“Content is King,” the saying goes, but words are cheap, the king is dead, and cheap is the new king.  What you knew has been turned around and twisted inside out in this brave new world. Folks are rabid for bargains and thankfully, they’re still not all that hard to come by … if you have the patience and know where to look … whether you comb the net tirelessly for a cheap new car (with four good tires) or wait with baited breath for the next TigerDirect email chock full ‘o cheap goodies (and endless distractions).

Today’s economy will empty out your wallet faster then a boardwalk full of hucksters on $1 beer night. Oh sure, the liquid comes cheap, but your money flows out of your pocket faster then a tap on turbo once you’ve become drunk on the bargain suds.  At some point along the way, we slipped into a period of hyperinflation that pushed the commodities and staples we depend on past the point of reality. A trip to the supermarket is a voyage into the Twilight Zone.

All this brought me to Costco today, a place I’d never ventured (since we’re talking about distractions).

I’ve made the vow to buy everything in bulk that can help save a few bucks over the long run. Our bulk toilet paper subscription ran out a while back and we were down to our last roll. (Quite the precarious position, and one we’ve all been in, once too many times.)

Rather then get ripped off buying a four-pack at the local supermarket, I figured it was time to give Costco a roll, so to speak.  Upon entering Costco’s chain link majesty, I flopped down my $50 for a membership card, wandered around the oversized rows with one of their jumbo carts and ended up coming home with 36 double rolls … and a trunk full of other stuff, including a monster box of 500 sandwich bags.  I stopped short of buying the thousand foot roll of aluminum foil for $24 … there just wasn’t enough impulse in me for that large an investment in aluminum futures.

Maybe next time … I might need a couple of rolls to line all the walls and ceilings ….