No Grocery February

 

My mom was born in 1928 so she lived through some of the depression as a child & through WWII as a teen & as a young bride to a real life cowboy there was always just enough food to go around.  My mom liked to eat...not a lot really but she loved variety.  We'd go to Furr's Cafeteria & she'd get bowls of a lot of things but truly she just wanted a bite or 2 of everything.  And she liked not having to cook & to sit at a table where people would bring her food she didn't have to cook.  Also, there was a lot of time where the grocery store was a long way away so in later years when money was easier, she always a lot of groceries on hand.  I, on the other hand, live within 2 miles of at least 3 grocery stores but I too always have a lot of groceries on hand.  I always joke that I could serve a Thanksgiving dinner on 4 hours notice.  We're not having turkey & dressing but I could feed a crowd with an eclectic meal.  And now, we are facing "supply chain issues" & inflation so we're seeing some empty shelves.  But with that being said, I still have too much food in my freezer & pantry.  Refrigerator is mostly empty right now.

So I'm at day 16 of "no grocery February".  I have not been to the grocery this month at all although I did buy a 1/2 gallon of milk at Target the other day when I went to get a prescription.  Addressing supply chain & inflation, Target usually has the cheapest milk, $2.29 for 1/2 gallon.  This one was $3.29 & I had to ask the sweet stocker to see if they had any.  They had the Fairlife brand which is lactose free, low sugar, yuppie milk for $4.99.  Ridiculous. And I'm cheating...I've eaten out more this month than normal, something I need to watch.   And I'm heading to the metroplex this weekend so I'll eat out more but I'm packing car snacks & a 2 litre Diet Coke so I don't have to buy anything on the road.  After the road trip Egg McMuffin of course.  Clearing out the kitchen is one goal but they other half is the challenge of saving money.  And I love a challenge!!  It's truly a game now.   

For the record, I know that I am extremely blessed to not have "food insecurity" as way too many have & part of me feels real guilty about that.  I'm a person who has almost  always fought having too much to eat.  And I'm even better at that issue right now than I've ever been.  

It's a journey.