My Trip to Food 4 Less

When my wife asked me to go to Food 4 Less to buy something to drink, I immediately saw this as an opportunity to analyze and compare the cost of eating at home vs. eating out.  So I jumped into my car and hurried over to the Supermarket giant.  Boy was I in for a surprise!

Now, keep in mind that I am not a supermarket type of guy.  In the past I had dreaded going there with my wife because of the sheer amount of raw time that was wasted going up and down each aisle in search of the elusive plastic cups.  You know what I mean?  Yes, that one last item that you simply MUST FIND, but CANNOT LOCATE!!!  It's like trying to find a lost treasure!  Lifetimes have been wasted searching for it I tell you!!!

So I mustered up as much courage as I could and I entered the food store looking all around like a tourist visiting a strange land for the first time...

I finally got to the beverages aisle and saw the many types of water that could be purchased.  There were all kinds of brands, in several configurations and flavors!  What was I to do?  Well, to make a long story short, I spent about an hour there!!!  In the end I spent about $47 in beverages ranging from Aquafina water to Kerns Horchata.  I even got a pack of danish desserts.  Yummy!

So I hurried home and my wife prepared a deli-style sandwich with some bread that her mother had given to her.  It was pretty good!  It had two slices of ham, cheese and some mayonnaise with mustard.  I also served myself a 16 oz cup of Tropicana Fruit Punch that I had purchased at Food 4 Less.  It was so good I had to serve myself another 16 oz cup!  Then, to top it all off, I served myself a 16 oz cup of milk and ate a sweet cheese danish for dessert.  It was SO GOOD!!!

The most impressive thing, though, was the overall cost.  I calculated all of the food and drinks that were part of this meal to have totaled about $3.18!!!  It does not include the cost of the bread or condiments, since I do not have that data at my disposal, but this gives us an idea of the amount of money that is being wasted by eating out!

Just to give you an idea of what I mean, I used to go to a restaurant called Paul's Place for lunch with my co-workers every day and spend $10-12 every single day for a steak sandwich, fries and a coke.  If you only count work days, that equals $200 - $240 per month!!!  Of course, this does not mean that I am going to stop going to restaurants, but it at least motivates me to continue to find low cost solutions for my dietary needs.  Just imagine if you could cut that cost in half, by spending less than $5 for lunch every day, you would save $100-$140 per month!  Cha-ching!!!

I hope my trip to Food 4 Less was as interesting to you as it was for me!

Ace