youthmystique

Grocery stores are frustrating. I’ve hated going to the grocery store since I was five.

I remember our family would be out somewhere and my mom would say, “Oh we need to stop at the grocery store for some things.”

What is intended to be a 10 or 15 minute stop turns into more like a half an hour stop. It takes a while to find items. If you’re going to the meat counter, you may have to wait in line or wait for the attendant to come over to where he or she is supposed to be.

Ugh.

And when it’s crowded, forget it. I have to try not to scream, especially if I’ve had a long day at work or my commute home. A lot of people don’t watch where they are going.

I’ve always been told that you should go grocery shopping when you’re not hungry. Sometimes this is good advice because you don’t want to spend too much on things you aren’t going to eat or use right away. Sometimes when I’m not hungry, it’s hard to determine what I need or want at the store.

Every once in a while when I get to the grocery store after work (when I get out earlier than usual) the store is flooded with people before 5 p.m. There are at least six cashier aisles open but the lines are still very long. (I hate going to the self checkout.)

It’s also irritating because of how much money I spend at the store. (Especially this summer when prices were constantly going up.) Can you imagine how much we’d save if we didn’t have to eat?

Sometimes I get the generic items because they are cheaper. With some items, you can’t do that because the items end up tasting like crap and then you think to yourself, “Why didn’t I spend that extra 20 cents. I wouldn’t still be hungry now.”

I read an article in the Detroit Free Press that stores are cutting their prices on turkey and other Thanksgiving staples (http://www.freep.com/article/20081119/BUSINESS06/811190351.) This is good for families. I feel bad for those parents who have more than two children. I can’t even imagine what they have to pay.