So after 5 years I have finally paid off my college debt and can now go back to school I feel so relaxed right now guys I just want to feel this moment *Take On Me intro music*

serberstiernstern:

So lately, there’s been this post going around Tumblr about how healthy food is way too damn expensive, and people need to get it through their heads that it’s “not super easy” to get healthy food because most people can’t afford it, and it’s been bothering me. For a while, I couldn’t figure out why. But then, a couple days ago, I did. 

It’s because that conversation was included on - and was chastising - a post that compared caloric values of healthy food vs. those of fast food, under the slogan “why would you eat this when you could have all of this?” And what bothers me is, the question was not if you could afford healthy food, but more along the lines of, why are you eating that from McDonald’s when that amount of calories equals ALL OF THIS HEALTHY FOOD. It was not saying EAT ALL OF THIS HEALTHY FOOD INSTEAD because, yes, that spread was quite expensive. It was just saying, for the same caloric price of this cheeseburger, fries, and soda, you could feed a small family with healthy food.

That’s the point I want to touch on, to be honest. Because yes, healthy food is expensive. Buying a head of lettuce or bag of mixed greens and some vegetables and some other salad stuffs is going to cost more than getting a double cheeseburger meal from Wendy’s. Someone said “I work at a grocery store and I can tell you for a fact that that bowl of fruit costs more than that whole meal” and that’s probably true. In fact, I KNOW it’s true. Strawberries, bananas, and whatever else were in that bowl will cost more. But you know what? You also GET more. And it lasts longer and therefore provides you with more meals. 

This really hit me today. I don’t really have a lot of spending money right now, and pay day isn’t for 8 days, and even then I’ll be scraping by. I have a lot of bills I’m paying and I just got a collection notice from my oral surgeon saying my bill is overdue and needs to be settled IMMEDIATELY even though we worked out a deal and it hasn’t been six months yet, so I’m not really touching what’s in my bank account, because I’m frightened they’re going to just withdraw all of what’s left and I don’t have 313$ in my account, I barely have enough for the bills that are coming out tomorrow, and I don’t know what I’ll do from there because my hours got cut at work. But I did get some cash for my birthday, and after everything that went on with my mom, I’ve decided it’s time to batten down the hatches and start eating healthy. That meant spending some of that birthday cash on groceries instead of using it as cushion in my bank account. And while that sounds like a stupid decision, it really isn’t. I would have had to spend that money on food anyway, and it would have been fast food. Which, yes, would have been cheaper, but here’s the deal: for 40$, I can get roughly 4 - 8 high-calorie, high-fat, high-risk fast food meals, depending on where you go and how much of a ninja you are with the dollar menu. For the same price at the grocery store, I got:

• 1lb of deli sliced turkey
• 3 different kinds of chicken
• 1lb of mixed salad greens
• 2 huge tomatoes
• 2 avocados
• 1 white onion
• 1 bunch of bananas
• 1 gallon of vanilla almond milk
• 1 loaf of bread
• 1 package of turkey sausage links
• 1 package of jimmy dean turkey sausage crumbles

With this motley crew of ingredients (some frozen, some not), I can prepare quick, easy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For at least 2 weeks.

Seven days in a week, three meals in a day, that’s give or take 42 meals. That’s less than a dollar a meal. 

I get it. Eating healthy costs a lot of money. But so do hospital bills. And while that one lump sum seems pretty scary, it really pays off in the long run. You feel better when you eat better, simple as that. And there are other things you can do; I bought these groceries at Save Mart, but places like Food4Less, Food Maxx, and Grocery Outlet probably have better prices. Plus, places like coupons.com exist, where you can find coupons for almost anything for as little as 3$ a month. And local grocery stores will send out coupons of their own, for free. I realize it’s 2013, but if coupon clipping helps, then clip coupons. Buy off brand stuff, look for what’s on sale, and pay attention to net weight and the like.

It’s going to be pricey, and I’m not going to tell you that you’ll figure it out if you really want it, because some people are in a tight spot. But if you’re stuck deciding between spending your 40$ on fast food or groceries, get the groceries. 

And yeah those are my thoughts.

I’m most typically a Starbuck’s girl, but when it comes to chai tea, I’m pretty exclusively Peet’s. It’s nice here in Sunnyvale because they’re EVERYWHERE, and it’s a more comfortable setting to just sit and read.

So true story: I gave up soda about 6 months ago… But every once in a while I have an affair with the Dr. here cuz… Come on. Best. Soda. Ever.

pinwheeling:

TELL HER I’LL GET, LIKE, JURY DUTY DRUNK.

#WATCH COUGAR TOWN. IT’S A COMEDY ABOUT ALCOHOLISM AND LACK OF AMBITION IN LIFE.

I miss this how so muh-muh-muuuuuuuch!!