Where do you draw the line??

I am not a budget food shopper.  I didn't grow up in a budget home.  We always had lots of nice food and nothing was really out of bounds.

I am not a loyal shopper - I flirt with them all making no commitments to one favourite supermarket. I shop at IGA sometimes even though I know it is more expensive but hey it is open 7 days 12 hours a day and it's convenient.

If I'm shopping and an item we need is on special I may buy extra and 'stock up' but that's about as far as it goes.

When I was in primary school I had a friend whose mum would read all the catalogues and make shopping lists for every store based on what was on special in each one.  I admired her dedication but even back then at the ripe old age of 12 it seemed to me to be a false economy.  All that time and effort to save a few dollars overall.

I knew another woman who would take a small paring knife shopping with her and actually cut the ends off the beans so she didn't pay for any weight she didn't need.

I remember my mum telling me stories about my Nanna coveting stone fruit but not buying it because it was too expensive.  It's a scenario I simply cannot imagine but today when I went to buy 2 largish bananas and it was going to cost  $6 - I had to draw the line.  I'm sure I've paid as much before - probably the last time there was a banana shortage - but it would have been hidden in a larger grocery bill. Seeing it broken down like that was just too confronting.  On an average day Noah eats 2 bananas sometimes 3 - that's a minimum $42 a week banana habit.

Are you a budget shopper?  Are you a disciple of the catalogues and specials?  Have you bought any bananas lately??