Lesson One: Is $2.49 a good price for hamburger?

As a first-time housewife, I ran into problems I had never for seen. Mostly because I thought I was well-equipped and light years beyond most newlywed wives. I could clean, do laundry, cook, and, of course, grocery shop. I mean, who can't grocery shop? You walk into the store and you buy food. How much easier can that be?

The sad truth settled upon me as I walked the aisle of the grocery store that I had absolutely no idea what a good deal was. As a poor housewife, I believe it one of my duties to cook cheaply. In order to cook cheaply you have to buy food cheaply. In order to buy food cheaply, you have to know what is cheap. I had no idea.

Hesitatingly, I bought a pound of hamburger for $2.49, hoping that it was a good deal. I selected a few other bland items and returned home. When Darrah, my very knowledgeable older sister arrived, I took out my receipt and painstakingly went over every item.

Was $2.49 really a good price for hamburgers?

What about the 70 cents I'd spent on a pound of oranges?

Was milk for $1.99 alright?

What about the $2.50 for bagels?

To each item, Darrah had a response.

Well, we generally don't pay more than $2.00 a pound for meat. Oops. Too much on the meat.

Good on the oranges. Wahoo! I'd gotten that one right.

Milk + $1.99 = good. Oh good. Two good.

Bagels are just expensive. Oh. Hmm.

Well, I figured that I'd gotten at least a good percentage of them right for going in on the fly.

A few days later I found I had to go grocery shopping again (this is a strange habit that I see myself caught in...I've begun to go to the grocery store almost every other day...I think this means I'm not planning well enough.) However, the night before, I called my mother up and we had a lengthy discussion about what types of prices to look for - and she even went over the adds and pointed out good deals. Armed with the knowledge that meat needed to e under $2.00 and fruit and vegetables under $1.00 and what all the good deals were, I set out to Safeway.

And I was impressed with myself. I bought all sorts of groceries and got great deals! Of course, that was mostly due to the fact that my mother had basically told me what I needed for that trip.

However, I still have a long way to go. Some people just instinctively know what a good deal is. I don't. If it says it is one in the ad, I probably agree, without actually knowing. But slowly my knowledge has grown and I hope it will continue to grow. For instance, cheese is also just really expensive. $3.50 a pound is a good deal for cheese. As far as veggies, you can always get them at WalMart for at least 88 cents.

I hope that soon I'll be an excellent and thorough grocery shopper, but I think I still have a long way to go.

Today I went to WalMart to buy a few things. Soon my basket was overflowing with good things and I was on my way to the check-out. The man behind the counter rang up my purchases. They totalled about $14.00. Not bad, I thought, until scrambling through my wallet I realized that I only had $5.00 in cash and that my husband had the debit card. Humiliated, I had to have him cancel the transaction, and buy my measly can of corn for 63 cents.

So, until I begin making sure I have enough money on me to buy things, I don't think I'll be a proficient grocery shopper - but I'm on my way!

Lesson One: To buy groceries cheaply don't spend more than $2.00 a pound on meat or $1.00 a pound on fruits. Also, remember your money!