What do you think is the most difficult purchase (of everyday stuff) & why?

[Stuart G]

...For me it is buying food. I walk up and down the aisles and look at this and that and end up buying
much more than I need. Yes, I got a list, but the adventure to the food store is indeed an adventure.
I look at the list, and get most of the things, and then go looking for stuff not on the list. Sometimes
when I am waiting in line to pay, I get an idea and get out of line and go look for the "idea." With the
list, I was sure I had it all together but I guess that is just another idea to put on the next..."list"

[HUAJIAO]

1. Do you still do this during Covid ?

Sounds dangerous to me.

[Stuart G]

2. I am very careful these days...I go to the store at times when it isn't crowded, and

often virtually empty. The food store I go to is open most hours of the day, and often the crowds are gone.

[HUAJIAO]

3. I do the same,, early in the am or late at nite..

But still, I have a list, check it twice, shop and skiddadle...

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Okay,you are just one of millions

of Grocery Shoppers who have been molded by the Industry Advertising for Decades.

The Boys and Girls at the Ad Agencies in New York,Chicago,and Los Angeles would be proud of your thread..

[Stuart G]

5. Please explain what you mean...Please?

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Spent five plus

decades in the Industry in various positions. Store design and Product placement. It is called Impulse buying using package Coloring and Front panel logos and pictures. Radio and TV and now Social Media Ads targeting your subliminal triggers.

Special Lighting affects,overhead music or sound affects that trigger impulse. Special use of sent and smells pumped through the air circulation system.

Have to say,the use of a List is a way to defeat impulse buying,but,the Boys and Girls over at Advertising are still working to figure us out and find out what our Buying Triggers are.

[Stuart G]

10. Thank You Very Much for Your Explanation. Explains A Lot, "Boys and Girls at Advertising are still

working to figure out and find out what our Buying Triggers are." is a great sentence and .... "Total Truth."

..Also, this sentence: "Special Lighting affects, overhead music or sound affect that trigger impulse."

[Midnight Writer]

12. These techniques are now being applied to politics.

[Lefta Dissenter]

6. I miss browsing

I haven’t been in a store since mid-March. I do curbside pickup of my groceries which is extremely convenient, but it sure kills the joy of impulse shopping!

I guess the most difficult would be shoes for me. I usually have to try on about 50 pairs before finding shoes that are comfortable for me, so for another few months I’m stuck with the worn, broken down shoes that I have in my closets.

It helps that I don’t actually go anyplace where it matters what I have on my feet, as long as it’s comfortable. I care for my elderly folks in their home.

[luvs2sing]

7. Hubster tends to be that way.

When we met, he was recently divorced and not used to shopping for himself. He would be overwhelmed at all the choices and grab crazy stuff, forgetting what he really came for.

Me..I have a meal plan and a grocery list that is organized by aisle number. I can be in and out of a store with two weeks of groceries in 30-45 minutes if it’s not crowded.

Now that he is retired, he shops with me a lot. I have my list, but he’s wandering around looking at this and that and getting ideas for his nights to cook. Sometimes he finds some great stuff that I would miss in my singlemindedness. And I know what he regularly buys and have it plugged into my list so he doesn’t forget what he came for.

[jmbar2]

9. Most difficult purchase - a mattress

As I get older, my mattress takes on new importance in my quality of life. I currently sleep on a futon on the floor for my back. It's working, but at some point, I'd like to graduate to a real bed.

I had a friend who was terminally ill and bedbound. She had not replaced her mattress in many years and it was saggy and broken down. Lying on a bad mattress caused her more pain and distress than the final stages of her illness. I did not have the means to help her, but vowed to not repeat her mistake.

The problem is that mattresses have become big-ticket purchases, and you won't know until you've had it for awhile if it is a fit for your body. I have a deteriorating disk that probably won't get any better with age. I need to figure out what kind of mattress is best for my spine.

So I keep putting off buying a mattress. I don't even know where to begin.

[Backseat Driver]

11. I do have a problem overbuying fresh produce at the once a

month grocery go-to - don't like feeling salad deprived before the next shopping expedition but the salad drawer just isn't big enough, LOL to handle the wide variety of fruits/veggies - a 5 lb bag of carrots take up a lot of room just because I'm craving homemade carrot-pineapple juice as well as salads. I'm also a label reader of new products I encounter so DH & kids have to block out at least 3 hours each, plus driving to a bunch of groceries - some weeks, that would be Kroger, Giant Eagle, Fresh Thyme, Aldi's, the local meat market or fresh fish or little "natural store" for the supplements and organic/vegan brands I like best though I am do not practice either one, LOL - just enjoy cooking those recipes to see how they taste, LOL! I often change the menu on the fly! My car is broken, so I can't just take myself, lol! Then there's getting those "BOGO and 10/10 specials and staying in budget to consider...yup, it's hard but an adventure. I do own a small 7 cu ft freezer and do our 40-square-inch garden, so I can use that for some stuff.

I also have a problem determining how to keep "big pot" leftovers like soup and chili, so that's easier in the winter when the garage can serve as cold storage instead of trying to squeeze it all in the fridge if you cook it just after shopping day - you can put the dutch oven right in the garage on the workbench - cold enough but doesn't freeze and never know when those hungry folk are going to arrive at the door instead of feeding just the two of us. Works the same with the staples pantry - enough room for what I bring home, LOL! End up with tote containers full of pasta boxes, teas/coffees, and baking ingredients for certain recipes.

BTW, hiding from CoVid sux! I'm so ready to have go out to restaurants and take a wanderlust day-trip drives to new places - 3-day weekends away would be fun too! So much to see and do - however, one either has the time or the funds - never both at the same time, LOL! With CoVid - just NO!