Discount Shopping!

Matt and I are big fans of the discount rack at Star Market. We’re like savages when we come across those shelves. Today, I got Dove deodorant for $1, Matt got Axe deodorant for $1, we got a bunch of cans of Campbell’s soup, Matt got coffee, and we got a twelve pack of hot dog buns that was missing one bun so it was only a buck. It was quite exciting. This is the best we’ve ever fared in the discount rack.

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I don’t think I like Whole Foods that much anymore

When I was a kid growing up in Jersey, I used to go with my mom to this little health food store. We’d get things like Puffins Cereal and EdenSoy chocolate soy milk. On the way out they sold these little mint chocolate bars that came with an animal trading card. We also used to buy our shampoos and conditioner there, and my first deodorant was an all-natural apricot-scented roll-on that really didn’t help my adolescent B.O.

The days of the little health food store seem to be long gone. At first I enjoyed Whole Foods…I liked that it was like a health food SUPERMARKET. I defended Whole Foods’ prices and when people called it “Whole Paycheck” I would get mildly irritated because I felt like the higher prices were justified by superior product.

I like their 365 brands of shampoos and conditioners, so I stopped by Whole Foods yesterday to get some. I noticed the prices went up (by about 50 cents) for them, but I know that prices are going up for everything, so I grabbed them anyway.

I wandered around, thinking I’d buy some granola bars while I was at it. I’m a fan of the Cascadian Farms Chocolate Chip Granola Bars…I was about to grab a box until I saw the price. It was a whole extra dollar than it was for the same exact thing at Star Market!!! (AND I’ve gotten big boxes of them at Costco which, of course, is an even better value!)

And when I saw that, my love for Whole Foods began to wane. With Stop and Shop and Star/Shaw’s expanding their organic sections and carrying the same things at lower prices, why frequent Whole Foods? And after my recent discovery of the pre-made mac and cheese at my love, Russo’s, which is just as tasty as the Whole Foods mac and cheese but at less than half the cost, I think my Whole Foods trips will be few and far between in the near future.

I do still enjoy certain things at Whole Foods, but between Trader Joe’s, Russo’s, farmer’s markets, and the ever-growing organic sections of mainstream supermarkets, my love for Whole Foods is fizzling out.

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