Sticker Shock

I stopped at Safeway on my way home tonight for a few items that we were out of and looked at the protein drink I have every morning for breakfast. I had only tomorrow's serving left at home and I was considering buying one or two at Safeway rather than driving out of my way to Superstore. As I've noted previously, Safeway has always been about $1.10 more expensive per bottle but the last time I bought them at Superstore I noticed that their price had risen to only about 50 cents cheaper.

The last time I bought the drink at Safeway I paid $4.99 for the large bottle (2 servings for me), while the single serving bottle was $2.99. Tonight they are $6.99 for the large one and $4.99 for the small size!

Yes, that's right. The small one now costs what the large one cost a few days ago! So I bought the other items I needed at Safeway, then headed to Superstore after all. I had about 15 minutes before they closed but I made it and was through the cashier just before 11 pm. And their price for the large bottle? $4.48 each. I took 4, enough for 8 breakfasts, and I'm planning to go back for more when I get paid again in a week's time.

The lesson here is that you always, always need to pay attention in the store. If it's an item you buy regularly you might tend to just buy it on autopilot. Don't. Keep on top of the price increases. Maybe the store that wasn't such a good buy is now better than this one for certain items. Maybe it's time to find a substitute product. Maybe it goes on sale every 6 weeks or so and you can load up on it then. Just keep looking for the most cost-effective solutions that work for you.