Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

World Diets: A Week’s Worth of Groceries

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Ok, so I saw this post over at FStoppers about What a Week of Groceries Looks Like Around the World, and I couldn’t help but mark it for a second look, and eventually an article here.  Click on that link and go take a look.  Look at what each picture contains and then come back and see if you come to the same conclusion that I do.  I’ll wait.

Done?  Ok, first, let’s talk about some “givens” that I found to be somewhat ironic, simply because they also could be considered stereotypes.  I’ll start at the top.

  • Mexico: OMG, you guys like Coke!  
  • Germany: First thing I noticed was all the beer and wine right up front.
  • Italy: Lots of the expected breads and pastas
  • Japan: Fish, noodles, and rice.
  • Mali and Chad: That’s it?

Obviously, there are some things that we expect.  Countries like Mali and Chad that we’re hearing about starvation or near starvation like conditions in sometimes have an obviously lesser pile of food.  Japan is notorious for it’s high-fish diet.  And Germany.  Germany!  I suppose I can’t expect much else from the country of Octoberfest.

A couple of surprises.  I’m a little bit surprised by the lack of sausages in the Poland picture.  For the number of Polish sausages we eat here in the states that is.  (Ok, that’s kind of tongue in cheek.)

Now, let’s see if you noticed the same thing I noticed.  Every single country on that list eats way more fresh food than the American family.  Seriously. Look at that picture.  There’s a little section of it that’s got some produce (a couple of tomatoes, some onions, and some grapes), and another small section of fresh meat.  That’s it.  The rest looks to be processed and packaged foods.  The only other countries that appear to even be close are Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.  Which is funny.  In an ironic sad way.

All four of those countries are usually lumped together as “first-world” countries.  We’re rich!  We have everything we could ever want!  And somehow, every other country on that list eats better than we do…  Heck, let’s look at Mexico.  Most Americans tend to think of Mexico as a drug addled, gang run, hovel.  But, look at that food!  Fresh herbs right off the plant!  A whole table of fresh fruits and vegetables!  Same story for India, Bhutan, Guatemala, and Equador!

Why is it that we all think that produce is so expensive, but we’ll gladly pay $10 for a large pizza?  Or $10 for a burger and fries?  It also makes me wonder just how much of that food those people grow themselves.  It’s not that expensive to start a garden.  Heck, even a container garden will do.  We’re just getting ready to plant out our second season (see season one’s results) of container gardening.  So far, I’ve spent about $2 on seeds.  Buy a few pots, get some soil, and plant some plants.  Fresh produce!

I’ve gotten a bit ranty, but it amazes me how poorly we eat in our “rich” country.  You’d think we’d be smarter than that…

 

3 Big Steps to Fight Off Rising Produce Costs this Summer

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My family has been increasingly consuming organic produce because we are trying to eliminate all food additives, preservatives and pesticides from our diet.  If you are trying to feed your family the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, you may be spending more than you would like on produce, regardless if you buy organic or not.  Just for my family of 5, meeting the USDA dietary recommendations means feeding us 25 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, or 175 servings a week!  Here are steps you can take now to save money this summer on fresh produce:

Grow a garden.  If you have the space, consider growing your own garden.  You will have an abundance of fresh, organic produce growing in your back yard, and food doesn’t get any fresher than that.  Eliminate the chemicals and the long transportation time that your produce often endures to get to the grocery store shelves.

VegetablesIf you live in the city or don’t have room to grow a garden, consider getting a plot at a community garden.  Community gardens are designated locations that usually have 15 to 40 plots available for members of the community to garden.  You use a plot and plant what you would like.  You just have to agree to maintain your plot and water it at least once a week.  There is often a small fee.  The community garden I plan to use this summer charges $20, but that money is refunded at the end of the season if you have tended your garden throughout the season.

Subscribe to a CSA.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Many CSAs offer organic produce and deliver it to a location near you every week.  Programs often let you choose between a 1/2 bushel and a bushel of produce weekly or every other week and typically run for 18 to 22 weeks.

In return, you must pay for your share upfront, usually before May.  In larger cities CSAs fill up quickly, so you may want to begin looking for a CSA in your area this month or next month.  You also usually are not given much say in the produce you receive, so being open to trying new vegetables is necessary.

Freeze Your Excess.  If you have grown your own garden or have a share of a CSA, you may find yourself with an abundance of fresh produce during the summer months.  Rather than letting it go to waste, consider preserving some of it.  True, you could can some of it, but I have done that before, and it was a miserable time.  (This is just my experience; you may enjoy canning.)  Instead, take advantage of your freezer.  Shred the excess zucchini and put it in the freezer in small bags.  Puree excess squash to sneak into baked goods during the winter.  Make Jamie Oliver’s pasta sauce and freeze it for future spaghetti or pasta meals.

With careful planning during the rest of the winter months, you will be able to not only enjoy fresh produce during the summer and slash your grocery bill, but you will be able to save some of that produce for the fall and winter months, effectively lowering your grocery bill for produce all year long.

photo credit: Martin Cathrae

Evaluate the True Price of Dining Out to Save Money

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Our culture seems to be one that is centered around dining out.  When you are younger, you meet friends at a restaurant for a night out and to chat.  As you get older and have a family, you may go out to eat because time is short between working, raising a family, helping with homework, and doing housework, among other things.  Some people are extreme and eat out for every meal because they do not like to cook or have not learned to cook.  This is so commonplace in the American culture, that we don’t often question these expenses.  Instead of just assuming that going out to eat or grabbing take out is a necessity, evaluate the cost of your restaurant purchase.

It has been a stressful day, and you would like nothing more than a night off from the kitchen.  You decide to buy take out for your family of 4 and spend $25.  True, you did buy yourself a night out of the kitchen by avoiding cooking and washing the dishes that you would use.  Yet, ask yourself, would you have paid $25 to hire someone to come to your kitchen for an hour that night, make a meal and do the few dishes that you used?  No?  Well, that is essentially what you did by picking up take out.

Riced out.

I use this way of thinking frequently now to save myself from spending money eating out.  My family ate out by habit until I started evaluating the true cost.  I recently quit my job and have been doing freelance work from home.  Several of my smaller jobs each pay $20 a month.  Recently, I wanted to go out for sushi, which is a weakness not only of mine, but of my husband and kids.  When our family of 5 goes out for sushi, it typically runs us $55 to $60.  I asked myself if one meal of sushi was worth doing 3 additional small jobs to recoup the $60?  Although the jobs do not take much time weekly, I would have to do the three jobs for a month to recoup the money spent on sushi.  Was it worth it?  No.  We did not go out that night.

The idea of evaluating life energy for consumption is not new.  It was the subject of the book, Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robins.  The overall principal is to look at the amount of time and money it would take to recoup an expense.  I try to use this in my life normally, but I find it especially effective when considering the often inflated price of dining out.  Take the sushi dinner for $60—my family’s weekly grocery budget is $100.  Is that one meal worth half a week’s groceries?  Definitely not.

I am not saying we shouldn’t go out.  My family still enjoys going out, but I am suggesting we should stop thinking of dining out as something routine and to be done daily or several times a week.  Instead, think of dining out as a treat and something to be planned and enjoyed.

photo credit: dslrninja