Looks like all of a sudden the grocery prices have increased where I am. I bought 5 tomatoes for $9.5 this past week. The first time I have spent that much on tomato…
Tomato is not one of the indispensable veggies in my diet. I hardly crave for it and rather have it as something that will create variety in my salad. Hardly use it in meals as well. But this week I wanted to eat tomatoes and, boy, the price almost shocked me.
Where I am we are mostly dependent on food grown in other places. Theoretically that means our food prices are already higher than other provinces in Canada. I used to live in Toronto; I know very well how abundant and affordable food is there. Variety is also awesome there. I miss shopping there.
Anyways, the reason I am writing this post is not to complain about the tomato prices. But I must admit seeing other bloggers spending much less than what I do for a much smaller amount of food somehow makes me wonder. For example, Ā the store Aldi seems to be selling food/grocery at good prices and unfortunately we do not have it here. Why not?
I am sure for many of you paying $9.5 for 5 medium sized tomato is something unbelievable. But believe me it is the truth.Ā I want you to know I am not jealous or something; I just hope that you are grateful for what you can get at much lower prices than what others like me can.
Overall, the Canadian economy is not in good shape, with the announcement of a much increased amount of deficit today by the Minister of Finance; Ā sometimes I find myself thinking whether I am doing good with keeping my money in the bank or investing in stock market. What if we were to experience something similar to what Greece had last summer? What if we cannot have access to our own money? What if all goes wrong and Ā we lose what we already have?
I sometimes wonder how the people during the great recession (1927) or war-thorn countries survived the financial hardship and find food to survive. I also wonder about the poor families out there who are struggling to find food.
I will start including food in my joy journals and will remember to give my thanks when I purchaseĀ andĀ eat them. I will also make sure to donate to food banks more frequently.
Life as I interpret it 
A good portion of my budget goes to food… actually way too much! That’s the one area where I think I can make some improvements.
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I am sure you can work out something; I have reduced my grocery bill by 30% now without sacrificing from food (by following sales, never wasting anything, never buying a lot of fresh produce which can go bad before I find a chance to eat them)
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Ouch, pricey tomatoes! Food prices are going up everywhere, though. Sounds like you’re just getting hit particularly hard. We try to donate to food banks as much as we can as well. I can’t imagine how frightening it must be not not know where your next meal will come from, or how you will feed your children. I’m with you on being thankful for the food I purchase and eat.
Do you in Canada have something like the FDIC? Where money deposited into banks in checking/savings accounts is guaranteed? That’s the only reason we have money in bank savings accounts. If it wasn’t FDIC insured I’d definitely be cutting a hole in my mattress!
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yes we have some kind of insurance for some of the accounts (up to a certain level) at banks; which is quite a peace of mind. I should check it again to see whether all of my account now are covered. Thanks for reminding me! š
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These are questions rolling around in a lot of heads these days – maybe they always have. What would i do if…….? You have a kind heart.
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thank you Tauna; my grandma was born right after the world war I. these generations have had a very hard look at the finances and when comes to saving and wasting (she could never allow anything go wasted; how wonderful that was…).
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i think we’ve learnt from them and there is seldom a good reason to waste food. Far too much just goes straight to landfill all the while people complaining about the high cost of food. I would submit that the perceived high costs are 1)food budget is largely eating out (real cost is service), 2) buying out of season, 3) purchasing boxed or already prepared ‘food’, and 4) wasting or throwing away food. But that’s just my opinion. š
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that could not be summarized better and more comprehensive than that! Tauna, you should write about these topics (if you want of course); there is an obvious depth to your thoughts. I thought I was really good at not wasting until I saw my green produce (like herbs, go bad week after week (this is how I ended up with doing grocery shopping as required rather than once a week – this for sure limited the amount of fresh produce I bought and thus the time they spend at my fridge. I am glad I have done that, but you know we need an eye opener every once a while to remind everyone out there that there are ways to limit the food waste. And food waste is not okay. Since nowadays the prices are obviously increasing that might be the best time to write one of two posts about this issue
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why, thank you, Ma’am, for the encouragement. My thoughts aren’t very deep, sadly, it’s just observation.
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