Jun. 18, 2008 at 5:46pm

Ouch.

(at the grocery store, at the pump.)

A $277 grocery bill slapped me in the face a couple of days ago.  Being that we were at Fred Meyer and all, I have to admit that the order was not only groceries; there was a Baby Alive, a couple of keys, a bottle of Advil, dog food, and laundry detergent. Add to that the extra food needed for the sleep-over, and I guess I can almost explain away the sticker shock of that grocery bill, but then I kinda' go, puh-leeeze! There are only two of us!   And then the next day I remembered some forgotten items (there goes another $30 ) and then I grabbed a quick grab-&-go dinner on the way home from ballet, and there went another $20.(But it was healthy, anyway...)  --Add to that, the gas tank's empty, so I'll kiss g'bye nearly $50, there... 

So now I'm trying to think of ways to get creative about my gas and grocery bills. I can go to the Commissary once a month, and get things like dog food, laundry detergent, toilet paper, olive oil, coffee, cereal, meat, toiletries, and OTC meds.  But will my savings make up for time & gas?  Will getting organic produce and milk delivered offset my gas use?  And, being that our freezer's only wee, will I be able to store the purchased meats?

On that topic, knowing that the commissary has really really good prices on meat (even though The Kid's mostly a vegetarian, and I'm mostly not so big on meat, myself, mostly just chicken breast) --but is the meat complete hormone-infested crap?

Or is it worth getting meats from local sources, too?  (I had about the best salmon in my life, from the downtown farmer's market last year, and I know Cheryl Ouilette has good meats there, too...) --How do costs compare?  At what point should I not worry so much about cost, and go for quality?  Can I save enough doing the commissary for the main, storable stuff, so that it defrays gas costs and enables me to get better quality meat, produce, and dairy??  Maybe on COmmissary days, I also do Trader Joes days?  But then that becomes a huge time-suck, between all the traveling, shopping, loading and unloading...  Again, is it worth the time?

--really, it's a lot to think about, and it requires some lifestyle restructuring.  And trying to figure scheduling to coincide with when I run out of the stuff I just bought, as well as when I have money probably means I'll go back to being apathetic, and getting most of my groceries close to home, and then getting the rest further afield and in random spots (primarily, Fred Meyer, with the odd farmer's market and delivery bits thrown in for good measure...)

oh well...  it's something to think (and write) about...