I’m jealous !!!! Living in Chicago its almost impossible to find a store like the one you described. I guess its another advantage of small town living. =)

Salad dressing is near the produce. Pantry staples are near the front of the store. Buns and sandwhich bread (which I wouldn’t have if they gave it away but some folks like store bread) are near the sandwhich meat and deli meat and dogs and brats. Breakfast food is together – eggs, milk, juice, bacon, butter, oatmeal. And so on.

I’ve never stood in line for more than 5 minutes, and there’s never been more than 3 people in line – ever, not in the entire 20 years I’ve shopped at this market.

Of course, I have a huge advantage. Our town is tiny, fewer than 60,000 people. We do without a lot of expensive things — you know, Staryucks and so on. But we sure save money, and we sure enjoy being a community, and not a collection of 60k people living in the same area. Big difference.

I really like your site. If anyone wants great personal finance tips check out her website at http://www.almostfrugal.com.

Thanks for the link, and for taking the topic to the next level. Great post, by the way.