Zannee’s Blog at BargainsLA.com

Like most people, I like saving money without having to work too hard. But unlike most people I will work at it when required. I will wait to pounce at a sample sale, drive out of the way to get a great deal on an appliance, gadget or piece of furniture. Do what ever it takes in most cases. Where I am at my weakest is grocery shopping. Though I will look at the price and compare, I tend to buy what I like to eat. Prices be damned!

I do know enough not to shop when I am hungry and to buy in volume and pounce on store discounts, but use coupons…. No way. My husband is the king of coupon shopping, consistently saving near 50% every time he shops. That’s why he does the bulk of the grocery shopping.

However the king is out of town with a tour for a couple of weeks leaving me to blow the family budget! I promptly went out and bought items I knew I’d like: Pesto sauce, mushrooms, zucchini, wine, breads, yogurts, cottage cheese, elaborate salad ingredients and such. Yummy, healthy stuff. A grocery bill that would normally run my hubby $50 is $80 when I grocery shop.

But the “piece de resistance” was when I blindly went in to buy large round Globe  grapes for a Halloween Haunt at my daughter’s school… $2.99 a pound at Ralph’s ended up being $35 for 4 bags of grapes. I was too dumb founded to object at the register and walked out of the store mumbling to myself.

I have failed grocery shopping 101. I hadn’t planned ahead, I hadn’t compared grocery ads…. I hadn’t done anything to insure I wasn’t overpaying. I just went and mindlessly bought.

The Bargain Queen’s crown is all a-twitter.  I’d better come up with some spectacular bargains to return to my normal self. I’ll keep you posted.