Mike and I went out to dinner at a local eatery the other night. I ordered a “grilled avocado sandwich” priced at $7.45, which I thought was reasonable. When it came, I found a family joke popping to mind: “Is that all I git?” The sandwich (which I thought was tasty, by the way) seemed rather small. It was accompanied only by a pickle slice, which made the plate look even barer. It needed some chips, a bed of lettuce – something – to make the meal look appealing. A friend shared his fries with me; if he hadn't, I would have left the restaurant hungry.
The news is depressing: rising gas and grocery prices. I’m wondering how people – and that means your family -- are coping with the cost of everyday travel and groceries. If you’ve been doing the best you can to economize all along, the task of cutting back even more is daunting. If you're single or if there are just the two of you, maybe it doesn't matter so much. But if you have a growing family, you are surely concerned.
As conservative as we are, Mike and I have always agreed that groceries come first and while we practice economy, we don’t scrimp on our food. (The children may not remember it this way. You know how kids are.) When I was a housewife with little children, I clipped coupons and for several years enjoyed refunding. I considered it a hobby as well as my effort to economize. Making a game of the shopping brought a new dimension of interest to an activity that was otherwise drudgery. When I went to work, I largely gave that up as “not worth my time.” But now that rising grocery prices are evident and I once again have the time, I am watching for coupons, refunds, and rebates. Niece Debbie has tuned me in to what’s available online.
Beyond couponing, there are other things I can do -- if I want to -- that will make a difference. I can forego that expensive side dish mix, those bag salads, snack crackers, chips, and treats. Even if I resolve to buy what I want despite rising costs, the day comes when I rebel. ($1.99 a pound for zucchini? I don’t think so.) I can keep my meal plan simple. I can limit trips to the store, thereby economizing on transportation costs. And here's a "biggy" for me -- make sure food is not wasted.
What do you think? Are rising prices cramping your style? Have you made changes in your shopping and driving habits?
10 comments:
I'll be on the bus starting next month. I'll save on the parking cost and gas. Unfortunately, my property taxes have gone up enough to negate the parking savings, but I'll still save a ton in gas.
I drink work coffee--I do not usually purchase fancy lattes. I'm also being more diligent about taking my lunch to work, but that's more in relation to being healthy.
It is not so dire that I'm cutting out on all travel and entertainment. I'll won't always be this young, you know.
We haven't changed much--I'm not much of a shopper, especially during the school year, so I don't blow money at the mall. I always take my own lunch--there's not enough time to go somewhere and I've never used the cafeteria in all the years I've taught.
I do love lattes but only use gift cards to get them--I'm too cheap to pay for my own. :-) My students give the cards to me at Christmas and at the end of the school year--just got two more!
It's a five mile round trip to school each day, but it's the only way to get there, and I'm not giving up my Explorer--I love the security of it. Big and I love the 4-wheel drive in the winter.
And Hallie, your mom and were your age just a few years ago!! (Seems like it, anyway!)
Hallie, you sound so like your dad when you say that the rise in property taxes will negate your parking savings. I guess that's the way it is in the world of budgeting. I was reading this morning about the woes of the airline industry. Glad you went to Philadelphia when you did. Your life sounds much like ours, Chris. We are concerned about rising costs but we go where we want to go in our vehicles. I think we're about Hallie's age -- we're all adults, right? I just don't do hills as well as I used to.
One of the partners did say to me today, "When were you born? 1968?" Either he's really bad at math or I look MUCH older than I am. I said, "Keep guessing."
I shop a lot online. Several places I frequent offer free shipping either permanently or on a regular basis. I use a ton of coupons and have several friends that I trade with. I used to live by the rule "never buy anything if it's not on sale" but since my illness I can't get out as often as I need to, so I shop when I can but still take advantage of sales and use my coupons! I save on gas because of that too. My car doesn't go to town very often. HA-HA!
Even though you can figure it out intellectually, it's still hard to realize that anyone born in 1980-something is now part of the adult working world or close to it.
Mike and I also do some online shopping -- Mike especially. But you do have to watch those shipping costs. And there are some local businesses I patronize because I want to support them. For instance, I buy my yarn from the local craft shop because without her service, we won't have crafts in our community. I heard a rumor that Wal-Mart is going to drop their fabric and yarn. KW
who would have thought that creating new dollars out of thin air and going billions of dollars in debt to the chinees and soudi arabian governments would while quadrupling the cost of gas would drive inflation? Wow. Elect an oil man and a military profiteer and we have a gas shortage and a war. Wierd!
My faimiliar income over the past four years has doubled, my standard of living is the same.
I must point out, though, that in the last four years you added a child to your family and all three of the children are growing. I think families such as yours will feel the inflation the most. KW
So far, we have not changed too much in our activities. We try to make one trip to town do as many errands as possible. We have a small garden which gives us some squash (but that is being eaten by bugs), cucumbers, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and a few beans. I hear that our natural gas is going up 36% this fall. When driving and flying are not options, we'll just have to like our spouses better and hope nothing breaks.
Aha! Chuck is back! Someone else commented to me today about spousal togetherness / staying home. She said she was tired of staying home while he runs all the errands. Sometimes a person just wants to run his/her own errands, you'd rather make your own choice, or you just need to get out of the house (and out of the neighborhood).
I never had squash-eating bugs until we came to this desert spot. Here we see some sort of beetle that attacks our squash. Is there something we can do to quell that? So far my zuke plants look great. The deer love squash plants, too, so it will be amazing if the plants live to bear fruit. I keep trying. KW
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