I enjoy grocery shopping with my son the way some people like picking their scabs. There is something painfully pleasant about the whole thing. Sure, we end up with a box of some sugary cereal that he’ll eat two bites of and then toss aside for his tried-and-true Crispix. And at times there is some yowling as we cruise up and down the aisles. But we’ve got the experience down to a nice groove now. I can even manage that oversized car buggy without ramming other shoppers now. And that takes skill.
A girlfriend of mine was sharing an usually unpleasant …read more

Two years ago we, a family of four, were able to eat for $100 a week. I thought that was a lot. At some point I realized groceries had become so expensive we raised the budget to $150 so we could stop feeling guilty for exceeding the budget every single week. Except now we’ve noticed we’ve been exceeding even that.

As I’ve been shopping lately I’ve noticed a few tricky trends.

Juice boxes went up 50 cents but they stuck a Sale sign behind them to make me believe I was getting a deal. The garbage bags I drive across town to …read more

My favorite grocery shopping experience is Sams Club.
I think it’s because Walmart just has too many choices. I wander up and down the aisles frustrated, with my face all scrunched up, hissing at the kids to be quiet, I’m trying to think.  
It takes forever because I can stand in the cheese refrigerator for more than 10 minutes comparing the price per ounce and the calorie per serving of each string cheese choice. Then there’s 20 minutes choosing between cold medicines, soap, shampoo.
It’s the same problem comparing brands of lunch meat, bread, chips, snack foods, tortillas, every stinking thing in the store.
By the time I …read more