I haven't posted our grocery spending for June or July because I simply gave up keeping track of what I was spending and buying. I was making several trips to the grocery store every week for a while, just trying to find suitable foods for myself. And I knew I was spending a lot. I did save all of my receipts (I always do). I just haven't added it all up. And I'm not sure I want to.
Do I think I've spent more than normal for me? Absolutely. Here's how I look at it. Food is part of my "medicine" for now. If I had a serious illness that required expensive treatment, I wouldn't forgo the treatment due to cost. I would find money in our budget elsewhere to pay for the treatment. What I eat directly impacts my healing right now. And that can be more expensive.
In addition to transferring money from one budget category to another, I am using what I can from our abundant garden and orchard, and I can and do eat lots of rice, which we buy in bulk. The additional cost for me right now is in buying extra meat, nuts (almonds and peanuts), and some more expensive grains (more expensive than plain rice). I have to go easy on less expensive forms of protein, such as dried beans. In addition, I find I need to buy more expensive versions of common foods so as to avoid specific ingredients (such as mayonnaise instead of "salad" dressing" -- latter contains modified food starch).
Otherwise, I am cooking from scratch almost all of the time, and that as we all know can be a big money-saver. And I continue to shop around for best prices on specific items (such as buying from the bulk bins at WinCo for millet and quinoa instead of from the packaged grain section), again a bargain way to get nearly identical ingredients for about half the cost. And finally, we are trying very hard to not waste food, freezing extras when we can and not serving any of us more than we're hungry for.
I will gladly forgo a vacation this summer if it means I can feel healthy again. Some things in life are optional, like vacations, new cars, designer clothing. But others, such as good health, are not. Like Alice said in the comments last week, (to paraphrase) good health is what makes the rest of life go smoothly.
