HELLO JI!
DON’T PAY MORE, BUY BETTER
Price of everything is going up. What’s a shopper to do? Image credit: CRISTIAN ROJAS on Pexels.
I met Linda in the school yard while waiting for our respective kids to emerge from kindergarten. She took me under her wing, helping me navigate our early years in Canada.
Encouraging me to volunteer at the school or popping over with freshly-baked apple strudel, she also introduced me to the concept of specials. “TP on sale this week!” she’d call to let me know, and assure me that I could snag everything from facial tissues to cereal and butter if I waited a little and aligned my shopping cycle with that of the sales that came up regularly.
When I shared this info with another friend who had also recently moved to Canada, he said that useful as it was, one needed the room in one’s income and the room at home to avail of these specials.
He volunteered at a food bank, and said he routinely saw people living from paycheque to paycheque with only a set amount available for groceries. If they bought extra toilet paper – at however great the price – they’d have to go without something else.
Also, those in cramped accommodations had no room for bulk shopping. So they picked up small quantities, often paying more for poorer quality. Which might translate into a higher consumption of say, paper towels. Which, in turn, meant buying more. It was a cruel cycle.
They paid more in other ways, too, affecting their health as they were unable to afford good quantities of fresh food and produce.
I remember the times when yoghurt would be on sale if purchased in multiples. Three for $8.25 or $3.99 each. This in fine print that was easy to miss. So someone who picked up just one tub of yoghurt would pay $3.99 instead of $2.75 each if they bought three.
I understand the principle of bulk buying, but anyone who can’t afford to spend four dollars on a single tub is unlikely to spend 8 dollars on three.
This repetition of three dollars and four dollars is cumbersome and might be annoying, but think of someone juggling these very numbers as they figure out what they can afford to feed their family.
The price of everything is going up, but in some cases, beyond excuse. The media is full of reports on how people are cutting corners, but this is way beyond moving discretionary expenses to another month. Or cutting one’s subscription to a television channel as former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland did and faced some flak for.
The idea for government-run grocery stores in Toronto has gained some traction. But in practical terms, just how useful would the pilot project be? How much would one really save? According to the Daily Bread Food Bank, a maximum of $11 to $18 per person per month. And with four locations – just four for all of the city – how many people would be able to access them? Wouldn’t their cost of transit/transportation cut into any potential savings?
Yes, there’s turmoil in the world, but while the big issues may be beyond our control, perhaps the price of yoghurt is a good place to start?
Shagorika Easwar