Walgreens to buy Rite Aid; Worlds Longest Receipt to Follow

Walgreens announcement this month that it will buy Rite Aid made me realize two things:

1) When the second and third largest pharmacies in America join forces, we inevitably will have one long ass receipt as a result.

2) This is horrible for the consumer.



OK, maybe the receipts won't that bad BUT this truly is terrible news for the industry. Why? Quite simply when consumers have fewer choices, it's a losing proposition. We thrive on choices, selection and preference and with business it's no different. Some people may simply dislike Walgreens. Instead of CVS or Rite Aid as an alternative, they will only have CVS now.

How about pricing?

Let's hypothetically say a person is looking to get a cash price on a prescription drug, like Viagra. Typically he'd have a choice between the 3 chains. For comparison, let's say CVS charges $50 per tablet. Walgreens charges $45 per tablet and Rite Aid charges $43. Well, there wouldn't be a Rite Aid option anymore, and prices will rise accordingly, so Mr. Consumer may now only have a choice between a $50 tablet from CVS or Walgreens.

Of course we also have the issue of customer service. In many regions, Walgreens and Rite Aids essentially overlap, so it is likely one of those two stores will close. When 1 store closes and displaces pharmacy and store customers, they will flood the open store that is already minimally staffed and service will suffer.

Specifically the pharmacy will probably struggle the most. If you live in a town where you have one of each pharmacy in close proximity, and you take one pharmacy away, Walgreens, that already fills 500 prescriptions a day, will be essentially absorbing the 500 prescriptions that Rite Aid fills every day. Sure, many folks will go to CVS or elsewhere if the choice is available, but even a 30% increase in pharmacy business is going to overwhelm the average skeleton crew you see at a retail pharmacy.

Is it likely Walgreens will build bigger and better stores to reflect the change nationwide? Doubt it. Will they hire more staff to accommodate more customers? It is still going to be the same skeleton crew in the store: 4 people doing the work of 8 people.

In the end, Walgreens are simply buying customers. Some with prescriptions will now have to go there by default, or use CVS, whether they like it or not. Other customers will just be faced with one less quick stop to buy a gallon of milk, and deal with the price change that may occur with one less competitor in town.

Either way, one less choice is a losing scenario for the consumers.

When it comes to big retail in America...You gotta keep 'em separated.

Hopefully our Federal regulators will agree.

Halloween Candy!

It's almost that time of year again - time to dust off that costume, get those treat bags ready and make sure your dental premiums are paid up...Halloween candy is right around the corner! Who doesn't love Halloween? You get all that cool candy that pops up once a year and if you're too old to participate you can always live vicariously through your kids or young relatives. By that I mean help yourself to their candy while their not looking. Or simply use the undeniably righteous trick of "This (insert favorite candy here) looks a little suspicious. Let me try it and make sure it's safe to eat".

So during a time of year where we are bombarded with pumpkin spice everything, fake blood and endless piles of leaves accumulating in our yards - Let's take at look at one thing we can always count on: deliciously sugary Halloween candy. Whether you have kids of your own, young relatives or just wait until November 1st and buy all the 1/2 price candy you can find, it's hard to resist this tasty time of year.

Without further ado, my Halloween favorites in no particular order:

Snickers - It's the quintessential candy bar. Chocolate, nuts and caramel. Sure, it's a year round favorite but it is still hard to resist.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - Another classic combo: chocolate and peanut butter. Nuff said.

Almond Joy/Mounds - As you can tell, chocolate is my vice. When it is teamed up with coconut, it pretty amazing.

King size ANYTHING - Yes, every kid's dream is to score a big candy bar. As you transition to an adult that doesn't change either. Even being a variety you don't care for, the fact that it is king size makes up for it.

Baby Ruth - One of those candy bars you like, but never actively indulge in unless you have 50 bite size bars laying around at home. Nevertheless, a good Halloween score indeed.

Twix - Crispy, chocolately...caramelly. OK, that's not a word but you get the idea. Another heavenly Halloween classic.

Hershey - Yes, the ultimate iconic Halloween chocolate. Simple, plain bar that never lets you down.

York Peppermint Patties - Love them or hate them, they are still doled out year after year. I will gladly take these from the haters, more for me.

Cadbury Screme Eggs - Unique, eccentric and not all that common. Very delicious and totally worth risking diabetes for.

I Make An Extra $100+ Each Month with Swagbucks..and you should too!

Check it out. In less than 30 days I earned over $100 with Swagbucks!

