Abundance

Lately my husband and I have been evaluating our spending habits and expenses, and have been slightly shocked to see how much we spend on food. Granted, there are “three” of us now, instead of just two – but still!

I'm one who thinks that, in general, Americans spend a disproportionately small amount on food compared with material goods (like cars, TVs, and fancy cell phones). That is, they spend nearly all they have – and more – on STUFF, and then “cut back” by grocery-shopping at Wal-Mart.

I realize not everyone falls into this category. But statistics do show that Americans spend a much LOWER percentage of their income on what goes into their bodies compared with many other countries. It's clear that we value a bargain at the grocery counter.

So when I say we were shocked by how much we spend, it wasn't with TOO much regret, for the percentage of our income spent on food is still pretty low. It's just that, stacked up next to other living expenses, and with the knowledge that we “indulge” on a fairly regular basis – when there is still plenty of dried beans and rice in the cupboard – it was clear we needed to change some of our habits.

We both value quality and prefer wholesome foods to more questionable ones, with the odd enjoyment of a frozen pizza, a restaurant-bought hamburger, or a box of Hostess miniature chocolate-coated donuts. But the reality is we can still improve our utilization of the foods that we HAVE.

So today I began a new exercise. (Bear with me if this is something you've been doing for years and years!) I set limits for ourselves on what we could spend total each week on food, with specific guidelines for categories such as “vegetables,” “fruit,” and “meat,” etc, and then let those figures guide my decisions in the grocery store. When I got home, I recorded what I actually ended up buying in each category and then went through the kitchen to see what all we had on hand. I brainstormed what I could do with those ingredients in the week to come and was pleased to come up with quite an impressive list! I was amazed with how much food we had “hiding” in the cupboard, just waiting for me to pay attention to it, and how many things I could think of to make throughout the week – all while making CUTS to our overall weekly grocery bill. I can now plan what days I will attempt to make those dishes, for what meals, etc. And hopefully end up sailing through the week with ample ready-to-eat dishes on-hand without needing to make another trip to the store.

We truly live in a land of abundance, even IF half of the food in our local supermarket comes from the other side of the continent, or even halfway around the world! I'm guilty of abundance hovering right under my nose, with myself completely oblivious to it.