Why, why, WHY, in the name of all that is on sale and going fast, can't I go to Wal-Mart and stick to my list.
WHY, must a list that started out like this:
milk
oatmeal
cookies/snack cakes
ketchup
laundry soap
corn
carrots
end up costing me $200? Two. Hundred. Dollars!!
Somebody stop me!
Obviously I have issues.
I have stock-up issues. I blame this on my mother's neurotic need to stock up on certain things. I stock up on different things, but still, I've obviously inherited it from her. I probably have the only husband in the world who says "Honey, we have too much food in the house..."
I have "I don't want to have to go to the store again" issues. If I am at the store, I wander the aisles thinking about what else I might need so I don't have to get out again.
I blame this on my husband's former travel schedule.
He used to travel for work quite a bit. I mean VERY. EXTENSIVELY. He went to Peru and Columbia quite regularly, and on short notice. He went to Pakistan and Brazil. He'd leave on Monday, come home on Friday, leave on Monday come home on Friday.....and I'd use his time at home to make sure I had everything I needed in the house before he left again so I wouldn't HAVE to run out with two babies to get crucial items. Because in January and February in Illinois, you don't want to have to bundle two babies up to go buy apple juice, milk, diapers and baby Tylenol during a snow storm. I always took the kids out while he was gone but I wanted them to be trips that I CHOSE to do - like the mall or McDonald's or the children's museum. It was one way to make a stressful time easier for me - eliminating any inconvenience I could because I had no backup.
Isn't it funny how we become entrenched in a certain mindset even after our circumstances no longer warrant it? I am still sometimes stuck in the "MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING!" mindset. What an impact those years made on me.
Finally, I have "well, now we can afford it" issues. When the kids were little, we lived on a very tight budget so that I could stay home to raise them. I don't regret it for one minute but there were certain things the kids asked for that I would have to say "no" to because they were too expensive.
Like grapes.
Kayla loved grapes. And I almost always told her no we couldn't buy grapes, because they were usually $3.59 a pound or more, and then we'd buy apples. I always felt bad that I couldn't justify fresh grapes for my little girl. When they would go down to $2.59 a pound, I'd run out and buy them, cut them up and let her feast on grapes. But I wasn't going to go to work so that my children could eat grapes.
Which leads me to another question. Would young mothers today consider me a bad mom because I didn't stretch my budget to include more fresh produce for my kids? I was raised on canned fruit and so were my kids to a certain extent. In fact, I think most kids 15 years ago were, at least in my circle of friends. But fresh produce in this part of the country is pretty expensive for half of the year. And it's not always that good because of what it goes through to get here. So...am I a bad mother because I wouldn't buy grapes for my daughter when she was 3?
But back to the "well, now we can afford it" issue. Today I bought two fresh pineapples. Because Kayla has been enjoying fresh pineapple and I want to be able to keep it at home for her; because now we can afford it. I mean it's not a box of chocolates, or frozen pizzas. It's pineapple. So I bought two because she loves it, and so do I.
That, and I wanted to use my new pineapple corer.
Other things I bought,
dog food
ketchup, ranch dressing, and barbecue sauce - because they, along with maple syrup are like nectar from the gods for my family. Seriously my family are condiment junkies.
a space heater for the basement
a shower curtain for the kids' bathroom - because I am ashamed of the words that go through my head when I clean their shower and the "one-piece -with -the -look- of- two -panels -and- a -valance" shower curtain keeps falling in my face. I went with a plain straight shower curtain.
bananas
eggs
Mucinex - that stuff is NOT cheap
English muffins
canned soup
various other things that will make my husband do that thing with his eyes because we have too much food in the house. But, boy, wait 'til the next blizzard hits and we have everything we need. Who'll be complaining then, huh?
Oh, and guess what I packed in Kayla's lunch this morning.
Grapes.
Yep, life is good.
4 comments:
You're not alone. I remember the days of a grocery budget so tight, I would make the list and I was shopping for the items I would write down the prices. Then before I would head to the checkout, I would use my calculator to figure up everything, including the taxes. I COULD NOT go over whatever my budget was. Since things have gotten better, I have taken to at least picking out one type of fresh fruit per week. I usually let The DQ decide. It could be kiwi, apples, grapes, oranges, strawberries etc.
You are not a bad mom. I too was raised on canned fruit and veggies. I cooked fresh squash for the first time over the summer. Shame on me.
This is why I shop at Kroger. Because the stuff is more expensive, I only buy what I need because I can't justify spending that much money on something when I know how "cheap" it is at WalMart. However, if I shop at WalMart, I buy so much other stuff because it's so much cheaper, but I don't really need it. So I end up spending MORE money there in the long run.
Beaner -
This is why I usually shop with CASH ONLY, so there is no going over my budget. This trip, I just got out of control.
But the pineapples? Dee.Licious!!
I love fresh pineapple too, but I always overdo it & rip up my mouth! Do you think I have some self-control issues? ;)
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