Shame on You: Winn Dixie

Winn Dixie is not traditionally a "green" store, but I shop there fairly regularly, mostly because it's the closest supermarket to my home. My local store has recently set up a new "organic and natural" section which actually has a fairly good selection. However, the prices are not fair at all.

Case in point: Kashi Black Bean Mango frozen entree. For some reason that I can't work out, not only does Winn Dixie charge an outrageous price for the Kashi frozen entrees (most are $4.29 in my local store), they single out the Black Bean Mango, which is the only vegan variety they sell, for special treatment. They charge a truly outrageous $5.49 for this product. I can buy the exact same thing for $3.79 at Whole Foods, and we all know that Whole Foods isn't the cheapest store in town. Last time I was in Walmart, they had them for $3.59.

Shame on you, Winn Dixie! And buyer beware - don't get suckered in to thinking that you're getting stuff cheap there. Even if you're using one of their regular $10 off $50 coupons that they give out all the time, this still doesn't bring the price down to anywhere near the price it should be.

Shopping Tips: Whole Foods

Whole Foods has been trying to sell itself lately as being a supplier of low cost healthy foods, in contrast to their whole paycheck image. Sometimes it is working, sometimes not so much. Here's what I have noticed:

They now provide a free magazine at the entrance with a bunch of coupons in which are good for 3 months. And it includes things you might actually buy, rather than the usual coupon selection which always seems to be snack food only. So pick up a magazine every time you go, as you can just keep getting the coupons for stuff that you buy regularly. But read the coupons carefully - there's one for $5 a brand of vitamins, for example, but it is only valid for the 180-tablet size.

When WF advertises on their shelves "2 for $6" deals, they really mean 2 for $6, not like some stores which will give you one item for $3. However, I've noticed (and it's not just in one store) that the offers don't always ring up when you check out. Also, they have a lot of specially marked "Sale" products that again don't always ring up. I was kicking myself when I got home this weekend to find out that I'd missed out on a couple of sales. Keep an eagle eye on the sale and buy-two-for offers as they come up on screen at the checkout - in fact, next time, I'm going to write them all down so I don't forget to raise the issue with the cashier. They have to give you the item at the advertised price so they have to honor whatever they put on the shelf. Perhaps this is a regional thing that my local stores are disorganized, but it has surprised me that it has happened to me so frequently, and like I said, not just in one store. So, pay attention, shoppers!

Ooops!

Sorry for the lack of posting. It's not strictly due to laziness, I promise. I broke out in a nasty, itchy rash and it's taken me forever to switch around all the products I use one-by-one in order to figure out what it was that was causing me to itch. You almost got posts saying how I loved some new soap I was trying, that my favorite deodorant formulation must have been changed, and that a particular brand of toilet tissue was clearly impregnated with some evil itch-inducing chemicals when I finally figured out it was the soap that was causing all the problems in the first place.

Once I am entirely back to normal and reintroducing products again, I will start to review things. Including the itch-making soap.

Shopping Report: Gap women's jeans

Gap has women's organic boot cut jeans on sale for $34.99 here. And they seem to have all sizes available at the moment.