A Challenge Leading to Realizations:
Maybe there was a reason I forgot my wallet. Without a credit card, I was forced to do grocery shopping with $25 cash. This posed a big challenge for me. I realized 5 things about money. Started to think about people’s way of living in a different way.
Have you ever forgotten your wallet and scrounged for cash? When you are out?
Managed to scrounge to get cash of $25 and change from my jacket pocket, whatever was stashed in my pocketbook and car. After an appointment, I stopped at Whole Foods Market. That’s when I realized I forgot my wallet on my desk and I had no credit cards.
$25 Grocery Challenge at Whole Food Store:
This was a big challenge. I intended to shop heavy because my refrigerator was kind of empty. And I always use a credit card. I managed to shop within my $25 limit. I will share with you what I was able to buy at Whole Foods Store and my 5 big realizations about money. I also know about 10 different Whole Foods Stores around the country. Their stores are always populated and parking lots have nice expensive cars. I’ll be heading back to my house. Join me.
Even if I think I am just buying a few items I always go over $120 and I end up spending up to $200.
Just for two people and one cat, Ms. Lothara. Not even for a whole week.
So my goal was to get enough essentials for 3-4 days.
I didn’t want to end up at the counter and going over $25 and putting back a lot.
I needed to focus and decide what I needed and wanted for the next few days.
No high ticket items like coconut oil, wild salmon, special gluten free pasta, coffee, etc.
I would weigh vegetables and approximate how much they would cost. I did that for each item.
Making sure I didn’t go over $25.
My Forced Selections within $25 Limit:
1. Cat Food:
On top of my list. 5 cans at .99 each. I settled for the Whole Foods Brand and not the usual organic ones. Hope Ms. Lothara is OK with this. Savings of $1.50 for each can.
2. One Dozen Free Range Organic Eggs:
Jumbo $5.19 Lb.
3. Organic Carrots:
about 1 ½ lb. loose not 5 LB. bag I usually buy.
I eat raw cut into baby sticks. But I would never buy the pre-cut ones. I use carrots in soups,
Julienne style cutting in salads, and sauté with other vegetables.
4. Butternut Squash:
Local Smallest one I could find… just less than 2 Lbs. @$1.49
Steamed portion mixed in Ms. Lothara’s food.
You can cut into cubes with the outer skin and steam, sauté or bake.
Baked Butternut halves: I like to cut into halves lengthwise and stuff with tofu cubes, root vegetables and herbs.
5. Local Broccoli Crowns:
1.75 Lbs. @ $2.99 Without stems. I usually get the stems. Make pickles and add to soups.
6. Bulk Millet:
$1.455 Lbs at $1.90 Lb. Quinoa is about $6.99/ Lbs. (So I got millet only.)
Millet is gluten free. It really has a great historical value for me. For centuries, the aristocrats, feudal lords and samurai warriors… the rich class… ate white rice in Japan. That was the status symbol. The farmers and peasants ate brown rice (unhusked) and millet. Millet was made into journey cakes… similar to the American Indian’s custom. It was energy food, wholesome staple for the poor.
The Paleo people say, they don’t digest grains well, that is because they don’t cook grains properly. You need to first soak for 30 minutes minimum and do slow cooking. Or steam or pressure cook.
My realizations:
[1] Took a long time to shop.
I only bought 6 items totaling $23. But took as much time if not more when I buy over $100.
Because I was going back and forth figuring out what to buy and calculating.
[2] Buying with a credit card makes the money value has less pressure on your mind.
I was aware of various prices. What was on sale. But I had to make a choice based on
what is cheaper and what I needed. So I felt I was controlled by the prices.
[3] Took fun and joy out of food shopping.
If I had a couple of hundred dollars on me, I would have felt just fine. It wasn’t so much about buying with cash but not having enough cash to buy the things I wanted. That really took joy out of grocery shopping.
[4] The cost of living has really gone up.
Food prices have gone up.
True I am at the Whole Foods Market and not at Wal-Mart or Costco. But I used to get so much more with $25 in the past. The supply and demand on a global levels, tsunami, earth quakes, dry-heat weather conditions around the world have been driving up the food prices.
[5] There is a big disparity between those who are health conscious and those who are not.
It seems this has lots to do with people’s financial situation as a trend. It takes so much energy to deal with not having enough money to buy the things you need or want. You probably adjust your need to have less. It is quite stressful.
The U. S. Census Bureau reported real median income in US is less than $52,000 in 2013 and 2014.
Based on Dept. of Labor data:
Income before Taxes=$63,784
Average expenses=$51,100
Food= $6,602 … at home $3,977 … away from home $2,625
- Americans are spending about 13% on food. Lots of eating out.
- But America is probably having a wider gap of health conscious consumers and not health conscious consumers.
- Sales of organic food have grown dramatically over the last decade – soaring from $3 billion in 1997 to more than $10 billion in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- When you are financially sound, you can afford healthy way of eating. Those who can afford the lifestyle are generally much more relaxed and have resources to stay healthy.
What are your thoughts about grocery shopping and prices of foods? How do you feel about natural and organic foods?
Are you buying what you want to buy? Or are you compromising what you buy because you have a limited budget?
Be sure to leave your comments below.
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References:
1. Why Are Food Prices So High?
2. Demand for Organic Food Growing Faster than Domestic Supply
3. How the Average American Spend Their paycheck