I'm very lucky to have a man who loves to do the grocery shopping. Unfortunately, that is not always good for our wallets. I am notoriously frugal; I make lists and stick to a budget. I rarely succumb to impulse purchases. (I buy just four rolls of toilet tissue at a time, or half a gallon of milk. Rob, however, strolls down the store aisles, tossing items into a cart like Paris Hilton at a Prada sale!)
Several times Rob offered to do the food shopping alone, which I thought was terrific! But I slowly realized that he prefers going alone, because I'm a killjoy, reining in expenditures and putting the kibosh on purchases.
After my daughter left for college, it was only two of us in the house, but Rob insisted we become members of our local bulk item club. These shopping trips were hard for me: a warehouse of endless products looming two stories high, set on pallets and wrapped in industrial plastic. Big neon signs with prices three times the cost of regular-sized items in our supermarket. Rob guided the shopping cart cheerfully while I hyperventilated, saying things like:
"Who's going to eat a five-pound jar of olives?"
"Do we really need twenty-four rolls of toilet paper?"
"Don't you think forty waffles is a bit much?"
My protests were met by Rob's patient and logical explanations that buying in bulk would ultimately save us money. Other times, he pretended not to hear me.
The problem also extended to our trips to the butcher, where I had a definite prix fixe in mind. When I arrived home, laden with meats, Rob inspected the bags and interrogated me:
"Only three pounds of ground beef?"
"Why didn't you get a whole ring of smoked bologna?"
"You didn't get any fried pig ears for the dog?!"
And on it went. I spent too little and Rob spent too much. So, we consented to meet in the middle. I'm less tight-fisted with expenses and Rob keeps (somewhat) to a budget. Truth be told, we have alot of fun shopping together; it never loses its 'romance.' And you know what they say, the couple who shops together, stays together!
