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Am I a Grocery Splurger?
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Zehava




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 11:40 am
Amalia wrote:
This is very interesting.

Both myself and my husband are from the former Soviet Union, and whenever my parents or his parents visit, they always bring us food - tons of it!

My husband said to me, in bewilderment, “we can go to the store and buy the same things!”

But I think it’s not the rational part of the brain that does that. They are just programmed from many, many years of deprivation.

Yes! In Russia, butter and coffee were worth their weight in gold.
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amother
Amber


 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 11:40 am
My mom is from Ukraine. I went to her Pesach for a meal. Omg! The amount of food she had.....!!!!!! We were just a few people but she had food for an entire army!
We were 6 adults. 3 children.
She served salmon & 2 type gefiltes. Couple of salads & dips.
Chicken soup with matzo balls.
Family style for main & sides. Tons of each.
Flanken, roast, chicken nuggets, patties, potato kugel, potato latkes, matzo chremslech, cubed potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato fries,
Cubed cantaloupe, honeydew & pineapple
Ice cream & cake.
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Zehava




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 11:43 am
amother [ Amber ] wrote:
My mom is from Ukraine. I went to her Pesach for a meal. Omg! The amount of food she had.....!!!!!! We were just a few people but she had food for an entire army!
We were 6 adults. 3 children.
She served salmon & 2 type gefiltes. Couple of salads & dips.
Chicken soup with matzo balls.
Family style for main & sides. Tons of each.
Flanken, roast, chicken nuggets, patties, potato kugel, potato latkes, matzo chremslech, cubed potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato fries,
Cubed cantaloupe, honeydew & pineapple
Ice cream & cake.

You’re making me salivate. I starved through most of Pesach.
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mig100




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 11:48 am
Zehava wrote:
Maybe it’s a holocaust thing. Or a Jewish thing?


Interesting I didn't think this was the survivor reaction to food.

I thought they were more into rationing and saving food for future as reaction to their deprivation.

Being very into food and cooking I thought was more of a Jewish thing
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Mommyg8




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 12:31 pm
Zehava wrote:
Maybe it’s a holocaust thing. Or a Jewish thing?


Only one out of four grandparents went through the Holocaust, and they're all like that. So maybe it's a Jewish thing.
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southernbubby




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 12:43 pm
Mommyg8 wrote:
Only one out of four grandparents went through the Holocaust, and they're all like that. So maybe it's a Jewish thing.


I'm a third generation American and my grandparents were into food but they grew it themselves and never let anything go to waste.
My parents bought convenience food and rarely cooked from scratch.
I am in between but I am not a big foodie and shop for bargains and deals.
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Mommyg8




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 1:07 pm
southernbubby wrote:
I'm a third generation American and my grandparents were into food but they grew it themselves and never let anything go to waste.
My parents bought convenience food and rarely cooked from scratch.
I am in between but I am not a big foodie and shop for bargains and deals.


I try to save, but to be honest it's too hard to cook from scratch when you have a large family and you're working. I'll buy a lot, but I'll look for bargains and sales so I save that way, and I try to make cheaper things but I make a lot of it. I always feel that if there's no food left over at the end of a meal somebody didn't have enough Smile. I guess my Jewish genes are very strong in that way.
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dankbar




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 1:38 pm
Were already children of the survivors children. So it changes. From rationing to splurging
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 2:34 pm
mig100 wrote:
Interesting I didn't think this was the survivor reaction to food.

I thought they were more into rationing and saving food for future as reaction to their deprivation.

Being very into food and cooking I thought was more of a Jewish thing



Re saving for the future: yes, this is how we learned Ha Lachma Anya, right?
But I had a grandfather whose family was moser nefesh for Shabbos in early 20th century America and he was very happy to see his family looking well fed and constantly bought us treats, good cakes, fruits, etc.
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southernbubby




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 2:51 pm
PinkFridge wrote:
Re saving for the future: yes, this is how we learned Ha Lachma Anya, right?
But I had a grandfather whose family was moser nefesh for Shabbos in early 20th century America and he was very happy to see his family looking well fed and constantly bought us treats, good cakes, fruits, etc.


