Food: My wallet needs money like a fat kid needs cake. Cake sounds nice…

Food sucks. It’s delicious, and don’t get me wrong: I LOVE food. Boy, does it suck to pay for it though. Being newly funemployed (which is starting to be this really sucks cause I have no monies-employed) means I get to start focusing on being cheaper and budgeting my spending on things such as food. For most people, that’s not so bad. Maybe you have been doing that for a long time and are just a good money-saver type person (Note to self: Copyright “money-saver type person” Almost as good as “Litt-igation”). Mad props to you because I stink at this whole money saving thing in general (Hence the name of the blog). This especially goes for food because I do love to eat and eat well.

I used to work for Target and not only did they pay me, they gave me a “discount” (10 percent which I guess is better than nothing. Not complaining, but one can never use enough discounts) so I would go crazy and buy whatever I wanted. New video game? Done. Tons of snacks that aren’t on sale? Sales are for the weak. Ice cream? Uhhhh, two pints please! When I walked up to the registers, I had a little swagger in my step and gave a little wave to the common folk (Not too much waving though. Don’t want it to go their heads). I felt like the king of the world. “Sir, that will be one hundred dollars…” Hold on a second there…here’s my discount card. Yea, I work here. Oooooh man, no sales tax. Living in the lap of luxury.

Then it just disappeared. Poof. You can only imagine the mental adjustment that had to happen in this extravagant brain that I have. It’s all about the necessities now and what was going to last me in the long run for food. Cereal? Yea, that doesn’t expire for a while. Eggs? Those go great with anything. Ice cream? Yea, like that one is going to change. Being frugal sucks, but it is teaching me a good life lesson. I really shouldn’t be as impulsive as I am because I am pretty stinkin’ impulsive (People complain that they don’t know what to get me for gifts. Not that they don’t know me well. I just have everything already. My bad).

Geez Jon. First world problems much? I know, I know. There are people starving in places and that I should be happy with what I got and can even buy food. I am! Don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of all of the things that I have. It’s just become so apparent to me that food is really expensive. There are definitely ways to be cheap and healthy but it’s pretty challenging at times. I have grown accustomed to the craving of junk food, so I like to have it around. It’s never a need but a nice to have and I never thought twice about dropping money on some delicious Cool Ranch Doritos with its nice crisp crunch and the right amount of savory…man, that sounds nice. I’ll be right back…

One bag of Cool Ranch Doritos later…

It’s hard guys. It’s pretty easy to be cheap and still eat garbage, too, especially living a block from McDonald’s, which is challenging to not just say, “Cook? Or, I can walk to a McChicken and sweet tea?” (Stupid dollar menu. You will be the death of me!). Changing from eating what I please to eating what pleases my wallet is tough.  On the plus side, I can finally learn to cook more things beyond ramen and fancy ramen (That’s with an egg. You fancy huh? That I am).