Shopping problem
I have a shopping problem.
It's not buying clothes or shoes; while I appreciate a fine set of boots for, say, Rocky Horror, I don't lust after shoes the way many women are supposed to.
Buying clothes is an unpleasant task engaged in as going naked is not an option. Sort of like my husband's opinion of cooking (insert "starving to death" for "going naked").
But I realized some time back that in addition to being useful for stocking the pantry, grocery trips are, for me, somewhat recreational.
I don't cook as much as I used to, but I find it pleasant to hunt through the foreign food section, or to find a good price on peaches. I keep most prices in my head, but I did start carrying a price book recently during a money-conscious period. It's helpful. There is a certain thrill to paying the least amount possible for things, or finding something really good without (insert offensive ingredient X here). Finding a good yogurt without gelatin in it, say, or just about any item without high fructose corn syrup.
But since I tend to pay it forward (I keep a pantry and I own a deep freeze) the monthly totals are creeping up again. We eat well, and it's all stuff we'll eat (though the husband won't know what to do with some of it - that's OK, I'm the primary cook). But I'm cutting down.
Interesting the things a budget brings up.
It's not buying clothes or shoes; while I appreciate a fine set of boots for, say, Rocky Horror, I don't lust after shoes the way many women are supposed to.
Buying clothes is an unpleasant task engaged in as going naked is not an option. Sort of like my husband's opinion of cooking (insert "starving to death" for "going naked").
But I realized some time back that in addition to being useful for stocking the pantry, grocery trips are, for me, somewhat recreational.
I don't cook as much as I used to, but I find it pleasant to hunt through the foreign food section, or to find a good price on peaches. I keep most prices in my head, but I did start carrying a price book recently during a money-conscious period. It's helpful. There is a certain thrill to paying the least amount possible for things, or finding something really good without (insert offensive ingredient X here). Finding a good yogurt without gelatin in it, say, or just about any item without high fructose corn syrup.
But since I tend to pay it forward (I keep a pantry and I own a deep freeze) the monthly totals are creeping up again. We eat well, and it's all stuff we'll eat (though the husband won't know what to do with some of it - that's OK, I'm the primary cook). But I'm cutting down.
Interesting the things a budget brings up.