{Let's talk money} Grocery shopping wrap-up

For the full series...

Breakfasts
Lunches
Suppers
Cleaning stuff

First I want to answer the last few questions and then give you my final thoughts.

From Mandy
what do you consider stockpiling and why don't you?

I consider stockpiling anything I won't use within a month or so. My reason is very simple - I don't have the space and to feel like food or toiletries are all over the house makes me twitch. I'm your classic "a place for everything and everything in its place" girl :)

I like to have just one spare of anything. So I'll always have one spare Dove speedstick or one tube of toothpaste, or 2 bars of soap at least.

But #letsnottalkaboutthenotebooks

We have a pantry with 5 shelves and I think that's plenty for a small family.

My one friend, Natalie, is someone I look up to with this kind of thing. The kitchen is literally empty when she needs to do grocery shopping. I love that.

D, on the other hand, would stockpile if I didn't stop him. I had him pack the groceries away one weekend so he could see exactly what I'm faced with when he "goes wild". There is no space for lots of extras.



Mandy and Heather both mentioned takeout/ takeaways

It's the strangest thing. Since the kids were born, we almost never get takeaways. The only one I still like is Fishaways. I'm super fussy about what the kids eat and then one day I thought, "hang on a sec. If KFC isn't good for them, why would i think it's good enough for us?"

So now we get KFC once a year when they sleep at their Granny's house. (I'm not even joking).

They've had McD twice - once after my friend's wedding where we had to leave due to wiggly twins before supper was served. I just didn't fancy driving around Pta looking for other food before the screaming started.

I need to get some Fishaways! We used to get maybe one Friday a month til I joined Weigh-Less. I weigh on a Sat morning so my Friday nights are "good nights".



Julia
How do you deal with incidental household things like lightbulbs?

I have a flat cupboard enclosing the electricity controls in the kitchen. There is very little space but it's just enough for some "incidentals". We have two types of lightbulbs in the house (bayonet and screw-in bulbs) and we use those long-lasting things outside... where we have a fancy timer that works according to the degree of light, not the time of day.

I LOVE THIS ABOUT OUR HOUSE.

And of course, it was due to the cleverness of the previous owners because we'd never think of things like that. Super useful in winter because when I used to arrive just before 5:30, the lights would just be coming on. And the same things happens in summer at about 7ish.

Those bulbs do actually last Sweet Forever. They cost a lot but since they just keep going and going, and we are not DIY sorts so we don't like fiddling with lightbulbs anymore than we need to, it's all good! I just buy those when they go out since there are about 3 - 4 in the area and they expire months apart....

Look how I've digressed.

We buy the pack of 5 bayonet and 5 screw-in bulbs, and when we use the last one in either pack, it goes on the list. I've never had a new lightbulb go bust on me. They should always work unless you knock them (I think?).

We also keep two sizes of batteries - I'm also not sure exactly what we use batteries for... except in remotes... in that same cupboard. Same story, when we use the last one in the pack of 4, we add to the list.

So here are MY thoughts.



1. I've worked at operating from an abundance, and not a scarcity, mindset.

What's the worst that can happen? You pay R2 more for dishwashing liquid if it's not on sale.

For me, I prefer to have the "white space" rather than save R2 - R5 here or there.

Of course, I do have a tiny thrill if something's on my list AND it's on special. Yay! But I'm not going out of my way to chase a special.

It's like the petrol thing. Have I told you my theory on petrol? Once (2 - 3 years ago) I worked out what the increase in the petrol price would cost me. It was about R15 a tank. My time is MUCH more valuable than that... especially with those queues when the petrol price is about to increase.

So I thought, I'd much rather just drive home and spend those 20 minutes with the babies and pay R15 more when I run out. Much more civilised.

And that's what I do. I just so happened to run out on one of those days over the last year but I would never intentionally go fill up again.

My God is big enough to supply that R15 (or whatever it is now).

And that's how I feel about stockpiling.

2. Question everything

Some of you have told me this series has made you think more about how you spend money. That's awesome. It makes me REALLY glad to know that.

If you get nothing else from this, I want you to know that there's always a different way.

I had brunch with Laura last week and she told me something I'd said to her MONTHS ago. But it stuck with her and made her really think about something and that's awesome. Not that I was some "wise" person but that it caused her to stop and question. Laura, you can share if you want in the comments. It's not my story to share :)

If you grew up and your parents did something one way, that's not to say you shouldn't do it another way. Maybe it is the best way for you, but at least you've thought it through first.

3. Own your decisions

Here's the thing. We were talking about groceries but it applies to everything financial.

E.g. 1. I pay more for coaching than I do on clothes. Some people would be horrified but that's okay. It's my choice and I own it.


E.g. 2.  I've been driving the same car for the last 8 years, and it was one year old when I got it. I've taken care of it and I intend to get a few more years out of it. I really love not having a car payment. My car was one of the oldest and cheapest in the parking lot at work but so what? I chose to do other things with my money. Like my tithe, a well-padded savings account and travel.

If you like a nice car, own it. Don't moan about not having something else but honestly say, "you know what? It's important to me to drive a nice car rather than do ____ with my money.



Final thought!

A friend of mine and I are similarly minded with money. Except she likes lots of expensive clothes too :)

Anyway, we were talking about budgets and such once and she said, "you know what? The only area I'm really excessive in my spending is grocery shopping and to be honest, I like it that way. I love entertaining and having people over every weekend and I'm not going to change that.

And I said, "well good for you!"

If you feel that way, then good for you too!

What are your thoughts? Share with me in the comments.

This post is far too long but clearly I was on a roll (Iistening to a love songs compilation I made for a relationship workshop for couples I did ages ago)!