I do my weekly grocery shopping at the Royal Duty Free supermarket on SBMA (the old Navy base). There is a premium to be paid for the experience, especially when your purchase imported goods. I also allow one of my non-resident helpers to accompany me and fill her personal basket with miscellaneous items as well. Today she added a $35 rice cooker to the mix, but that’s the exception, she is normally reasonably frugal on my dime.
My driver, Danny, provides transportation to and from the shopping excursion. I pay him twenty bucks for his time and use of his vehicle. This is the new Royal, a modern and well-appointed supermarket. I must be nuts to pay these prices. Most of the imported goods are (over) priced in U.S. dollars.Fresh chicken…I don’t have a beef with the meat selection.Yes, I said “cheese” when I took this photo. Get a load of those prices!Filled the cart, as usual.Ouch! That’s painful in either currency. I always pay (via credit card) in pesos. Otherwise, I get gouged on the exchange rate. My weekly grocery budget, or should I say, goal, is $200. Not even close this time.Loaded up. Let’s go home.
And that’s how I spent my morning. I feel a nap coming on soon. And they said retired life can be boring. No way!
2 thoughts on “A week in the life: Tuesday shopping”
$200 per week is a lot for a single guy. $200-$300 a month is more reasonable, I should say. And with you eating out all the time, how could you possibly need to pay that much per week for groceries? Are you cooking meals that you’re not telling us about? I’m starting to feel cheated because I’m always on the lookout for food photos. Or is it that groceries really are that overpriced?
Yeah, it’s a lot. I’m feeding the help too, though. I was trying to do the math in my head just now because I didn’t really buy a lot of stuff to cook at home. And what I did buy was expensive. Thirty bucks on dog food, $22 for a case of beer, ten dollars for cheese, $7.50 for those nuts–it all adds up.
Like I say, if I could keep it at $200 I’d be okay with it. I really don’t want to spend my retired life worrying about nickels and dimes.I try not to even look at the prices because when I do, I will frequently say “no way”. I wouldn’t pay $9 for breakfast sausages today but bought instant oatmeal for six. What the hell is wrong with me?
$200 per week is a lot for a single guy. $200-$300 a month is more reasonable, I should say. And with you eating out all the time, how could you possibly need to pay that much per week for groceries? Are you cooking meals that you’re not telling us about? I’m starting to feel cheated because I’m always on the lookout for food photos. Or is it that groceries really are that overpriced?
Yeah, it’s a lot. I’m feeding the help too, though. I was trying to do the math in my head just now because I didn’t really buy a lot of stuff to cook at home. And what I did buy was expensive. Thirty bucks on dog food, $22 for a case of beer, ten dollars for cheese, $7.50 for those nuts–it all adds up.
Like I say, if I could keep it at $200 I’d be okay with it. I really don’t want to spend my retired life worrying about nickels and dimes.I try not to even look at the prices because when I do, I will frequently say “no way”. I wouldn’t pay $9 for breakfast sausages today but bought instant oatmeal for six. What the hell is wrong with me?