My Local Grocery Store Sucks.

I will prove it with numbers. Oh snap.

Near where I currently reside is a grocery store, part of a chain called Haggen. There's lots of whining about how steep their prices are, yet they are still bought from readily because of their ridiculously convenient location. Today, though, I found out just how much they're ripping me and other people that live near and with me off.

Let's compare grocery lists and prices, shall we?

First, the list from when I made what I now call "FailDogs" (Homemade corn dogs that looked hideous and were a pain to make but actually tasted pretty darn good). These I got at Haggen. It's mostly raw ingredients (which are by nature usually cheaper than premade mixtures/prepared stuff). It should also be noted that I went for small sizes on these since I didn't need a lot, and cheap brands.

- 1 box cornmeal
- 1 box sugar
- 1 ...thing...baking powder
- 1 pack sausages
- 1 pack skewers
- 1 cheap plastic bowl
- 1 box baking soda
- 1 mid-size bottle vegetable oil
- 1 tiny carton of buttermilk
- 1 box butter

Total price: FIFTY-FIVE DOLLARS.

I'm trying to convince myself there was more on that reciept, but no, that was seriously it. ...Why I still paid that, especially knowing full well I couldn't really afford it, is an even greater mystery.
Now, let's look at the grocery shopping I did today at the local Trader Joe's. It's more out of the way than Haggen, for sure, but...ai yai.
I would also like to thank Starlight, who proved herself to be the best shopping assistant ever. Kept me on-track, focused, thinking, moving efficiently, prioritizing and even was kind enough to provide a running price tally (I had a fifty-dollar gift card that was a Christmas present to work with).
The list from today's TJ's grocery adventure:

- 1 pack roast beef
- 1 pack pepperjack cheese
- 1 tub boursin
- 1 good-sized cucumber
- 1 pack salami
- 1 loaf oat/wheat bread
- 1 box squash soup
- 2 little things of yogurt
- half-gallon of milk
- 1 tub tapioca pudding
- 1 bag veggie chips
- 1 box granola bars
- 2 box crackers
- 1 bar good dark chocolate
- 2 box mochi
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 1 jar salsa
- 1 bag snap pea crisps

Total Price: 48 dollars. Didn't even use all of the gift card, and the things bought can easily mix for and stretch across multiple meals and snacks, as opposed to eight corndogs.

What are you even thinking, Haggen.

Though there are plenty of individual items there that can be cried foul on too. They have a little lunch pack thing of six smallish chicken strips with a little tub of ranch. ...For eight dollars. Eight bloody dollars? I could go down to Dairy Queen and get the same thing with a drink, fries, and toast and it would still be less. Even the apples at Haggen are like a buck each, as opposed to a lot of other places (a lot, not all) hovering around fifty cents each.

Eff you, Haggen.


Holden Out.