Ouch! We are coming out of the holiday season tired, overwhelmed and… broke. December is the month where all the big bills are due: car insurance, renter’s insurance, house insurance, subscription for this service, and that one, bill for the food and the partying that took place with family and friends, and, of course, all the presents which are always way too expensive the ones we purchased with this in mind: “After all, it’s Christmas!”. Results: wallet is empty, January starts in a bad mood. Again: Ouch!
So, the general consensus, as the year begins, is that one needs to save money.
I can help with that.
Let’s first review your monthly bill. More to the point, let’s have a look at the grocery bill.
– It’s actually not that big! you answer with a hint of pride.
– All right! But does it cover all your food?
– Well, no. I eat out, too. And I do some take out, and sometimes I’ve got some friends over.
– Ah! And how much you spend on that?
The answer to that question always goes like this:
– I don’t know.
Then the person gets lost in their thoughts for a little bit. She’s trying to recollect how many meals, how many friends, how many parties she goes through on an average.
No matter, let’s not wait for the result of that private investigation because here is the answer: it’s a lot, it’s too much!
Now, back to the conversation with that imaginary lady. Here comes the only important inquiry on the subject:
– Do you do a lot of cooking?
The answer here almost doesn’t matter either because even if people find the time to cook, it’s usually just meal by meal. They will purchase a ton of ingredients for something that’ll last them maybe two days and will take time away from their practice (yes, practicing the instruments is always the goal. This is a musical blog after all.)
So, after this lengthy intro, here’s what I propose:
Soup in the winter. Salads in the summer.
Make a big pot of soup when you have an hour to spare. Make it good, make it tasty, make it finger licking delicious. Make it cheap too.
