Does anyone else feel like maybe grocery shopping is overrated? Since the big move, I have done real, old-fashioned, grab-a-cart-and-fill-it-up-with-all-of-the-stuff-you-think-you’ll-need-for-the-next-two-weeks (as well as everything else that catches your eye) grocery shopping a grand total of once. I have simply eaten out for every meal, or grabbed take-out from a place in the neighborhood. I have more time to work on the things that I’m good at and passionate about, I’ve been eating more rounded meals with all of those fruits and vegetables I had been hearing so much about, and I’m more apt to spend quality time with friends by virtue of wanting dining company. Now, I haven’t done a cent-for-cent analysis of the financial implications of this strategy, as my religion forbids it, but since I’m not making impulse buys, not eating unnecessary snacks, and not letting gigantic jars of pickles spoil in my fridge, I’d have to say I’m spending somewhere near the same amount of money on food, and I’m much happier not having to worry about cooking, or the phthalates being leeched into my preservative-ridden food by my TV dinner tray. And from an economic standpoint, I imagine a restaurant is far more efficient in utilizing its inventory and producing quality meals for cheap than I could ever hope (or care) to be.
I recognize that this philosophy is a bit single-with-cooking-skills-of-Ted-Kaczynski-centric, but dangitt, I really like life without grocery shopping. Anyone else tried it?
boon said,
January 25, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
all you need is costco …then by your occasional perishables at zonattoes!
Joe said,
January 28, 2006 @ 5:53 pm
Your reality distortion field knows no bounds.
While this technique might work well for you and your unabomber cooking skills, I calculate that eating out every night at a decent restaurant would easily cost us about $250 a week. We probably spend that much on a months supply of groceries. Works well in theory, but my bank account would cry foul.
Though I will agree, grocery shopping is a waste of time. It would be a better experience if grocery store owners designed their stores with customers ease of use in mind instead of their profits. Having to venture to every corner of the store or walk through a maze just to buy a few items drives me nuts.
Oh and one thing I’ve noticed in the cereal aisles of some stores, the sugar filled kids cereals are always on the bottom shelves, strategically placed at a little tykes eye level where the bran and fiber enriched healthy cereals are on the upper shelves. Nice.
kadavy said,
January 28, 2006 @ 6:04 pm
Perhaps the answer for you, Joe, is to shop at a smaller, independently-owned grocery store such as Wohlner’s in Omaha. Such stores often cost more per individual item, but pay dividends in less impulse buying and more saved time, while still having great social benefits like better customer service and support of your local economy.
Ealasaid said,
February 1, 2006 @ 10:27 am
I am not overly fond of grocery shopping either, unless I have plenty of dough and am doing it somewhere like Trader Joe’s.
My roommate does all our shopping (and brings home everything from pasta ingredients to frozen dinners), but when she’s gone I tend to shop at Costco (with forays to TJ’s or Safeway for perishables like salad makings). I can buy the supplies for a month of glop (the casserole I lived on in grad school) there for under $30, I think. Potatoes, onions, meat, cheese, BBQ sauce. I add herbs/veggies grown at home, plus anything I have around the house that might go well with that. I like to eat in peace and quiet as frequently as possible, which means eating out is … bleah. Noisy. Pricey.
Give me a bowl of glop and my TiVo or a book and I am a happy diner.
kadavy said,
February 1, 2006 @ 10:39 am
I don’t know if I could eat something called “glop.”
cassidy said,
February 13, 2006 @ 12:11 am
Shopping for food is a chore made marginally less tedious by the edibility of the results. In fact, that’s pretty much the only edge it has on shopping in general, which on the great list of unpleasant things falls somewhere between dental surgery and opera.
As for your hypothesis, I can support it with at least one anecdotal data point. During my lean academic years I actually kept track of all my expenses in a little book. Some months I made a point of eating out, and other months I ate mostly at home. The difference never amounted to more than 10% of my total food expenditures either way. Feel free to use my results to justify your habits. But please, whatever you do, don’t repeat the experiment, because I’d hate to find out I’ve been wrong all this time.
BMarie said,
October 12, 2006 @ 12:40 pm
I agree, grocery shopping is a waste of time especially being single and in a city. Aside from wasting food, it’s a waste to not experience all of the great places to eat at. (And who wants just be sitting at home when they can be out and in good company).