Biting The Bullet

Costs are soaring and we are all trying to find ways to cut back. Got rid of the car that I hardly ever used except to keep the battery charged. Driving was silly when I travelled only locally. The car sale price easily paid for an electrically charged cart  that gets me to the mall and back for nothing other than a pleasant ride along the sidewalk. Taxies and transit are much less expensive than owning a car. What stood in the way of making that move, was mere vanity. Some elders, agonize over selling their cars. They say,  it's a loss of my independence. Nonsense. Young New Yorkers do it by the thousands. A taxi is much cheaper and picks you up at your door and drops you off at a door.  Plus you can rent your parking space out. Aging shouldn't be embarrassed doing what needs doing, but we think we must jump hurdles along the way. I don't jump. One of the imagined sillinesses about old age, is pride.  For some strange reason people are ashamed of aging. They make corny jokes about it and expect you to laugh along with them. No thanks. Life is a serious matter. Groceries are a heavy expense now. That one is easy enough to reduce. Instead of steak or chops, there is ground meat. Same thing, different shape. The cheap lettuce is just as good as the greener fluffy stuff. Get a regular cabbage, forget fashionable kale and friends. The old reliable brown potatoes make just as delicious dishes as the coloured or tiny taters. Same thing, different form. Your body doesn't know about organics - or care.  If you can find a farmer's market that is real and that has inexpensive produce, not these rhinestone cowboy "markets" with hiked up prices, you are doing yourself a favour. Buy from the head, not the heart. Canned salmon is just as good for your bod, as slabs of the fresh. Try baking your own bread instead of getting the costly loaves that are exactly the same thing but with sprinkles. You can sprinkle, too. Give up those little packages of handy dandy food quickies with their long lists of preservatives. Do it yourself. It takes no more time to roast a little metal bound bundle of veg and meat with a squirt of oil and a dash of herbs, than doing the pre-prepared junk food in packaging.  To save money, stop whining and get busy and shop with nutrition in mind and a willingness to make changes for a way to better prices. My airfryer that is nothing more than a tiny convection oven will do miraculous meals for one. And it is a power and time saver. Air fryers also roast foods.  Up with the chicken wings and french fried carrots, cauliflower, yams and potatoes in your air fryer. Yay for spinach and cabbage. Yum for melons and local berries. And congratulations if you are willing to make changes that will save you coinage and allow you some fun DIY.