It's all about shopping this month on Girls Talk, and for this week, we're heading to the supermarket!




When dad was still alive, he was the one doing the grocery shopping once a week, as his way of going out. He retired quite early (he deserved it, he was already working since he was 7 selling ice drops in his hometown), so being home bound, this one day out was also his day to watch a movie or eat a glass of his favorite halo halo.

Now that dad wasn't with us anymore, the whole family would do the shopping twice a month. Grocery shopping is often done on a weekend so we could also dine out before or after the shopping, but at times, during sister's day off, we would all meet to eat dinner together and make a quick trip to the supermarket.

We are a family with different wants and needs, so during grocery day our mom would just sit at the bench located at the Senior Citizen lane, read a magazine, while us three siblings would go aisle per aisle to get what we wanted/needed. At times I would include some items to be used for a recipe I would try, at times my bro and sis would include some items that caught their attention, but every grocery day, we would get these:

• cup noodles - for sister
  
• spaghetti noodles
  
• instant coffee - we get the 3-in-1 kind so we won't have to buy the creamer and sugar separately
• C2 envidia - for me
• hotdogs
• chicken - drumstick for me, breast for brother
• shampoo
• evaporated milk
• button mushroom (stems and pieces)
• canned tuna
  

Other usual household items like the vinegar, soy sauce, detergent, etc... we buy it every other grocery day, because we usually get the bigger containers. At times, too, we would buy some meat and fish (depending on our need and its price), and during rainy season, we often buy our garlic and onion (and other veggies) from the supermarket because their prices are much stable compared to the public markets that raise their prices during this time. Before, we allow ourselves at least three bags each of junk foods of our choice, but now that my sister had her UTI come back, we decided to stop buying/eating junk foods. We have also minimized intake of iced tea and other fruit juices (that initially come in powder form) because of its added sugar. As much as possible, we are taking water as our main drink (except for brother who buys soft drinks everyday, and me who drinks the C2 envidia every lunch time). Not only were we able to help our bodies, we were also able to cut down the bill even with just a small percent.

On the average, our bill would be around 3000 pesos, but there are times that it would blow up to 5000 pesos, during days when our pantry would look as if it was ransacked. :) This Christmas season, we really have to plan our shopping well, we don't want to burn a hole in our wallets.

*** Jenn ***