Supermarket Survival

There should be classes taught on how to resist marketing. Every day, we are bombarded with messages in print, on TV, billboards, radio, telephone and junk mail. Nearly everywhere we turn, there is another advertisement. Many of the goods advertised are expensive, packaged, overrated rubbish. I think I have become good at resisting temptation, but only recently. I am embarrassed now at the amount I used to spend and the unnecessary luxury items I threw all my money away on. I almost feel like I had been brainwashed.

Things are different now.

So, if a (reasonably) intelligent 40-year-old woman can’t get around a supermarket and escape with money left in her pocket, what chance have our kids got? Are we bringing up a generation of children who believe that everything we need to survive comes in a plastic bottle or pretty packet off a supermarket shelf? Until I stumbled across the home-made cleaning products, I believed I had to buy whatever was on the supermarket shelf to get the job done. And my kids wouldn’t have stood a chance. Now they are in a good position of being able to start off on the right foot. Whether they have a high income or not won’t matter, because Danni and Stevie know how to shop.

This was us at the supermarket this week. I wanted coffee. Danni and Stevie wouldn’t let me have it because there were tea and Milo at home. Fair enough – forget the coffee. Danni wanted feta cheese for the pizza she was going to make. Stevie and I wouldn’t let her have it because we had normal cheese in the freezer and the feta was about $5. Forget the feta. Stevie wanted caramel creams. The decision was unanimous – definitely get the caramel creams. It’s not all dry bread and water on $75 a week.

News flash: the chickens have started laying eggs again after a very long break. That is great news for the budget.

Next week: Webster’s website.

* If you want to get in touch with Lyn, you can email her on pigtitsandparsleysauce@gmail.com or phone 754-8600, or see the website, www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz.