Last month, when we were visiting my friend Jeff in Cleveland, we did a grocery run at Meijer, which had just opened in the suburb of Parma where he lives.

I was surprised to find items there that were LOWER in price than at the Meijer here in Owensboro. That wasn't the case with everything, but the fact that ANYTHING was less expensive in the Cleveland metropolitan area than it was in Owensboro was kind of a shock.

Interestingly, the same items came "back down to Earth" at our Meijer when I got back. I guess, among other things, the popular box store can read minds, too.

Well, I would have shopped at a Kroger, but the closest one was about 45 minutes away in Mansfield, Ohio.

Yes, I'm a Kroger shopper. My Kroger Plus Card has been put to good use:

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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But here lately, I HAVE been noticing an uptick in price on my usual items. Now, to be fair, I've also noticed this elsewhere, but "elsewhere" hasn't issued an actual WARNING that prices are on the rise and will continue to be throughout the remainder of the year.

Of course, I CAN be my own worst enemy when it comes to grocery shopping. I like to visit a variety of stores in hopes of finding something THERE that they don't have HERE, if you know what I mean. That's why we swung by Giant Eagle (which very closely resembles Kroger) on the way out of Cleveland at the end of our vacation. I always like to visit chains we don't have here. It's why I'll probably go out of my way to visit Publix when it comes to Kentucky.

But I'm a believer in "what goes up must come down." Plus, I'm an optimist. (Didn't use to be and then I realized what a waste of energy pessimism was.)

So I'll keep putting more wear and tear on my Plus Card AND visiting multiple chains.

Hey, we gotta have groceries, right?

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