Well, many of you might have read/posted in this thread:
which of course begs the question (start nitpicking )
… what are food (and non-food) categories that you buy little or none?
here are ours (buckle up and prepare for some pesky virtue-signalling)
no booze (no beer, 1-2 bottles of wine x year, no hard liquor)
little or no softdrinks - we mostly use (our great tasting) tap-water, but buy SDs every now and then for parties, bbq, etc…
cuts of meat and meat in general (maybe 1 every 6 weeks for a BBQ or so)
very little fish/seafood (i am the only one to like it in the family)
very little “utilities” (electricity, water, gas, - as I learned in a recent thread - each of those run in the 15-25 dollar range per month - yes, we are quite resource-minded)
what’s absent/underrepresented in your shopping cart compared to others you see at the supermarket?
Beer. We buy some beer when my German son-in-law visits, and any leftovers are still around several years later. Nothing to do with virtue, I just would rather drink practically anything else. My wife doesn’t drink it at all.
we have a large shady garden and so quite often have bbq’s (often for good friends) … and people bring over lots of beer and wine … we normally struggle to use the leftover wine before it goes off - and beer, yes months or years … or we manage to lace it into the next bbq …
Milk and bread. I live alone. I don’t like white bread and would rather buy a single roll of some sort at the nearby grocery store bakery if I want a sandwich. I only use milk in coffee, so I buy a small ‘single-serve’ bottle from the dollar store - it will last me a week.
I have no use for milk. Not because I am lactose intolerant or anything, I just don’t use it. I bake a fair amount but more on the bread and pastry side rather than cake. I’ve made milk bread, and hell, I have brewed milk stout (although that is not really milk, it uses lactose instead of sucrose)
I buy tiny bottles when my kids come over, so they can have their standard cereal, and maybe the occasional hot chocolate, but the remains go in the freezer to be defrosted later. Probably an unhealthy practice.
But milk in general is an afterthought on the shopping list.
I’m low on “car expenses” … my car is dirt old, I use it very little (20-40km x week), so no car-payments, once every 2 years maintainance (oil, mostly) … mandatory insurance is like 5 bucks, car gets good mpg so not too often at the gas station, either …
oh … BIG ONE!!!
practically no going-out expenses (restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs…) - never was big on that, and havent spent on that in many months
We have soy, almond, coconut milks. If I absolutely have to use cow milk for a recipe, I buy the smallest package and dump out whatever remains after use.
I spend NO money on gasoline, oil, car maintenance, or car insurance because I don’t have a car. I walk almost everywhere I need or want to go and take the bus when my destination is too far (over 4 miles or so) or there aren’t sidewalks en route.
I spend very little on entertainment, as I seldom go out to eat and go to the movies only once or twice a year.
I very seldom buy red meat, not because I’m virtuous but because I can’t afford it.
I spend very little on clothes now that I’m retired.
Actual, there’s very little virtue bragging here. If I could afford to buy a car or red meat, I would. I’m not poor, but I don’t own my own home (so technically, I spend less on home improvement, too), and rent keeps increasing. I may not be able to leave my kids much, but I won’t leave them with any outstanding debts.
Very little alcohol. Zero soda of any kind. My wife had a two liter a day (minimum) habit when I met her. Vile stuff. We don’t eat a lot of meat, either, though we both are fine with eating it; we’ve just trended to lighter dinners at our age.
Soda; which I drink a handful of times a year, mostly if I’m someplace where that’s what’s on offer. Probably pizza, which I do eat occasionally, but not often. Probably alcohol, though I’d drink wine more often if I were less broke. Eating out and outside paid-for entertainment – I’d do more of that if I were less broke, but I expect I’d still do less than most people in this culture.
no … wine lasts normally long enough that I somewhat manage to drink the half bottle with pasta over the next few days/weeks … biggest problem is me forgetting the half bottle is sitting somewhere
and beer - i dont like its taste (and neither does my wife) … so no sense destroying perfectly good food by adding it
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