Bigger is not always better

I think I am an educated consumer. I look at the flyers on line or hard copy, I buy items that are on sale, and I look for the best value for money. I was at No Frills near my house yesterday, and came across something that I found interesting.

I need to step back for a minute. I know A LOT of people (families, couples) who shop at Costco and Sam’s Club (pre closure). I get that for a family, bulk shopping makes sense. But for a single person, living in a small space, buying large quantities of products doesn’t work. If you buy food, the food goes bad before it is finished. If you buy products, a) there is limited storage space and b) it may take years to finish a 10 kg box of clothes soap. I need small, cost efficent items that will fit in my storage space and that I can finish before it goes bad.

Back to my story….I am addicted to any kind of disinfecting wipes. Mostly the Lysol brand because they are usually the ones on sale. Case in point….No Frills…yesterday.

The regular size package of wipes – 35 pre-moistened wipes – $1.99

The large size package of wipes – 70 pre- moistened wipes – $4.98

Why would someone pay $1.00 MORE for the same number of wipes???

What did I do? I bought two smaller packages (2 different scents) for $3.98 and saved a dollar.

By the way, I did see the MEGA size package (110 wipes) at Costco for $9.98. Which of course is not a good deal at all…3 x $1.99 (105 wipes) = $5.97 at No Frills vs. $9.98 at Costco for 110.

Which leads me to the subject line….bigger isn’t always better.

Just think about this the next time you are walking through Costco and trying to decide if that is a good deal or not!

Happy shopping!

Swine Flu

Let me just give my opinion about the Swine Flu and the situations with travelling to Mexico. It is still safe to go to Mexico. Please read attached article:
http://ca.travel.yahoo.com/news/capress/090424/utravel/swine_flu_mexico_travel_2

Brad works in the US in the radio news forum. I read his facebook status last night and cheered. Someone has to show perspective. Here is his update from Sunday:
“Swine flu. U.S. population = 300 million+ and only 20 cases of the flu. No deaths here. Half a million americans die of heart attacks each year. Instead of worrying about swine flu, maybe we should think about skipping the cheeseburger for dinner?”

Here is the Canadian perspective:
Canadian Population (as of Jul 2008): 33,212,696
In 2007 – there were a reported 20,000 cases of the influenza and about 4,000 deaths in Canada. (I couldn’t find the 2008 stats)
Current cases of swine flu in Canada: 6 confirmed, more ‘suspected’.

Mexican Population: 109, 955,400
Confirmed swine flu cases: 103, with 400 suspected in hospital now

Flu virus information
Hotline: 1-800-454-8302.
Federal government websites: www.fightflu.ca, www.voyage.ca and www.phac.gc.ca.

2008 total number of West Nile cases in ALL of Canada – 36 confirmed in humans.

Does it scare us? Yes, it does, but let’s try to keep things in perspective.