A Stick Of Pepperoni

This story like others I will be posting may have been written over a year ago.

Things have changed and I am much better at living on a budget of two dollars a day.

But like everything in life it’s a process that is why I share what I have learned with you.

A Stick Of Pepperoni

I was in the grocery store doing my monthly shopping and I was really craving a stick of pepperoni.

 I know it’s not a life and death necessity but it was a craving after all. I wanted to buy it but when I saw the price I walked by without picking it up. I could not bring myself to pay five dollars just one stick of pepperoni. Instead I went over to the pre packaged meats near the hot dogs and picked up a ninety nine cent package of cotto salami. It would have to do It does have a similar taste and it was all I could afford on my budget that month.

 The next aisle after the hot dogs was the produce department I thought to myself it was time to forget about cravings and get out my list and start shopping for the necessities I needed to buy.

In my life salad is a necessity because it is always good in helping to stretch the food dollar and complete a meal.

 I really would have liked to buy all the fresh ingredients needed to make a  homemade salad but vegetables are usually too expensive to buy at a regular grocery store so the pre packaged salad is a good replacement for them.

Sometimes I even have found myself dreaming of buying organic vegetables. Yes just a dream I know because at the price of organic fruits and vegetables I would need to take out a loan!

I decided to browse the fresh produce anyway. So far stores don't charge people for just looking.

  I saw the lettuce, kale, celery hearts, yellow and red peppers, and so many more vegetables  just sitting there looking bright and fresh ready to be put into a nice big salad. I felt like they were teasing me to pick them up and take them home with me. I was tempted but gathered my strength and passed on them.

Then I walked over to look at the fresh salad dressing. Marie's salad dressing is so good and there are so many flavors to choose from. While I was browsing the produce and dressings I figured what the heck let’s look at fruit. Silly girl! Even at this time of year fresh fruit is a luxury.  

I love pears so I wandered over to look at them first. Then I looked at the prices. I knew looking was all I was going to be doing when I saw the posted price for the pears. They had three different varieties including the mini pears.

Who doesn't love the juicy little mini pears?

A young man that worked in the produce department came over to refill some of the fruit. 

He asked do you like pears. Did my drooling or my staring give me away? I said yes I love them. He asked me which ones were my favorites. I said I don’t really care which variety I just love pears in general. I told him I liked to eat then when they were really ripe because to me that is when they were the best.  He agreed with me and we talked about pears for a while. It turned out pears were his favorite fruit as well.  It was nice to talk to a fellow pear lover but I needed to finish my shopping I said good bye and started to walk away and he said aren’t you going to buy any pears? I said no they are too expensive this week I can't afford them. 

He said wait I was just putting up this sign. The sign read pears ninety nine cents a pound. I was thrilled and bought three pears. I felt so lucky to be able to afford them! 

I then ventured over to the strawberries. They were somewhat affordable but it would have meant putting back the pears to buy them. You can just guess that would not happen. This month I would have to go to the Dollar Tree and buy the frozen packages of strawberries but I was OK with that.

I was happy with my fruit purchase and went back shopping and reality. There would be no more fresh vegetables or fruits this month in my shopping cart instead I went over and picked up the overly preserved bags of salad that were on sale. If you bought one bag you got the second free. A good value so I put the two bags in my cart and moved on to the next aisle.

Now I was in the meat and fish department. I got brave and ventured over to look at the meat, chicken, and pork. I even looked at the fresh sea food and fish.  The regularly priced items were over my budget but I expected that so it was no great surprise or disappointment. 

I know this store very well and I know when to shop there and make my purchases in the meat department.

This store prides themselves on always having fresh items in the meat and fish department.  Mid day they mark everything down that did not sell in the morning so they can put out fresh in the afternoon. I can always find a bargain or two when I am there.

I found hamburger and some boneless spare ribs my favorite marked down. I needed chicken but it was too expensive. I decided I would buy the chicken at the Dollar Tree to make soup or bbq. This month that would be my best option.

I got a package of each of the hamburger and pork. The two packages would make six meals if I divided the packages carefully when I got home. That was definitely a great value. The rest of the meals would be filled in with salads and frozen dinners. I had spent all I could on that department and moved on. I was beginning to feeling upbeat about my shopping trip. I had already gotten some really good bargains. 

Next I needed some condiments and canned goods so that was going to be my next stop. The only canned goods I like are beets, string beans, and chick peas.

  My first stop in the can goods aisle was to see if I could afford chick peas. I love chick peas on my salad. It is almost a deal breaker to not have them.  I was able to find a generic can for an affordable price and put it in my cart. Then I went over to look at the beets. I really love Harvard Beets but they are usually not affordable unless they are on sale. I was right they were expensive. I would not be buying them this month. Like the pepperoni Harvard beets are a luxury because in general the cost of the beets I wanted was priced well over a dollar for a small jar.

That was too big a splurge for me. Before leaving that aisle I decided to check out the price of the salad dressing. The price was higher than the dollar store so I passed on that as well and moved that item over to my Dollar Tree list.