To my non-frum American father, getting your kids a color TV made a man a good dad. Food came secondary. Soup came from a can and cake came from a mix. We were too picky to be well fed anyway.
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abaker




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 2:56 pm
I also spend about the save for 5. I like the post about making a meal plan for 7 days for all 3 meals and sticking to it. I wonder if it will make a difference.
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Cheiny




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 2:59 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
My husband is quite frustrated and feels I spend way too much on groceries - and the costs are rising!
At this point, I easily spend $350 per week for my family of 5. My kids are young. Included in that is: produce, paper goods, meat, poultry, fish and the occasional cleaning product.
I am not frugal by any stretch. I don't think twice about buying a treat, certain semi-prepared foods, steak on occasion, bakery items for Shabbos, but I'm wondering if I really spend that much.
Oh, and on top of that is a separate Shabbos chocolate purchase and the occasional takeout supper.

I'd love to hear how much the rest of you spend and if I should think about cutting back a bit.


Your use of the term splurge is relative. $350 a week for a family of 5 is not a lot at all. Kosher food, especially meat, chicken, fish etc. are expensive. Plus bear in mind that the Torah says everything a person spends on Shabbos gets repaid to them. Now, are you not able financially to afford that amount on groceries? If you’re able, then it’s not a problem at all...if you’re not,you can try to cut back on the extras, but it doesn’t sound excessive at all,
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amother
Amber


 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 3:09 pm
Zehava wrote:
You’re making me salivate. I starved through most of Pesach.


Why? You were a guest? You don't use too many ingredients? You don't have enough money? You don't have energy to cook?
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amother
Lemon


 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 3:26 pm
Cheiny wrote:
Your use of the term splurge is relative. $350 a week for a family of 5 is not a lot at all. Kosher food, especially meat, chicken, fish etc. are expensive. Plus bear in mind that the Torah says everything a person spends on Shabbos gets repaid to them. Now, are you not able financially to afford that amount on groceries? If you’re able, then it’s not a problem at all...if you’re not,you can try to cut back on the extras, but it doesn’t sound excessive at all,


I'm assuming that's mishna. Can you provide the reference? I'd like to discuss with Dh.....

I think its this?


Beitzah Daf 16A

A person’s entire livelihood is allocated to him during the period from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur. During that time, as each individual is judged, it is decreed exactly how much money he will earn for all his expenditures of the coming year, except for expenditures for Shabbatot, and expenditures for Festivals, and expenditures for the school fees of his sons’ Torah study. In these areas, no exact amount is determined at the beginning of the year; rather, if he reduced the amount he spends for these purposes, his income is reduced and he earns that much less money in that year, and if he increased his expenditures in these areas, his income is increased to ensure that he can cover the expense. Therefore, one may borrow for these purposes, since he is guaranteed to have enough income to cover whatever he spends for them.
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amother
Pearl


 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 3:56 pm
I spend a bit less for a family of 6 but I rarely buy prepared foods, dips, dressings, takeout (never). I buy meat only for YT and very little dairy (for health reasons) so no expensive yogurts, cheeses, etc.
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mig100




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 4:04 pm
PinkFridge wrote:
Re saving for the future: yes, this is how we learned Ha Lachma Anya, right?
But I had a grandfather whose family was moser nefesh for Shabbos in early 20th century America and he was very happy to see his family looking well fed and constantly bought us treats, good cakes, fruits, etc.


I honestly don't understand what u r trying to saay about ha lachma anya?
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Einikel




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 4:09 pm
amother [ Lemon ] wrote:
I'm assuming that's mishna. Can you provide the reference? I'd like to discuss with Dh.....

I think its this?


Beitzah Daf 16A

A person’s entire livelihood is allocated to him during the period from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur. During that time, as each individual is judged, it is decreed exactly how much money he will earn for all his expenditures of the coming year, except for expenditures for Shabbatot, and expenditures for Festivals, and expenditures for the school fees of his sons’ Torah study. In these areas, no exact amount is determined at the beginning of the year; rather, if he reduced the amount he spends for these purposes, his income is reduced and he earns that much less money in that year, and if he increased his expenditures in these areas, his income is increased to ensure that he can cover the expense. Therefore, one may borrow for these purposes, since he is guaranteed to have enough income to cover whatever he spends for them.


But you still need to use your seichel and not just buy with no cheshbon
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saralem




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 4:11 pm
Don't you think it also depends on whether you work outside the home--and if that is part-time or full-time? Shopping at multiple stores to catch the sales is too time-consuming for those who are already out of the house from 7:30 am to 6pm. isn't my time worth something also? Baking from scratch is lovely, but not always possible with work and a big family, too. Splurging is a subjective term.
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amother
Mauve


 

Post Fri, May 10 2019, 5:41 pm
I make a menu, shopping list based off of menu, add 5-8 treats/splurges, and spend around anywhere from $125 to $225 for family of 3.
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