2013 seems to have begun as a more expensive year than the last one. Here in France, although I'm sure we are no different to any other EU country, the fuel continues to rise and this has a knock on effect on the price of goods in the shops.
Six years ago, I would do a big trolley shop that cost around 80 euros. This week, the almost identical trolley cost 150 euros.
I could cut down a bit, forget the wine, the best cheese, and wash with the cheapest of liquids that leave the clothes in pretty well the same state as before I put them in the machine. Stamping them with my bare feet in an old tin bath would probably get them cleaner, but then it's freezing out, and I don't want to risk the old chilblains.
I digress, the cost of the shopping has risen hugely, as have the utility bills and taxes.
I know that moaning about it doesn't alter it, but it helps me to get it off my chest ... until the next time!
As you may have guessed by now, I went shopping this morning.
Have I changed my buying habits in recent years? Well, yes actually. I now buy big packs of meat, larger cuts and make them into pies, casseroles, and soup. It goes much further, and it means that I usually have something in the freezer for lunch or supper. I also have much less waste these days, well hardly any really.
We have a local farm that rears and sells their own meat. Organic lamb and beef that tastes really delicious. It's a great way to save money, but at this time of year, they have no stock, so it's back to the supermarket and the complaining.
Whenever I ask the shop assistant, the garage guy, the oil delivery man, the baker, about the prices, they all tell me the same thing, blame the Chinese. It's the Chinese demand for everything that's pushing up the worldwide prices. Even imported legs of lamb from New Zealand that have doubled in price in the space of three years.
Why is it then that when I visit the Asian supermarket for my Chinese meal ingredients, there prices haven't moved for ages?
I suppose it's a natural human trait to find a single cause or section of society to blame, me, I like to put the whole sorry thing firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the stock exchange traders.
So, this Spring will find me looking for a worldwide use for chickweed. Chickweed is the one commodity that I have in spadefuls in our garden, that and horse manure. I reckon if I can crack that, I'll never have to moan about the price of anything ever again ... watch this space!
Six years ago, I would do a big trolley shop that cost around 80 euros. This week, the almost identical trolley cost 150 euros.
I could cut down a bit, forget the wine, the best cheese, and wash with the cheapest of liquids that leave the clothes in pretty well the same state as before I put them in the machine. Stamping them with my bare feet in an old tin bath would probably get them cleaner, but then it's freezing out, and I don't want to risk the old chilblains.
I digress, the cost of the shopping has risen hugely, as have the utility bills and taxes.
I know that moaning about it doesn't alter it, but it helps me to get it off my chest ... until the next time!
As you may have guessed by now, I went shopping this morning.
Have I changed my buying habits in recent years? Well, yes actually. I now buy big packs of meat, larger cuts and make them into pies, casseroles, and soup. It goes much further, and it means that I usually have something in the freezer for lunch or supper. I also have much less waste these days, well hardly any really.
We have a local farm that rears and sells their own meat. Organic lamb and beef that tastes really delicious. It's a great way to save money, but at this time of year, they have no stock, so it's back to the supermarket and the complaining.
Whenever I ask the shop assistant, the garage guy, the oil delivery man, the baker, about the prices, they all tell me the same thing, blame the Chinese. It's the Chinese demand for everything that's pushing up the worldwide prices. Even imported legs of lamb from New Zealand that have doubled in price in the space of three years.
Why is it then that when I visit the Asian supermarket for my Chinese meal ingredients, there prices haven't moved for ages?
I suppose it's a natural human trait to find a single cause or section of society to blame, me, I like to put the whole sorry thing firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the stock exchange traders.
So, this Spring will find me looking for a worldwide use for chickweed. Chickweed is the one commodity that I have in spadefuls in our garden, that and horse manure. I reckon if I can crack that, I'll never have to moan about the price of anything ever again ... watch this space!
You may joke about the chickweed and horse manure, but you never know, one day you might find one or both of them turns into some sort of valuable commodity! :)
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