Groceries - Why are they necessary?

So, we've been trying to save more money on our groceries and have started shopping for the staples, etc., at Target instead of our local grocery store.  Admittedly, the cost is less, but we seem to buy more, so I'm not so sure that it is any improvement.  Why is it that I can rarely walk through the doors of Target and not have at least $100 in the basket?  Money is really tight right now until our income tax rebate comes through, and I don't need this extra stress, but I have it anyway :-)  I am determined that we will not go shopping next Sunday. 

NCAA March Madness starts on Tuesday.  For those of you outside the US, or who just don't follow/care about sports, that would be the National College Athletic Association basketball tournament where they will move from 64 top teams to number 1 in two weeks of intense games.  I don't follow it as closely as some, but I do enjoy watching the games when I can catch some of them.  And I usually try to guess the brackets and make a guess on who will end up winning it all.  There are always some surprises, and that makes it very fun. 

Japan.  What can be said.  The devastation that country has experienced and is continuing to experience is harrowing.  The issues with the nuclear plants, the tsunami, the amazing videos.  Japan is the most earthquake prepared nation in the world, and they still experienced this type of destruction.  All I can do is thank Spirit that this quake did not happen in an area that had no safeguards in place.