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| a casserole of egg strata |
I'm writing this today as much to convince myself as anything else. Sometimes, saving lots of money on groceries is not at all convenient, easy, or pleasant. I say this, not as a complaint, but as a realistic statement about this part of my role in my household. It's my job to make our money stretch as far as possible, so there will be enough money to care for ourselves. We stretch our money in just about every department. Some of that is second-nature, but some of it is work.
Yesterday, I had a project, money-earning tasks, and cleaning on my agenda. My time slots were completely filled for the day. Then an unexpected opportunity to use our family car midday came up. I had a moment where I thought to decline the opportunity and continue in my original plans for the day. Then I thought maybe I could use this opportunity to pick up some of the last of my grocery items before the rest of the locals decide to hit the stores in advance of this impending snowstorm.
I went online to check prices at my last store from my shopping list. To my family's and my fortune, both eggs and oranges were on sale at an even further discount from what I'd thought I'd be saving. Cash & Carry (our restaurant supply that also sells to the public) had 15-dozen cases of eggs for $12.59 (about 84 cents/dozen -- fab price for eggs this time of year) and 40-lb cases of oranges for $15.95 (about 40 cents/lb). These prices were too good to pass up. Yet, going to Cash & Carry also meant I'd have to interrupt my current work and switch around my tasks for the week. But, I'd save about $8 on these two items alone.
What kept going through my head was "this is not convenient today." Yet, I remembered that it isn't exactly convenient for my husband to leave the house around 6 each morning to get to his job. And it isn't exactly convenient for small business owners to work 7 days a week at times. And it isn't exactly convenient for people to make those miserable commutes in rush-hour traffic for an hour or more each way, each day. My own inconvenience is beginning to pale in comparison.
So, my job has some inconvenient aspects to it. I often have to drop whatever I'm doing to tend to someone else's need or schedule. But that is part of my "job." And I know that no job is completely convenient. That's why they call them "work," right?
It helps me to remind myself of how much money I saved by rearranging my plans. Yes, I would probably feel better if after my run out to get those eggs, oranges and other items, if someone had placed a $10 bill in the palm of my hand.
The appreciation for my work may not come in the form of a paycheck, but instead it comes in the happiness my husband and daughters experience being able to have an abundance of good foods around for snacks, breakfasts, and lunches.
To refocus myself after this little whining session, I took an additional 30 minutes from my scheduled activities and made a delicious strata that would double as a side dish to dinner and a grab-and-go breakfast the next morning. With an abundance of eggs, milk, ham fat, and onions, plus some stale bread, such a strata was very do-able. Breakfast was easy and filling for my family this morning. Making my family happy can be a reward in itself.
