Combo Loco

Sometimes I am a complete idiot. Why didn't I think of this a long time ago. I love HEB's Combo Locos. They are great. You buy one or two items and you get one to five items for free. For instance one of this week's Combo Locos is buy a Stouffer's Party Size Lasagna or Enchilada and get these four items for free, Nestle Nequick, white baguette bread, Creamy Creations sherbet, and Fresh Express Caesar or Caesar Lite Complete Salad. Not a bad Combo Loco.

Most of the time the Combo Locos have at least one or two items I don't want or won't eat in the list of free items. Like, I wouldn't get the Nestle Nesquick if I was going to get this Combo Loco. Sometimes it's the whole thing, buy and free items I don't want. So usually I just don't get the items I don't want or I don't like. I always get asked at the check out, you didn't get "blank" and I always respond, "I didn't want it." Now to my mother that is sacrilege. Her philosophy is, "It's free!" My philosophy is if I won't eat it, it will just spoil or if I shouldn't eat it, I'm not going to bring it into my house.

So today I went to HEB for our weekly grocery shopping. One item I was already going to get was a bag of salad lettuce. Roger and I eat about one or two a week. We love salads. So I ventured to the produce section and saw an HEB employee putting Combo Loco coupons on all the bagged salad. I scanned it real quick and saw I wasn't interested in the deal. It was buy one bag of bagged salad and get a four pound bag of Texas oranges for free. What was I going to do with four pounds of oranges. Roger and I eat a lot of fruit every week, but four pounds of oranges would go bad on us. It's just the two of us at home. We don't have any kids. We have friends and neighbors with kids over to our house, but how was I to know if they'd be around to help us eat them before those four pounds of oranges go bad. And I'm sorry, I hear this from my mother-in-law a lot, but I don't want to freeze them. So I started to grab the bag of salad lettuce I wanted and the lady said, "Oh don't forget your coupon. You get four pounds of oranges for free." And I said in response, "Thanks but I can't use up four pounds of oranges before they go bad." And she said in response, "Give it away."

That's when it hit me. Give it away. Duh! Give it away. Not only could I help a family by giving them free food, but it made me think of all the times I had not gotten free items because I couldn't use them or didn't like them that I could have given them away. All the families that could use the stuff I didn't like, the homeless people I drive by every day, the food bank that always needs help. I think there is even a bin at HEB where you can donate food. Ugh! Talk about wanting to kick myself in the rear. So that's what I'm going to do from now on. If I'm buying a Combo Loco and there are free items I don't want, I'm going to give them away. Why not? HEB is giving it away for free anyway.

I wanted to share this because I figured some people do the same thing as me. I ask that if your grocery store combines items you don't want, please give it to someone in need. Thanks-Holly