It is Robbery!!!

I went to our local grocery store yesterday, you know the one with the big cat as its symbol. I noticed several things while I was shopping. First of all they had cantaloupes on sale for $1.79. I thought...YUM!! Slices of cantaloupe would taste great with our meal tonight. I smell my cantaloupe to see if they are ripe. I picked everyone up and smelled them....there were only about 15 on the bin. You couldn't tell if you were sniffing a cantaloupe or a box of rice. Then I noticed the sticker...they aren't even from our country. I am trying hard to buy only NC grown vegetables this year, but this time of year that is impossible; I do support the farmers of our country and buy things grown from California or Florida. As bad as our economy is right now, I want to support people in our country. The other thing I noticed was apples were on sale for $1.99 a pound. It looked good because they are regularly $2.49 a pound. Then you move down the produce line just a little bit and there are bagged apples, that are just as good looking as the loose for $3.99 for a 3 pound bag. Buy 3 pounds of the loose apples and you are paying $6 for the same amount as the ones in the bag. Sales are not always the best deals I have discovered. I am sure this is some kind of marketing strategy. Then ice berg lettuce was $1.89 a head...for a stinking head of lettuce that doesn't even have any taste. I am not a fan of iceberg as you can tell. I saw in a Walmart everyday low price flier that their lettuce is .89 a head everyday. A whole dollar cheaper!!! What really gripes me is this store doesn't even double couples or want to take internet coupons. Walmart is boasting that they are slashing their groceries prices. As much as I hate to fight the crowds at Walmart, I slowly see myself making the change to shop there all the time. I don't care for their meats, so I will continue to buy those at Sam's and Costco's. The other thing I don't like about Walmart is that they are very brand limited. They don't carry a lot of brands that I would say are south based (i.e: Carolina Treat BBQ Sauce) because I use a lot of these brands. Also, they never seem to carry the brand that is on the coupon. But over all if I can fight the crowds, not use coupons to save tons of money and still save money...then the trip was worth it. I am certainly not saving at my grocery store now....over $100 for 2 people every time we go. I will be at Harris Teeter this week as they are tripling coupons. I have set aside a few just for this event. I just realized this week as I saw the prices for real that when you are in a hurry and throwing things in your buggy...that is when they get you. Who really has time to ramble slowly through the grocery store looking and comparing prices when you just got off work, both kids are hungry and you are trying to get home. Sometimes we are robbed without someone holding a gun and saying, "hands up this is a robbery."