Best kept secret

Okay, I'm way past the point of feeling shame over this discovery. Once on a Dave Ramsey budget, pride eventually sets in. :)

My newest discovery is literally rocking my world. Am I the LAST one to realize that the local 99 cent store has a grocery section with fresh produce??? I admit, my first purchase was met with quite a bit of hesitation. I figured there were some type of germ on these items that I had yet to discover. Oh the pride, I know. What I found out is that the cases of raspberries were the exact same brand, and they tasted just as delicious as the expensive boxes I had been buying at Stater Bros and Costco. The same held true for the hot dogs, bags of onions, cheese, cans of beans, etc etc etc that amount to our staples. What's crazy that I just can't fathom is that they bundle the items - you get 3X the product, for literally a fraction of the price. THE SAME PRODUCT.

Let me give you some perspective. As mentioned in a previous post, we're addicted to sparkling water around here. At Costco this stuff runs about $2.50 a liter - cheapest I've found. But no, at my new favorite 99 cent store, you can get 1.25! LITERS for . . . yup, ONE DOLLAR.

Needless to say, I have had epic freak out moments of joy at least half a dozen times over my discoveries (the items do tend to rotate a bit. For example, I've transitioned to writing "vegi" on my grocery list instead of a specific item because you never know exactly what vegetables will be available).

And get this. On average it has cut our grocery bill each week IN HALF. IN HALF people. FIFTY PERCENT. I feel like pulling a Nigel Lythgoe and screaming "I COULD POKE YOUR EYE OUT!"

It's that amazing.