To Shop or Not to Shop

This is the to shop part of the blog......

I know you're all aware that we live in Alaska, but sometimes I think some of you think we actually live in Timbuktu. To set the record straight, we do have "real" stores here and I don't have to travel for hours to get to the mall. As a matter of fact, the nearest mall is only three freeway exits away. Among other stores, there is a Gap, Gap Kids, Old Navy, American Eagle, and a Gottchalks. Off that same freeway exit is also a Sam's Club, Petco, Borders, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Costco, Sports Authority, Pier 1 and Bed Bath and Beyond. See, we almost have it all! Target should be here this spring! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!

Now, if I care to venture down the freeway a little further there is (I know this may be shocking) another mall. This mall is a little fancier than the aformentioned and they have a Nordstrom, JC Penney, Banana Republic, Abercrombie, and Coach, in addition to some of the same chain stores I mentioned at the first one. This mall is downtown and if you can believe this, they make you pay to park. It's a minimal cost, but a good trip to the mall with cost ya' a couple of bucks.

The price for clothing seems comparable to the prices in California, but we don't have sales tax here, so that's kind of a bonus. The weird thing is, that so far, I've found much better deals on mens clothing than on womens. I keep going to the mall, looking for a good bargain for me, and I end up walking out with a bag full of bargains for Eric. That man has quite a wardrobe going on. Imagine the damage I could do if his arms weren't so darn long!

This is the not to shop part.......

The prices at the grocery store seem crazy to me. So, all though our family may dress great, we don't eat much (I wish)! Eric keeps reminding me that there is no sales tax, so it's sort of built into the price of the food, but I still can't get on board with that concept. For example, when shredded cheese is on sale in CA you can often get two bags for $5.00, here, the sale is two bags for $6.00 and even at that, it'll only be like Jack and Chedder are on sale, not all of the other varieties. On sale, you can get milk 2 gallons for $7.00 (not such a bargain, especially when you purchase the milk on 2/6 and the expiration date is 2/10). On sale, bananas are .99/lb. I often could buy them on sale in CA for .59/lb. You get the picture.

I almost forgot to mention alcohol! Alcohol is quite a bit more expensive and you can't just buy it at the grocery story! For some reason alcohol is always purchased separately in the state of Alaska. Some grocery stores have a liquor store attached to it or within it, but you have to pay for the alcohol by itself, at a designated cashier. It's the same way even in Sam's....you have to pay for the liquor in the liquor cage.

The other thing about grocery shopping here is that there are two major chains and that's it. There is a Carrs (owned by Safeway) and Fred Meyers (owned by Krogers, I believe). There isn't a whole lot of competition, so they don't have an incentive to lower prices. Also, there are very few coupons in the Sunday paper. The coupons in the paper here are the ones in the insert that I used to not even look at in CA. You know, the insert that has the check order forms and the Lenox crystal and Franklin Mint items for sale in it? Yeah, those are the coupons we get around here!

When I spend money at the mall at least I feel like I have something to show for it. When I spend money at the supermarket all I get is a bulging belly that I then have to pay money for the priviledge to work off at the gym! How is that fair? I guess we'll be having dinner at the mall tonight!