My grocery shopping at this store was finally done for the month.  I could not afford to get anymore for myself because I still needed to buy the food for the cats. I went over to the pet food aisle with great trepidation. I knew this was going to be expensive. I am very particular about what they eat and only buy certain kinds of foods for them because they are abused feral cats that I adopted when they were kittens.

 They have weak stomachs and a few other issues from their earlier life so I have to buy organic foods for them and that needless to say is expensive. If I don't get them what they need they get sick. It’s OK it’s not their fault and they are not going to suffer because I don't have as much money as I use to have. I figure they didn't ask to be my pets now did they?

 By the time I leave that aisle I have put a major dent in my budget. My shopping is finally done at this store and the rest will be done at the Dollar Tree.

It's finally time to check out.  While I was standing in line I saw some breath mints on the display next to the counter.  They were orange mint and sounded great and I tried to convince myself they would be a good thing to keep in my purse to freshen my breath.

After looking at the price I decided not to buy them.  I couldn't justify buying them when there was more shopping to be done.  

In front of me in line was a young girl and her boyfriend. It was a long line ahead of us to check out and to past the time we began talking to each other. She had noticed that I put back the breath mints and asked me why. I said I cannot afford to buy them right now. That was when I noticed she had a lot of food in her shopping cart. The basket was filled with steaks, chops, fresh veggies,  desert and to add insult to injury she also had a stick of pepperoni! Everything I looked at and had to pass on and more. I was a bit jealous but kept it to myself. I told myself don’t be silly you know some people make more money than you do and can afford these things that you can’t.I don't tend to resent the fortune of others and felt a bit guilty so instead of being jealous I continued talking to her and said in a joking manner that I could never carry all those groceries into the house! She laughed and said that's why I have him, pointing to her boyfriend. During our conversation I asked her if she had children and she said no. It was only her boyfriend and herself but soon if they were lucky they would have kids then the state would give them more money.

I asked her what she meant she told me that if a single woman had children they provided a lot of great services and would give the single mom more money. 

 She explained that she received food stamps and other services because she didn't have a job. I tried my best to sound sympathetic and said yes it’s hard out there right now to find work. She laughed and told me she was not really looking for one. Why should she? She said the state paid her rent,gave her food stamps for her food, and gave her spending money every month.Not to mention free medical and dental care. All she had to do was go on line and look for a job that she would never get. I didn't know her and she didn't know me so she must have thought there was no harm in bragging a little I guess and she sounded proud of how she was able to work the system.

 She looked at my meager groceries and asked me why I didn't get food stamps.

I told her I was alone and made too much money on disability for food stamps. 

She said that doesn't sound right you should look into it again. I agreed maybe I should. Then I laughed and said then maybe I could  afford to indulge a craving or two when I had them. 

She laughed with me and said you got that right! Then she asked if  I had been craving anything special and I said yes I really wanted a stick of pepperoni today but it was too expensive so I passed it up. By then she was finished checking out and we said good bye.  As she turned to leave she turned to me and tossed me the stick of pepperoni she had just paid for with food stamps. I was surprised and said thank you she smiled and headed for the door where she had a taxi waiting to take her home cutesy of the state.

I had been nosy while she was checking out and noticed her grocery total was over a hundred and fifty dollars but she only thing she had to pay for in cash was ten dollars for the beer her boyfriend was carrying when they left the store.The rest went on her food stamp card.  

I finished checking out and took my groceries out to my eleven year old, rusted out car and drove over to the dollar store to finish my shopping.  I got my frozen fruit, frozen dinners, chicken, bread, drink mix, salad dressing, a few cans of tuna, pasta, and a few canned vegetables that were two for a dollar. I did really well this month and was satisfied with all my purchases and headed home tired from a long day of shopping and decisions about what to buy and what not to buy.

I wonder to myself how things had gotten so difficult.

Don't get me wrong I am not feeling sorry for myself. I am quite proud of how well I do on such a limited budget. I consider it a challenge not a limitation.

When I was able work it was not much better than it was now. There were  so  day to day expenses and of course  I had to pay my bills at the end of each month like my rent, gas, electric, insurance, etc just like most people do. All these payments took up most of the money I made during the month and they still do. Bills don't stop because your circumstances change only your budget does. 

While I was putting away the groceries I began to think about the young girl at the grocery store.

 She was very proud that she knew how to play the system and make it work for herself. I didn't know how to feel about that. I have friends that hate people who live off the welfare system when they could be working.  I couldn't feel that way about this girl I didn't know her real circumstances or why the government really gave her so much help. Who am I to judge anyway? Even if everything she was telling me was true and she was really playing the system there had to be a reason she was being allowed to do it. I told myself  that it was up to the state to make sure no one is allowed to make playing the welfare system their full time job. If that was happening then shame on them and maybe we should put some pressure on the state to make some changes but right then I was too tired to think about it. All I knew at the moment was I could never do anything like that  myself. 

 I cannot take what I don’t deserve. 

I am just an ordinary woman that has worked hard her entire life  to get what she needed and the truth is  I would rather do things my way and be able to sleep at night.

 Once again life comes down to choices. She made hers and I made mine. No matter what I choose to do. I have to be able to live with the choices I make.

 So does that girl and so do you.  I am satisfied with mine I hope you are satisfied with yours too.