Throw it in the Bag

Currently:

Grocery shopping has been a point of contention for me. For the past few years, I really enjoyed online shopping and having someone bring my groceries to my car. The convenience is a great perk. However, I needed a lot of groceries this time and wanted to go during the middle of the night. I remember my Cub Foods was open 24 hours in my hometown and I did a quick search and found a Cub close to me. My shopping experience truly emulates Cub’s tagline, “I Love My Cub”.

Going to “my” Cub at this time had so many benefits, and I’ll walk through each of them.

First, the parking lot only had about 5 cars in it. It was nice to drive in and not feel anxious about people entering or leaving the lot. Then, I learned Cub had a special “stamp” promo going on. From my understanding, every $10 you spend at Cub, you earn stamps that you can redeem for really nice pyrex glass containers. This was my first time going at this time of night/morning and it was so calming, relaxing, and exciting at the same time. I basically was the only one in the store along with the employees. The store was fully stocked, and there were several new products to look at, while they carried the staple products I know and love.

A big thing that went into my experience was the thoughtful design of the store. Having special items on the end caps and putting items on shelves that go with each other was helpful and made me contemplate what I would like to do with a specific ingredient. I also was excited to find a specialty item from their meat department, stuffed pork chops. I will be making that for my thanksgiving meal than your traditional turkey. I did pick up turkey breakfast sausage and deli turkey so all isn’t lost for the “turkey” tradition for Thanksgiving.

There’s something to be said about being in a store when it is not crowded. Having as much time as you want to contemplate and decide on which item you’d like to purchase was so beneficial for me. Understanding thoughtful design, I always look at the top shelf for the “best” or high ticket items, and then I search the bottom shelf for the store’s brand or a cheaper option. I didn’t have anyone rushing me or looking over my shoulder and really could take my time. This helped me discover new products I have decided to try.

The store was really clean, and all of the workers were incredibly friendly as well. This whole experience is making me re-imagine how I will grocery shop in the future. I like several grocery stores for different reasons, but Cub certainly gained brownie points in my book. I grew up going to Cub with my Mom, so shopping for my Thanksgiving meal at Cub was healing for my heart.

Another point I’ll touch on briefly is a point of contention in my past relationship regarding money and grocery shopping. This is a hurdle I was never able to get past. Knowing this, as I am in the dating world again, my eyes are wide open to money conversations. How to be thoughtful, considerate, kind, and fair is what I am thinking about when I have those conversations.

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