I had started to write this post as “Saving money at the Farmer’s Market*.” But then I realized that I don’t actually believe in saving money at the farmer’s market: if something looks good or we know we need it, we buy it.
We came back from our very first market trip saying, “Well, I didn’t think we were going to need a cheese budget to live here!” We probably spend between $15 – $25 on cheese alone each week. If you think this is just another latte factor, then you’ve likely never had applewood smoked cheddar, Le Sieur de Duplessis, organic PEI Gouda from the Cheese Lady or truffle-infused brie. These aren’t luxuries in our household; they’re essential staples.
Even produce can be more expensive at the farmer’s market: cucumbers are $1.50 and a bag of salad greens is between $2.00 and $3.00. But, we’ve had greens last over two weeks in the fridge (undertaking no special freshness-extending methods) so not buying food to feed the compost bin is a definite financial win. Not to mention that the delicious salad greens we’ve been able to get have caused us to swear off iceberg lettuce forever!
Every Saturday, during our walk back from the market, we tally up what we’ve spent. This week, it was about $120. (We have a house guest coming this week, so we were buying for an extra person, too.) $46 of that went to fish truck guy for salmon, smoked salmon, haddock (Heavenly Halibut was sold out by 9:20 a.m.!) and scallops. About $35 went to cheese, shitake mushrooms ($11) and a package of German sausage. $21 was spent on produce (greens of all kinds, onions, herbs, peas, cucumbers). And rounding out the spoils, $5 for chorizo (our first purchase so far from Pleasant Pork, since we don’t eat a lot of pig) , $5 for eggs and beef from “eggs and beef guy” and $4 for PEI strawberries.
So far it doesn’t sound like we’re much of a financial role model, especially given that we still need to use ValueFoods to supplement with things like milk, cream, butter, flour, rice, snacking fruit (apples, oranges, pears, bananas), lemon and limes, tea and cat treats. But in many ways, our farmer’s market shopping is completely in tune with our financial philosophy: spend your money on what you value.
Even when we don’t necessarily spend less in absolute dollars, shopping at the farmer’s market significantly ups our value per dollar spent. Here are just a few of those values we get for our money at the farmer’s market:
- Quality: How many times have you bought a cucumber or an onion from a store and, totally seduced by the aroma, had to try it right away and then make everyone around you try it. An onion for crying out loud! And how many times does the captive audience think, “Oh, I’ll try it to be polite and shut this guy up,” but then exclaim, “Hey, that is pretty awesome!” When every meal or quick snack of apple and cheese turns out to be a local food love-fest, I’d say you’re doing pretty well. We value knowing where our food comes from, who produces it and knowing that we never have to eat crap again. (Can you believe we’re worried about the quality of food we’re going to find in Toronto because we’ve been spoiled by PEI?)
- Quantity, or lack thereof (ie. “enough”): Good food comes in smaller packages, or at least has a higher unit cost. We naturally, therefore, think more carefully about exactly how much to purchase. Will we eat this all before it goes bad? Do I really need this much? Compare that to how many $0.59 heads of cabbage we’ve never fully used. Waste is waste, and if we’re willing to waste pennies, we’re willing to waste dollars. Cutting waste by buying products that are too dear to waste has made us carefully and consciously consider how much is enough.
- Intention: Yes, there are jewelery and craft vendors at the farmer’s market, but honestly, the chances of us walking out with a wooden lighthouse as an impulse purchase are slim. When we go to the market, we’re there to buy food (specifically the basics) and there are no new shiny kitchen gadgets or snack food sales to steer us off course. Although $120 for our weekly basics may seem high (and this week we’re expecting company this week so we erred on the side of being over stocked), if we’ve ever walked out of the Superstore paying less than that, and with only food items in our cart, I’d be shocked. Shopping at the farmer’s market is our equivalent of the “make a list and stick to it” tip. If we are tempted by something we hadn’t intended to purchase, at least we know it will be quality local food and our money will go to someone in our . . .
- Community: OK, I know some people are still “eggs and beef” guy or “fish truck guy” in my mind, but at least we recognize each other and enjoy our transactions. I’ve always said that one of my reasons for eating local was to have a network so that if ever the *&?!%# hit the fan, we’d have a food source. And in a strange turn of events, while buying the Succulent Shitake this week, Tina confided that she’d never tried them herself and she asked me how we prepared them. I never thought we’d have the chance to give back to the community anything other than our cash. But, since I take pictures of everything we make/eat anyway, it might be nice to give the vendors something (a scrapbook page, a recipe? Sadly I’m not the crafty/creative type) showing how we used and enjoyed their food. Since we travel too often (as it stands now, anyway) to actually grow anything ourselves, this interaction and participation with our food supply gives us a connection to our food that we enjoy.
So, just like we make a distinction between “retired” and “rich”, we also differentiate between “spending less” and “spending well.” Our goal isn’t to reduce our spending to the bare minimum. Reducing our spending at all costs would at times be at odds with our values of purchasing high quality, healthy local products and supporting our community. Our goal is to reduce our wasteful spending to the bare minimum, spending that doesn’t give good value in return.
We’re saving money by not wasting money, and thereby able to feel like we’re living rich even though we’re clearly not. When you can get so much value from purchasing the basic necessities, things you have to buy anyway**, then maybe you’ll be less likely to make impulse or excess purchases that don’t really make you happy.
Do you think it’s crazy to get excited over your particular choice of laundry detergent? TP? Olive oil? Toothpaste? Maybe if you allowed yourself to buy the stuff you really liked (or to spend the time on making your own) rather than picking up the cheapest no-name brand or whatever’s on sale this week, then you’d feel more satisfied and less deprived as you navigate the superstores. Maybe you’d feel a greater connection to a community (”Hey, you use the soap in the bottle covered with crazy, religious rants, too!”) or maybe you’d just feel good every single time you washed the dishes that the suds going down the drain aren’t causing shrinking testicles in frogs. Maybe you’d be more likely to tell yourself, “I can’t afford this Meatball Grill Basket (thanks, Unclutterer.com!) because I know I spend a little more than the average person on good cheese every week.”
Spending well can lead to spending less. Take the time to think about what you truly value — and more importantly, what you spend money on that you don’t actually value. Then, even if your absolute dollars spent figure doesn’t change significantly (though there’s a good chance it will), at least you’ll gradually reallocate your resources to align with your values. That’s true “retail therapy.”
* It seems like it really should be farmers’ market or maybe even farmers market. My last choice would be farmer’s market (there’s definitely more than one farmer), but that’s what’s on the sign outside the building, so that’s the phrase I’m using.
** Not everyone needs to buy food, but most of us aren’t farmers. For us, food shopping is a necessity. But, everyone has their own list of essential purchases; even our local farmers need to buy TP, I’m guessing!