Dailies

Living it up or just trying to live well?

By Joy ⋅ May 5, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

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When I told a friend of mine that we buy most of our groceries at Whole Foods when I’m in the US (and Choices or the Granville Island market when I’m in Vancouver), she commented, “Girl, you’re living it up!”

Am I? I just like to think that I’m making good choices for my health and for the environment. Just yesterday, we started buying 100% recycled paper towels, tissue paper, and laundry soap. They were the last to be ‘transitioned’ because it was remarkably more expensive than from the regular supermarkets if they’re not on sale. It makes me feel much better to do what I can do to save the environment. Next week, once I get the stuff that I need, I’m going to try making our own cleaning agents from environment friendly ingredients. The store-bought, chemically-laden ones are starting to irritate my sinus. Anyway, as I was saying — good, responsible choices — these are what I’m trying to make.

Now, a lot of people (including my mom, a total penny-pincher at times), have said that it’s more expensive than your regular stores. I think it’s just a little bit, when it comes to food. Some are even cheaper at the organic market (and definitely cheaper at farmer’s markets). I also don’t like buying like a truckload of food (from meat, to other bulk stuff) that will end up going to waste anyway. Being a household of two makes it cost-ineffective to buy bulk because if we do buy a lot, half of that will just go to waste. I’m not the type to overstuff myself with food just to finish it either. My old roommate told me this before, and it stuck: “Don’t treat your body like a waste disposal system. If you’ve had enough food…stop eating! Don’t try to eat what you intend to throw in the garbage.”

According to Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” [if you'd like to learn more about the book, I wrote some long-ish post here], Americans spend less than 10% of their income on food. I was absolutely surprised. In the last decade, I’ve spent a LOT on food. On some months in my younger years (living much more frivolously), I spent more on food than clothes. I like good food. I celebrate good food. And I don’t have good friends who don’t like to do as I do. We all like to eat. And eat well we do!

Also, one of my personal logic to this spending is: if I can spend this-and-this on clothes to make me look good, why won’t I spend good money to nourish my body as well? Plus, I work hard, and I deserve to treat myself well. Right? I don’t see it as an indulgence, I see it as a good way of living.

What do you think? What’s your take on food and spending?

I know some people say they could not simply afford to live healthy and environment friendly. Hmm…really? Do what you can. I’ve lived on half a budget before, but I still ate fairly healthy and I still did what I can for Mother Nature. I never was a big fan of fast food, or those sandwiches that have a billion calories. If you think about it, you are ’spending less’ in the long run, because you are taking care of yourself, and therefore the ‘maintenance’ later on in life wouldn’t be as bad as when you don’t. I think we just have to make a conscious decision to live healthy and green, and we’ll find ways to do so, no matter the budget.

Now that I think about it, if I really want to, I can live on less than $50 a week (or even $30!), just eating vegetables and grains, and occasional meat. [No precious wine, though.] Hmm…perhaps I’ll challenge myself to that!