militarymoms

Believe it or not, I have this discussion practically every week.  I’m a huge fan of military commissaries.  I’ve spent many hours comparing prices and figuring out how to get the most out of my grocery dollars, and I really believe that the commissary has the best overall prices.

Years ago, we were stationed in Norfolk, Va., and my husband was out to sea for six long months.  I was working full time and had a kindergartner and a baby to care for.  I tried every possible way to justify NOT shopping at the commissary.  It was half an hour’s drive away.  It was thronged on the weekends.  It was a pain to schlep grocery bags and two young kids; surely my time was worth more than that!  Finally I did the frugal mom thing.  I got out my ledger paper and made a price book. 

You guessed it - I discovered that I saved so much money on the basics of life, like milk, diapers and diet Coke, that I couldn’t afford not to shop at the commissary.  And that was without factoring in coupons and commissary specials!  Even when I subtracted the cost of gasoline and vehicle wear and tear, I still saved money at the commissary.

That was ten years ago, and I feel the same way today.  I carefully compare prices when we arrive at each new duty station, and I even memorize the prices of items I buy all the time.  (Diet Coke was $0.99 at my commissary this week, and Super Wal-Mart is charging $1.25, for example.)  I make occasional trips to Costco and the local grocery store, but I only buy items there that I can’t get at the commissary or need for a cooking emergency.  With gasoline close to $4.00 per gallon here, I’m glad I live close to my local commissary, but I’d shop there even if I had to drive half an hour each way.

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