Say No to Convenience Stores

My S & I used to work in a call center company.

And as such, we were used to buy A LOT of items from the usual convenience store (i.e. 7-11 & Mini-Stop). May it be cigarettes, bottled water, snacks, crackers, you name it we've bought it from these stores.

Reason behind that is because, well coming from it's name, it's convenient.

During 15-minute or 1-hour breaks, we would go to those stores and just buy what we wish. We need not bring any packed-lunch to work since it's readily available - just one elevator ride away.

One day during our then "rare" visits to the grocery store, I chanced upon our favorite drink and thought I'd buy a pack for the upcoming weekend.

I didn't check on the price.

When we got home, I doubled check our receipt to make sure everything we bought were there.

"What the..?! This pack of 6 costs Php 150? We buy this for Php 40 a piece!"

Yup, young & ignorant as I was then, it never occurred to me that I would get a lot more value for our money if we bought directly from the grocery store instead of the convenience store.

So My S & I agreed to never ever buy anything from the convenience store unless it's a real emergency.

Well, let us dig deeper...

What are the usual items bought from grocery stores?

1. Beverage - This may be bottled water, soda or any type of beverage. Come to think of it, do you really need that Php 20 bottled water 3 or 4 times in a day when you can just buy a tumbler and just use the water dispenser in your office pantry?

2. Hot Coffee - If I remember correctly, the smallest cup of hot coffee from a convenience store costs Php 15-25. But if you buy a pack of instant coffee from your grocery store (the single-serve types), it would cost around Php 60-80 for 12 cups. That's value for your money.
Don't have anything to drink it from in the office? Go buy a cute mug that you can keep in your work station and a tea-spoon too. It may cost Php 50-120 but you would get to use it for a LONG time.

3. Snacks - I'll round this up on these items: cracker, biscuits, cookies, chips, small breads, peanuts, etc. Basically anything that you can nibble on. My favorite biscuits costs Php 10 from the convenience store, but when bought from the grocery store, it costs Php 40 for a dozen. Are you getting the hang of it yet?

4. Toiletries - As women, we get a monthly visit from the Red Sea (if you know what I mean). Sometimes we're caught off guard and need to buy sanitary napkins in a hurry. Per piece in a convenience store, it's usually sold for Php 6-20. But if you buy it from the ever-reliable grocery store, it only costs Php 50 for a dozen.

5. Pre-Packed Meal - There have been a lot of new additions to the convenience store, and it includes lunch or snack packs. It can be rice with viand packs , sandwiches, siopaos, stuffed breads just to name a few. Let me elaborate on the rice & viand packs on a separate blog. For now, I would focus on the snack packs. A usual sandwich costs Php 40 in a convenience store. If you buy a pack of pan bread, it costs you Php 40, a pack of sliced ham for Php 50, medium-sized mayonnaise for Php 50 and a roll of lettuce for Php 30, Php 170 in all. Yeah, it may cost a lot more than your convenience store sandwich, but you can make up to 6-7 servings. Still, a very great value for your hard-earned cash.

It all boils down to one thing, convenience stores are rip-offs!

When going to work, you can use a medium-sized bag, put in a packed lunch, some crackers or biscuits for snacks, your toiletries, a small drinking bottle, your cigarettes (if you smoke) and you can make it through your shift without the need to do your regular convenience-store trip.

It may be a hassle for some to drag a bag when commuting to work...

But hassle does not (and will never ever) hold a candle to giving value to your money.

Think about it.

My S & I were able to save a little more than Php 1000 on the 1st month that we said No to Convenience Stores.

How much can You save?