Way back when, when I was married to my first husband, grocery shopping was a nightmare. He gave me very little money to shop with, and I was expected to feed our family of four, as well as buy diapers and formula for our baby son.
After that relationship ended, I swore I would never live that way again. I had to be careful, of course, but I bought what I wanted to buy. Then I met and married the man of my dreams. Between us, we made pretty good money. Of course, at first things were very difficult, but after a few years, things started to get better financially. I had a good job, and so did he.
Unfortunately, his job caused him a great deal of stress. It took me a few years, three at least, to convince him to leave his job and try working in my field. I knew he had the mechanical ability as well as diagnostic skills to be in equipment maintenance. I worked in production. He made the the transition successfully. He had to start at less money, but I knew he would end up making much more.
I was right. Within a year, he was in maintenance, and making more money than I was. Things were good. I didn't have to watch my pennies any more. I spent what I needed to on groceries.
Lately, though, things are not so good. With the death of his mother in 2010, he inherited her house, and all the responsibilities that go with it. And I have been out of work for almost three years now.
After my unemployment benefits ran out, I depended on him for grocery money. He was very generous, but it wasn't as much as I was used to spending. So I have had to cut back on things. Lately, I've gotten two steady babysitting jobs, and that money really helps. But it is difficult, everything is so expensive.
I go to the store with my list of things we absolutely must have, and a secondary list of things to get if there is money left over. I keep a running total of money spent on the side of the list. When I reach near my limit, I am done shopping. This forces me to look at what things cost, which I didn't do before. If I needed it, I bought it. The other day, I was shocked to find that a loaf of bread costs nearly $4! When did that happen?
I am finding, however, that this time, I am not resentful. I know it needs to be done. I usually cut back on the things I get for myself first. I haven't had my favorite ginger ale for several months now. But I have some cash from my sitting jobs, so I may go get me a twelve pack tomorrow. You gotta have priorities. We are eating a lot of chicken lately too. I will only buy beef if it's a really good sale. The day may yet come when we are back to eating pasta several times a week.
It's not all bad, though. Things seem to be looking up. The economy seems to be improving. It didn't get as bad as I was afraid it would, back before we lost our jobs. Did you ever see a TV series, I think it was called Jeremiah? It was about society after a plague wiped out everyone over the age of 15. The premise wasn't what got to me, it was how society was restructured. Each town and city was independent of each other, with no central government. I was terrified that that was how our world was going to end up. If you get a chance, you should watch it. At least the first two seasons anyway. After that it got a little weird. I enjoyed watching Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Luke Perry, they are both pretty good eye candy.
I must admit I am very glad I was wrong about what was going to happen. Although I think it still could.
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