Today as I unpacked my bags of produce for the week and looked down at my receipt I started wondering how much money I actually do save. I mean, I know that I don't spend a lot, but I started to really ponder how much I actually do not spend that I would have spent had I shopped elsewhere.
See, I went shopping at Mi Pueblo. Actually, between Trader Joe's (which has excellent prices on all non-produce items) and Mi Pueblo (my go-to for the veggies) I do a pretty good job. Here is the thing about Mi Pueblo though: you have to be willing to practice that long forgotten high school Spanish. Because chances are you might be the only English speaker around. I took a friend their once and she said she felt like she crossed the border. It is true, you walk in and feel like you are in Mexico.
Great! I love Mexico. Beaches, pina coladas, tacos... and fresh produce. So why say no to it here?
Did you see that picture up there? Two full bags of produce. FULL.
As you might be able to tell, we try to eat a rainbow every week :)
Here is something you might not know about me: I am a number person. I love seeing how much things cost/don't cost, the MPG I get every time I empty a tank, so on and so forth. So of course I had to figure out how much this food would have cost me if I had shopped at Safeway AKA the "normal" grocery store. See what I found:
DO YOU SEE THAT? I saved $9.19 by just going to a place that speaks a different language. And let me be the first to tell you, the produce there is FRESH. And BEAUTIFUL. And TASTY!
"So what?" you may think. "$9.19? That's not that much." Well, if I save that much per week (give or take), that comes out to $36.76 per month. What can $36.76 per month get you? Another tank of gas? A nice top? Dinner out?
How about per year? It comes out somewhere between $441.12 if you are counting by months (4 weeks/month) or $477.88 if you are counting straight weeks (52/year). I don't know about you, but I could do a lot with $400+ . That's a whole lot of eating out/ clothes/ bills to pay/money to put in savings. Shoot, I could buy a ticket down to Mexico to practice some more of that Spanish!
Ok, so maybe I look too far down the road, but hey -- I work hard for my money, don't you? Why would I want to throw it away? I don't, and more importantly, I won't.
Speaking of Mexico, I just went and dug out some pictures from our trip to Mexico two years ago. It isn't only the produce that is beautiful...
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| My husband in the midst of playing soccer in the street with some local kids. If you had any doubt of his nationality, this should clear it up for you. |
This is great! I love the pics :) Although many people think buying local is more expensive, I've found very reasonably-priced produce at the farmer's market. And it tastes so much better than the supermarket! Like you, I also buy my groceries at a few different places to save money and purchase the best goods my buck can buy.
ReplyDeleteI need to check out the farmer's market more often. I love it, but if falls on Sunday morning, AKA surfing day in our house. I think I will try to get there sometime soon to see what I can find.
ReplyDeleteTiffany, I loved this blog. And I'm convinced by the numbers alone that I need to convert my produce shopping to Mi Pueblo. Who can argue with more money in the pocket and a great cultural shopping experience?
ReplyDelete--Bonnie
I have looked for a place like Mi Pueblo!! I miss my markets from LLU where it was cheap, fresh, beautiful, and I could buy chili's and tortillas for pennies. Where is this Mi Pueblo. This gringa is going there ASAP!
ReplyDeleteJen, they are all over the place around here! The one closest to my house is small small small, but there are BIG ones. Google it and you will see them pop up all over :)
ReplyDeleteBonnie -- YES! Start shopping there. I am telling you, $400 in your pocket is a nice thing to have.
It's a good way to save money and practice some spanish also :) I completely agree with you...With $400+ we can do a lot of interesting things!
ReplyDeletethis is very true!! I shop only at mexican grocery stores and save lots of money!! specially on wednesday when is even cheaper, i buy a lot and never spend more than $30!
ReplyDelete