SHOPPING | FAMILY BLOGS

Groceries, Be Damned!

We’re quite peckish, though…

Weekly Prompt #3:

I heard on the news that people in my country spend an insane percentage of their salaries on groceries. Do you think it’s the same in your country?

How often do you or your family go grocery shopping? Who’s the one on grocery duty in your household?

Ah, yes. I have already written about this subject in that story in which Queen Ratatouille, my dear mother, was waving around a long grocery receipt like a whip.

I guess I’ll add to it, for writing’s sake.

I’m inclined to believe what I saw on the news, you know. There’s not even a need to make some calculations to see that we spend most of our money on food.

Since our family has been 100% debt-free for about a year now and we don’t really go out that much, we don’t have that many expenses either. Food is our main indulgence.

Also, having access to three monthly incomes puts us in a cozy financial situation. We’re not rich by far, but just recently we have loaned some cash to relatives that are doing better than us in that regard.

That being said, let’s get back to groceries.

The one who does most of the grocery shopping in our family is me. Once a week, I go to a supermarket and return with an insane amount of snacks and useless food items.

The supermarket in question has better prices than all the rest, so aside from some crucial things Mom scribbled on the shopping list, I also indulge in mindless shopping. Why not? It’s cheap!

It is also four buildings away from us. I usually go there on foot, armed with two sizable bags, and I leave with half the store. A blatant exaggeration, of course, but my mom is always amazed at how much junk and extra snacks I can fit in those bags.

Just last weekend, I came back home with six bags of chips the size of my extended arm. Mom looked at those sacks of chips, as she called them, and said, “WTF! [….] How did you even fit those in the two bags you had on you?”

FOOTNOTE: […] stands for meaningless motherly complains that I wasn’t even bothered to listen to. 🙄

Besides that, I also use a nearby mini-market located one building away from us. But this shop will tax you for convenience. The prices are 30% higher since they appeal to lazy buyers who don’t want to travel much for shopping.

However, I give them the middle finger by only buying some daily necessities from there. Mostly sparkling water and bread every two other days.

Sometimes I get greedy and go for some fancy bread or pastries. They close at 10 p.m., but I wait until 9 to buy the basic groceries. That’s when the leftover pasties are 50% off, and I buy them all. 🤩

Nonetheless, by doing this dance every other day, the mini-mart expenses pile up over the weeks, and the expenses are bigger than what I waste on the bulk shopping I do at the cheap supermarket.

Other than this, my dad goes to an old-fashioned market every weekend too. Mostly for fruits, veggies, freshly cut meat, and some produce. It’s his favorite thing to do.

Mom, on the other hand, does the hardest part of all. She just sits there and complains. I don’t know what we would have done without her. Of course, I’m joking. Am I, though?🙃

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