Don't Underestimate the Power of Your Local Grocery Store

It's back to school time and everyone is frantically shopping for school supplies, clothes, and groceries. The Texas "tax free weekend" was frantic and I would have avoided it like the plague if it were not for the lack of other options. However, we ventured out on Saturday to return some things purchased in error, which was easy. Since everybody was shopping to save a mere 8.25%, nobody was returning anything. We had previously shopped at our local "discount store" and our local "office supply" store for the few supplies our high-schooler and third grader needed. I always get frustrated when I have to go to multiple stores to get what I need, so the level of tolerance was already very low. We had spent almost $100 on the basic supplies on our lists, you know, folders, notebooks, paper, rulers, crayons, colored pencils, pencil boxes, nothing strange, unusual or exotic. To me that was a lot of money for less than 20 items for 2 kids. The morning following our school shopping extravaganza, I went to our local grocery store (HEB) to beat the crowds on "tax fee Saturday" to purchase our regular, household grocery items. This was a trip I took alone because my husband was at work and the kids weren't excited about going at 6:30am. Strolling casually through the store I came upon the isle of school supplies and when I saw the prices on items I had already purchased I almost fainted right there in the middle of the store!!  Crayola-brand crayons that I had purchased for $1.50 a box and seen elsewhere for over $2.00 a box were only 40 cents and the Crayola map pencils I had paid $2.99 for were only 97 cents! The folders with brads and pockets I had searched for so diligently in the other stores only to be forced to buy the very expensive plastic ones for $2.99 each were only 50 cents each! These were not the only bargains and I don't use that term lightly! I scavenged the shelves for items I could remember were on the list we had already retired and finished my other shopping. Upon returning home I was astonished to compare the prices of the items from HEB and chain "discount store". In calculating the total of the items I spent a total of $40 at HEB and got EVERYTHING that was on the supply list. Needless to say the previously purchased items were the items we returned and I saved a bundle. I don't know about your local grocery chain but we learned our lesson to at least check out the prices before we go somewhere else.