Buy Vitamin, Buy Cheap, Buy Often

Vitamins come in all shapes, sizes, doses, and prices. High end vitamins can cost upwards of $200 per bottle. On the other end of the spectrum, you can get a knockoff cheapo bottle of multivitamins for as little as $15, though I wouldn't suggest this.

For the hard core health nuts, go ahead and spend $100-$150. After all, we're talking about good health, and preventative care is probably going to save you a bundle down the line when it comes to avoiding outrageous hospital bills.

But for the people who don't make that kind of money, or are in general good health and simply want to fill in all the gaps their diet isn't providing them, I would suggest a multivitamin that contains at least twice the normal amount of RDA for the essentials, and make sure the supplement has a few extra antioxidants like beta glucan and lycopene. Even some lutein wouldn't hurt. In other words, help your body as much as possible.

For more info on vitamin bargains, visit the vitamin world or this really handy website on how to buy vitamin supplements.

Well, not just vitamins. Vitamins, soap and toothpaste, batteries, and of course, food. A good portion of my monthly check actually go's straight to Ralph's. I probably should have taken them up on that stimulus discount gift card thing (it was something like a %10 savings, if you bought a card over $300).

Anyway, previously to my paleo diet, I didn't actually spend that much money at the grocery store, so I didn't bother with all the club card discounts, the coupons, and the super saver savings in the weekly paper.

But, now that I pretty much only eat from Ralph's, I pay attention to all of the above. So much so, that I actually affixed the club card to my key chain today. And as if that isn't enough, when I got my new card, I DIDN'T check the box to have them not send me junk emails and special offers. I ALWAYS check that box. Whenever I sign up for ANYTHING, I check that box. Not checking that box is like a death knell for spam mail and email. But, I spend so much, I figured I'll take whatever kind of deals they give me.

For instance, the Ralph's near my house just renovated. To promote the renovation, they sent me four $5 dollar-off coupons. That's $20 bucks! I spend at least as much necessary to get the full discount, so that's just money in my pocket at the end of the month.

I also sniff out the manager's specials. You have to be careful with manager's specials though. There's only one reason an item gets the manager's special (I learned this from a health blog): It's because the sell by date is a day away. Meats and dairies get the special sticker most often, and if you buy them, eat them soon, they go bad quick. Right now there's some manger's special sausage in my fridge, I'll be lucky if I can finish it in a day and a half.

I must mention, I'm taking a break from bargain hunting posts this month to post a synopsis of a story I just read. It's one of those "what the heck" things. But first, I need to mention my washboard abs. Also, I should mention all the omegas I bought at the vitamin shop, really good stuff. Okay, here's the synopsis...

Daisy is an eight year old African American growing up in a small harbor village in Nova Scotia during World War I. She has many aunts and uncles and knows everyone around town. FRANK STANFIELD is the town’s factory owner, and he often stops by Daisy’s house for family dinner.

Daisy’s AUNT BESS is fierce and beautiful. She’s always looking for a man, and eventually she heads off to New York for better prospects.

Daisy’s UNCLE HORACE is seventeen but he wants desperately to run off to the Army and fight in the war. Eventually he does. He is declared “dead” by the state, but the statement of death is a clerical error and Horace returns home alive and well.

Daisy plays golf caddy to one of the town’s socialites, CHARLOTTE, who is quick-witted and charitable and sharp to dispel the myth that men are better at golf than women.

Daisy’s church is a place for song, socializing, and eating; and once a year a choir comes up from New York to sing, and everyone cooks for the church supper.

As the war comes to an end, many of the ships bringing home soldiers stop to Harbor in Nova Scotia. Often the white soldiers spend the night on the town with the black women. This upsets a clan of local Irishmen, who decide to burn the black part of town to the ground. Frank Stanfield helps gather the town folk together and they stop the Irishmen. 

Ralph's, Von's, Safeway, they're all essentially the same grocery. They sell the same products, they are organized in the same fashion. I like Ralph's a little better simply because it is closer to my house, and they make decent soups, but they are more or less interchangeable.

Enter the club card.

Every grocery store has one. They are free, they are like credit cards for coupons. One third to half the items in any given grocery store have special "club card" prices, that save you anywhere between a dime and a dollar for using your club card when you purchase the item.

Sounds like a bargain, huh?
It's actually just a scam.

First, the "2 for $4" sort of gimmick, doesn't make any sort of difference. Whether you get one or twenty, they will all cost the same price. But the real tricky thing about the club card prices, is they are the real prices of what the product is worth. Several products in the grocery store have suggested retail value actually printed right on the box or jar. The grocery store will list a price on a tag below the product which is more expensive, and under that tag they'll list a club price which is the exact same price as the suggested retail value. This goes for pretty much any product in the store.

Sorry to burst the bargain bubble, but you're not saving anything by using your club card, you're simply paying what the product is worth rather than an inflated price arbitrarily chosen by the store manager just to make sure you subscribe to his "club."

Hope you enjoyed the post. If you did, check out this post on orthorexia nervosa, and this search engine that helps you do a background check.

I'm blogging at the airport right now, waiting for 5 hours in Chicago. I'm on my way to Arizona.

Every year, thousands of bead and jewel merchants head down to Tucson for a week long convention. People from all over the world bring their wares. You can buy lengths of silver, hand made beads of all sort. You can buy gems, lapiz, turquoise, and garnet by the handful. Exotic suppliers of rare artifacts show up. One year I bought a scotche of amber with a perfectly encased clover in the center. It wasn't even that pricey (everyone wants the amber with the insect inside after the Jurassic Park movie did it with a cane).

Probably the grandest thing I saw was a fossil of a mastodon in full. The seller wanted $40,000 for it but I don't think anyone was biting. My friend tells me celebrities buy these sorts of things, it's all the rage right now.

Anyway, the convention is over, but now is the best time to buy. All the sellers have surplus supply that they need to ditch before they head back to their respective states or countries, so the dregs of beads can be bought by the ton for a dime on the dollar.

I don't really need beads or gems, but I can ebay alot of the stuff for 3 to 4 times the value. Ah, I love a good steal. Did I say steal? I meant deal.

And don't forget to take those omega 3 supplements and omega 3 vitamins. They're the best!