 In case you missed my last post, Swagbucks is an awesome program where you get PAID to complete surveys, click ads, watch videos, search the web and even for shopping. Just by doing it in my spare time I earn $100+ a month and convert my winnings to my favorite thing of all: Amazon gift cards. 

Of course, the choice is yours. There's the Amazon cards as well as gift cards to other common retailers like Target, Nike, Starbucks, Walmart etc. And if you simply want to fatten up your PayPal balance, you can opt to cash out that way as well. 

The way Swagbucks currency works is simple: 1 Swagbuck equals 1 cent. 100 Swagbucks equals $1 and so on. You can cash out at various intervals, some as low as 100 Swagbucks for a $1 gift card, 500 Swagbucks for a $5 gift card and even up to $50 or more. As I mentioned before you earn these bucks by doing many things you probably already do like surfing the web or shopping. You can earn by various other tasks like watching videos or completing short surveys as well. 

As you can see from my Swagbucks earnings, I made over $100 in less than a month just in my spare time. It is a great way to make extra money on the side and it takes very little time invested. Month after month, I average $100+ and add it to my Amazon account for extra spending money. 

Are you ready for some extra money? Sign up below!

Fenix E12: Pocket Power

It's no secret I like AA powered lights. So the E12 was a no brainer for me.

My first venture into the E-series from Fenix was my E25. It combined a nice throwy beam, bright hotspot with an excellent build, making for a pretty useful mid sized flashlight. It features simple one button operation while being durable and bright. The E-series seems to focus on a "less is more" ethic while still maintaining superb quality.

After some consideration, the E12 looked like a top contender for a worthy pocket light.

Once my Amazon package was dropped off, I eagerly sliced the Fenix packaging open to marvel at this tiny little beauty. At a price of around $25, it's not terribly pricey and despite its small stature, the quality is top notch. Inside the packaging is all the usual Fenix extras: Warranty card, instructions, lanyard and a spare O ring.

Don't let it fool you, this pocket light packs a punch. 130 lumen high, 50 lumen mid and 8 lumen low...all from a single AA battery with Fenix claiming up to a 40 hour run time. The beam is balanced and uniform, wide yet focused. Of couse, based on it's size it doesn't provide an abundance of throw or flood, but it strikes a chord right in the middle. Ultimately it excels at your basic lighting tasks at a moderate range. Whether its lighting up a dim area for work or looking around your backyard at night, the E12 will handle it with ease. The beam is rated to throw up to 88 meters, which is helpful in most cases but definitely lacks the distance to act as a dedicated search light.

But hey, it's tiny and travels well and handles everything else.

The E12 is just a bit bigger than a tube of Chapstick, and much brighter too...

The interface is wonderfully simple to control with its single tail button. One full click to turn on. Tap the button to switch modes. Full click to turn off. Its that easy. It always starts on low and cycles to medium, then high. No mode memory, no SOS, no strobe, no hidden Funkadelic disco mode. Just a simple, dependable no nonsense light. Like all Fenix lights it boasts both impact and water resistance ratings so for under $30 bucks you get a tough, reliable and EDC ready light that is quite a performer.

Overall, it is a highly recommended little light that is the perfect size to ride in your pocket everywhere you go.

So far being my second E-series Fenix light, I very much like the quality, simplicity and price point and certainly there are other great offerings within this series of lights that I will check out in the future as well.

Obscure Rock Songs of the 90s: Summercamp - "Drawer"

Way back in 1997 when alt-rock was alive and kicking, California band Summercamp quietly cracked the mainstream with their single "Drawer" from their debut album, "Pure Juice". Clocking in at a hair over 4 minutes, the track showcases all the right dynamics of the grunge (and post grunge) era: quiet and subdued verses dwarfed by a loud and distorted chorus, a decidedly short and sweet solo and catchy hooks. It was standard fare at the time but with all the right ingredients it still managed to shine. Nothing new or daring, but the same tried-and-true formula can always work if done right.

"Drawer" managed to do that pretty well, making it as far as #21 on Billboard's modern rock chart in the spring of 1997 thanks to some exposure from their music video on MTV as well as radio play.

Despite "Pure Juice" not quite living up to my expectations of its first single, the band enjoyed it's success playing festivals and contributing music to soundtracks and TV. Oddly enough, the band is still active according to Wikipedia, even though their debut album is their only full length release to date.

Even though their album was a bit too poppy for my taste, "Drawer" was still a great single. Hopefully if they ever decide to record new music, they can capture that sound again. 

Check out their video below.