Over the last few years I’ve noticed that I’ve become a little more…ahem…radical in my way of thinking about certain things. And these things all affect my money. As I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into examining the psychology of why people spend money the way that they do, I’ve focused more and more on why I spend money the way that I do. And that has led to some major changes in the Jackson household that have had a profound affect on my money, how I think about spending, and how every single thing that I do is connected on some profound level.
Land+Food+Work+Money+Time+Consumption+Waste=
What the Hell Are We Doing?
For the past month I have spent time practicing The Art of Intentional Usage. I have tasked myself with using what is in my home deliberately and with intention. The purpose of this experience is to save money (of course) and to SAVE TIME! Both things that I am spending more and more time thinking about. I’ve tasked myself with spending no more than $10 a week to supplement what is already in the house. I have a very well stocked pantry but like most people I kept “topping it off.” So, in an attempt to change habits I did something radical. I used what I already have!
In the personal finance blogosphere we write a lot about focused intention and I recentlyran across an interesting post by Catherine from Plunged in Debt. She wrote about a couple in Canada that spent around $1000 a month for groceries and felt that it was impossible to lower their grocery bill.
I am convinced (as were many people who commented) that the couple was spending way too much not just because food is expensive, but because they are reactive instead of proactive about how they approach consumption. And I TOTALLY understand that family because we all walk in their shoes!! I can only make this assessment because every time I don’t take 1/2 hour to an hour a week to literally plan my meals, look through my cabinets, and decide what I was going to eat, my bills would double AND I would also purchase food outside of the home more.
We Can’t Let Consumption Happen to Us
We Have to Be Proactive
In the United States we are constantly compelled to spend money and consume. We have this idea that we have endless resources. But, we don’t have endless amounts of time-it’s finite. And we don’t have endless amounts of money (unless you’re Warren Buffett). So, why are we spending like this? I believe because it is just a habit. Habits are hard to break and for a lot people diving into their psyche to discover their “why” is not fun.
DIVE-An awesome movie about food waste and dumpster diving
One of the issues that I am concerned about is access to good quality food for all people. It enrages me that there are food deserts in the United States and at the same time we throw away food that could feed people who are starving. Dive explores the intersection between big business, waste, natural resources, and most importantly people. I am not suggesting that you go out and dumpster dive, and before you ask, yes I have friends who have regularly dumpster dived and lived to tell about it. We’ve already established my hipster/hippy street cred. What I am ask you is the following: how much time do you spend truly thinking about how you use what is in your home? Spending a month buying only $10 dollars a week in groceries has shown me how much food I have in my home. That creativity is the key to everything. At one point in the documentary they discuss Haiti and the extreme poverty on that island.
People eat MUD CAKES! I knew this-did you?
So, when we eat our food and think about hunger knowing that people use salt, mud, and a little bit of lard to feed themselves how does that make you think about the food that you eat..and the food that you waste?
We Eat Too Much
I’ve traveled around the world and consistently have been amazed by how much larger American food servings are compared to other countries. If you ask Google the following question: Do Americans Eat Too Much? Article after article pops up confirming that YES, Americans eat too much.
Eat Less, Save Money
In the past couple of weeks I’ve eaten very deliberately. Slowly topping off what’s in my home already with fresh vegetables and fruits that I might not have. I have eaten: tuna cakes, a lovely vegan chocolate cake, olive oil cake, cabbage salad, a brown rice macro bowl, steamed fish with salad, rice noodles with kimchi and dried shrimp, muesli, and more. There was even free food at work and I had a nice turkey and cheese sandwich with dijon mustard. There is food everywhere.
Home Cooking is Key to Saving Money on Food
I cook around 90% of my food unless I go out for an amazing 5 course dinner (go big, or go home) Because I cook most of my food I am able to control my food costs and typically spend around $250-$275 a month for groceries. Did I mention that I normally shop at Whole Foods? I don’t use coupons because they are a hassle. I’m talking cooking with real food. Not microwaving food. Cooking whole foods in their natural state.
How do you save money on groceries? Do you agree that we spend to much on food?
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
Home mealplanner, home ccokking i a good choiche it is savvy and surely 100% healty because you know what exact there is inside your dish!!!
I like knowing what is in my food. In the U.S. you have to be very vigilant about food quality. We have great food and really bad food that tastes great-so you have to be focused if you want to eat well and naturally.
