at one time, officially making me broke as a joke...Christmas slaughtered my bank account. I was a REALLY good friend/daughter/granddaughter, people. The slaughter actually woke me up in the middle of the night. The screaming and scratching that was eminating from the inside of my computer monitor was unbearable. In the end, I managed to get a stay for two bills that aren't due to be executed until February 8th, in an attempt to fool myself into thinking I am not actually broke as a joke.

In other money matters, Bank of America's Keep The Change program is making me save a few pennies at least...It seems to be averaging $35 a month...not bad for the change left over from checkcard purchases. (If you are unaware of this plan, you sign up for it and they take the "change" from each purchase and put it in your savings account. So if you spend $4.22, 88 cents goes to savings.)

Let's see, what else...I checked out 6 books from the library yesterday, on resume and cover letter writing...I am completely stumped on where to start with the cover letters. They scare me. I am sure I will get over that, just like I got over writing my resume (the resume books are just sort of for reassurance that my resume sounds good...they have lots of examples in them. So far, I look pretty good on paper!). When I started rewriting my resume, I felt almost timid about it, but now, just a week later, I am helping my friends write theirs! lol...Which by the way, is sort of weird. I have so many friends looking for new jobs it's not even funny. Must be in the air...

I also have determined that it is quite possible to cook a totally guilty-feeling dinner and have it only contain 2 or 3 grams of fat...I know this, because I did it last night, and a couple hours later, when I was craving a snack, but told myself, no you ate a dinner that was bad for you, I realized that was completely wrong...and if I wanted a snack, I damn well could have one...great feeling...

Oh in fun news, my weekend, which I am not sure exactly how I will pay for, will be a blast! I'm headed downtown to hang out with the downtowner friends I have on Friday, and Saturday is Girl's Night! Yay! Fun times!
posted by Ty @ 1/26/2006 | 3 comments