The big chains aren't always cheaper

This is another two-fer

First, today I bought three gallons of milk. I did this because my local family grocery story (Magruders) has a special sale it seems nearly every Monday and Tuesday. Milk costs only $2.39 gallon. Considering my son goes through about two gallons a week, and milk can cost anywhere from just under $3, to $3.50/gallon elsewhere, the savings add up. Obviously I bought way more than he needs right now, but as long as you check the expiration date (this milk bought tonight is good for 7 days after Aug 30) you should be fine.

Magruders (www.magruders.com) has a bunch of things cheaper consistently from the chains, even my beloved Trader Joes. I often buy my chicken and ground beef there, depending on how well stocked our freezer is. Leaving tonight I noticed they offer the chance to sign up for email alerts and special savings. I will do that later and pass on what I learn.

You may not have Magruders, but every town has its local store. Back home in Baltimore it was Grauls. I didn't regularly go to Magruders, even though it was super convenient. But I happened to check back in there a few months back and remembered what I saw. It pays to check out these stores, and also check their ads in the paper when your food section comes out.

Second, this article was online today in the Washington Post.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/recession-road/2009/08/_silverthorne_colorado--anita.html?hpid=artslot

Lucky for us, we are not in these straights (and God willing we never will be). There are good days and bad days. Some people never ask something as simple as "How are you doing" (which would be very much appreciated) and others never stop asking "Any job news" (which is demoralizing and frustrating since if there was, we would tell).

We have leads from time to time, but so far nothing has stuck. We continue to have faith in each other and in God that all will be ok. But we do get frustrated. One of the silver linings of this time (I keep looking for them) is we are even more money conscious than we were before, and when WHEN these times end, we will never go back to spending haphazardly. Everything will be budgeted. These are things our parents and grandparents had to do, and we have learned that lesson the hardway.