When did sardines become expensive? Yeah, I said it...expensive. Since you don't know, let me tell you. I love canned sardines. Tasty, portable, and cheap. Well, they used to be cheap. Sardines are not supposed to cost over a dollar a can! Sardines helped me through some lean times because THEY ARE CHEAP AND DELICIOUS!
Humph!
Today I decided to stock up on my emergency food since hurricane season is right around the corner. I know for a fact that if one stirs up in the Gulf, it will pass through Alabama. We will endure heavy wind and rain, floods, tornadoes. You Southerners know the drill. Therefore, since I have a couple pennies free to stock up, I headed to Publix. (I know that Winn Dixie should have been my first choice, but Publix owns me.) I aimed straight for the canned meat aisle and prepared to clean it out! When I arrived to the exact shelf space where they usually reside, I discovered that someone else has beat me to it. (Here is when I pressed my eyelids together tightly and smacked my lips in disgust. My mother hated when I did that as a child, so I did it all the time. Ha!)
After the shock wore off, I noticed that a can of sardines (not herring...yeah, I know they are related, but I like sardines.) is $1.45. Excuse me. Oh well, let me load up on the Brunswick in olive oil and a few Mediterranean style King Oscar and fret later while opening up a can with some saltines. Ummh, that's some good eating right there.
Seriously, I am nervous for those who have families to feed. Food is high. Here I am, a single person, and I am looking twice at the food bill. I can only imagine what others are doing. And people wonder why Extreme Couponing is so popular. In fact, people are now attending coupon classes. I've also heard that food pantries and church ministries are running out of food because many who donated in the past are now stocking their personal pantries. I grow my own food because I enjoy fresh veggies, but some are growing out of necessity. I might have a brief tantrum about my Beefmaster being split in half, but some rely upon that backyard garden as their own produce section.
This is not new to me, but I notice a certain level of shock that a particular friend of mine expresses when I mention that she should cut back in order to save money. This is blasphemy for someone who is already on the "fake it until you make it" plan. She already can't afford what she has; now I've asked her to step back to where she really belongs. Be sure to step back and give her a fan because she just caught the vapors!
For example, for the last two years, I have worn one style of cardigan when the weather turns cold. I have the same sweater in just about every color of the ROY G. BIV. A few of my colleagues would make digs about my fashion style, but I didn't care. I was on a mission. I wanted to pay off some bills and develop a uniform for work.
These are the same people who roll their eyes at me when I mention the word "budget" and laugh at me because my Kmart summer wardrobe is in heavy rotation. And I do mean heavy.
I don't know...I'm rambling. I watch the news and listen to the podcasts. Greece...riots...austerity plans...debt ceiling. Ay. Oy. Damn. Pick one.
I'm so glad that my student loan is on life support. It only has a few months left to live. ;)
7 comments:
Congrats on your soon-to-be-paid-off student loan! That is a great feeling! :-) It's a long road to get there, but it's worth it. (Sadly, my school loans won't be paid off for a long while, since I'm hopefully returning to school myself in August. But I think the extra burden's worth it.)
I applaud your financial courage. Looking good is nice, but being debt-free equals FEELING good. A person can't help looking good when she's getting a good night's sleep instead of staying up at night worrying how she's going to pay Card X or Loan Y.
Once your student loan's no more, Dr. O, you can put the extra money toward a "rainy day" fund, or your retirement, or the Happy Orchidophile Cottage, or chickens.
Sorry for the double-post...but sardines?!? BLEH! Never been able to stand them.
Oh, but my dad loved him some sardines, especially those in mustard or olive oil. When I worked summers with him--and I mean 15-hour construction workdays in blazing heat and sun--often all he'd eat for lunch would be a can of sardines and half a sleeve of Saltine crackers. But it seemed to work for him.
Any kittehs hanging around the job site knew exactly where to go for leftovers; you could smell the discarded sardine can half a mile away. >^..^<
The smell is something else. I store the empty cans in the fridge until I take out the trash.
With all the doom and gloom, I am putting that extra money away for retirement. I'm so afraid that I won't be able to afford an aspirin if I don't. In fact, I am so afraid to buy a house. I can't lie: I like flexible housing. And a mortgage ain't flexible! But I will step out there and get a house because I need a tad bit more space for the girls, the tomatoes, Hornet, and Big Al.
Hornet? Big Al? OK, need to go back and re-read your blog. I missed out somewhere.
[brkbrkbrkbrkbrkbrrrrrrrrk...]
These will be the names of my poodles. The hornet is the mascot for Alabama State University. Big Al is for The University of Alabama. :)
Yeah, yeah...I said poodles. Deal with it! LOL!
That is going to be SO cute! Sorry I missed the Ala State reference--derrrp. My neighbor's daughter is a Hornet alumna.
When the time comes, there will have to be poodle pictures. You do realize this, right? :-)
Of course!
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