Great trailer!! I’d see that movie. I have to admit through I’d NEVER dumpster dive. I’m WAY too grossed out by that kind of thing. I do try my best not to waste anything though so I shop a lot more often because meal planning and cooking isn’t my thing either, hence a higher grocery bill, but less waste. Do I think we spend too much on food? It’s a loaded question. Some people might be buying tons of crap and letting it go to waste, or some people might be buying super high quality items but less of it. I think I fall into the second camp.
I saw about 1/2 of the movie so I requested from the library and will watch the rest this weekend. I am squeamish, but now I know where to get food if the going gets REALLY rough. Hopefully, it won’t get to that point. It just pisses me off that our trash cans are full of edible food and people are starving. It’s wrong on so many levels.
I LOVE the $10 a week challenge! I am SO in! I also shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I’m a fan of home cooked meals too. I can’t wait to give this challenge a try!
Hey Crystal! Keep me posted on how the challenge goes (and the recipes that you use!)
I was at a restaurant in Montreal over the week-end. Typically the portions served in Canada are not as ridiculous as what you commonly find in the US but my plate had a mountain of mashed potatoes. I was sad and actually ticked off because there was no way I could even tackle half of it. Yes I can take it to go but what if I didn’t like it? It would have been a complete waste! Traveling to several countries opened my eyes to just how much North Americans in general squander their resources.
The portion sizes in the U.S. are HUGE. And, as a result WE are huge! It’s very interesting to me how this has happened overtime. In the 70’s the portion sizes were a 1/4 of what they are now. I can’t figure out why it has changed so drastically. I am trying really hard to be aware of what I have and not waste what I have. We are told all the time via marketing, etc. that we don’t have enough. Sadly, that’s just not true we have plenty and don’t even recognize that this is the case.
Thanks for the shoutout Michelle. I agree portion sizes in US are massive, even compared to Canada though we’re sadly catching up. I’ll never forget the first time i ordered a small coffee as an adult in the US…it was so much larger than I was used to…
American portion sizes are ridunkulous! I don’t get how we went from being so little and cute to this. It boggles the mind.
America food sizes are truly big! 🙂 When I saw some of our relatives in the restaurant, I noticed that the servings have a larger serving compared to ours.
The serving sizes are WAY too big! And that’s why we are way too big. I am working on reducing my serving sizes to manage my weight and save money. We’ll see how it goes.
I saw that Documentary, “Dive”, and really enjoyed it. A really good read is “American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It)”, by Jonathan Bloom.
Great topic for a post!
I am really frustrated with all of the waste that I see, however, I can’t be frustrated with other people until I take a close look at myself! As I focus closely on my daily spending, how I purchase and eat food, and the emotions around my feelings of “lack” I’ve been surprised at being aware of all those things have cut down on my waste and kept money in my wallet!
Wow! So glad I read this post. It really challenges me in an area of weakness: FOOD. I have become lazy about this area of my life. I’ve been giving in to the temptation to eat restaurant snacks and meals (inexpensive, but still . . .) when I have perfectly good food at home. Have you heard of Good and Cheap? http://www.leannebrown.com/ I’m inspired by this book, which people can use to save $ on their own food – or to give (only $5) to a needy family. I have a copy. Maybe I should start using it!
Food is so hard for me because I absolutely love to eat!! I am a live to eat person not an eat to live person. I’m also a foodie. So, this poses problems because I love to cook, buy fun new products, etc. But, I wasn’t using what is in my house efficiently because of my enthusiasm. Now that I’m focused on living intentionally I want to eliminate unnecessary food waste and any products that I’m not enthusiastic about eating. There are some things that I’ve purchased that I have in my home that I just don’t eat. I won’t be purchasing them anymore because it’s a waste. They are great items to have…I’m just not eating them. So, I’m giving them to my mom. She likes those items and will eat them. I’m looking forward to checking out that website!
It’s a relief for me to read what you’ve said here. I also live to eat : ) And I frequently buy good food with good intentions . . . but then never use it. So wise to be honest about it and to become intentional in purchasing food that will actually be prepared and consumed. Sounds so simple . . .
I think the problem is a simple one: we have too many choices. So, it’s really hard not to be swayed by all of the marketing messages, the food commercials, or the fact that in this country we can eat whatever we want whenever we would like. It’s just hard to say “no” because we can say “yes!” to whatever our hearts desires (for the most part).