Wednesday WTF: June 14, 2017
Convenience Stores Waste Your Money
Happy Hump Day friends and welcome back to “Wednesday WTF;” my weekly rant about things in your life that waste your money. This week’s victim is Convenience stores. They should really rename them to “3x the price” stores. They conveniently over-charge you to sometimes absurd amounts. I’m not sure in what world these prices are acceptable but for some reason, it flies here. In this post, I will go over 2 reasons you shouldn’t shop at these nightmares and 1 acceptable reason you can.
1) You are trading “convenience” for value
Last time I checked a Tuna sandwich shouldn’t cost $5. Also, a 3 pack of Advil shouldn’t be $7. Makes you wonder how they get away with charging you this much. Well, they trade the convenience of you having no other options for charging you anywhere near a reasonable amount. I will admit I use these money dumpsters often, mainly because it is the only thing around where I live. Good old Downtown London Ontario with no grocery store. Even my parent’s small town of 2,000 people has a grocery store in its downtown. What this leaves me doing is grabbing what I need when I can. Often times this means I am spending way more than I should be. My heavy work schedule it makes it tough for me to get out to the shopping centers here in London, but I really should make the time.
2) The Quality is Piss-Poor
I have seen some items in mini-marts that I don’t think they even make anymore. Yes under those 3 inches of dust is Pepsi Clear. I was unaware that Pebbles Cereal was still being produced. Don’t you love those best before dates that make no sense either? When is “BB-06019976” anyway? Seems like those products were made specifically for Mac’s Milk where they product rotation is at a minimum. Even more scary to me the prepared food! Sub-Sauce doesn’t turn green meat fresh again. They do serve gourmet blue cheese sandwiches though. Long story short; be wary of anyone trying to sell you “Fresh Submarines.” They aren’t called that anymore, just saying.
The essentials can be bought here, however. When I shop at my nearby mini-mart is usually for the essentials. Milk is usually standard and the prices are fairly consistent. Other things like eggs, snacks, bread, etc. are hard to mess up. It is only when you go into the deep aisles of “Bob’s Bargain Mart” do you find the really odd stuff. For those who smoke the prices are fairly standard as well, so feel free to waste money killing yourself at your local Hasty Mart. I have been burnt a few times so I always make sure I check expiration dates and so should you.
Convenience stores exist for a reason, they are profitable. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use them, just be careful. You are often paying far too much for the ease of using them. Besides a moldy sandwich isn’t good no matter the price. Thanks for reading my post today and tune in tomorrow for “Thursday Trim the Trash Time.” Have a great day friends!
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Joseph James Francis is a Financial Advisor. You can find him on various social media platforms and at budgetboss.ca.