You ever have a grocery trip where your heart is just not in it?
Real talk, I got my hair cut yesterday and it did not go how I wanted. My stylist made a small mistake which ended up with my hair significantly shorter than I wanted it to be. And as much as I smiled through it and assured her it turned out okay, inside I was dying. My face didn’t look like my face. My head seemed pointier than I remember it being. My hair was fluffy and poodle like. Then I tried to smooth it down and it looked like I was wearing a helmet. In the end, it’s like a cross between those two great 90’s tv characters, Dawson Leery and Rachel Green. No one told me life was going to be this way. I don’t want to wait…for my hair to grow out.
Now look, I know it’s hair and it grows back and there are bigger, more important things in the world than my hair. But I also believe that it’s important to feel comfortable with your physical appearance and right now I do not feel comfortable. I feel like Must See TV reruns.
All day I was blue. Every time I caught my reflection somewhere, I was startled. I’m pretty sure the Teacup doesn’t recognize me. I’m starting to freak out about how my Disney pictures are going to look. What I really wanted to do was just crawl into bed and pretend that the reason I lost all my hair was because my true love chopped it off with a broken mirror to save me from an evil witch who kept me locked in a tower.
But then I remembered I had to go grocery shopping.
Every time I think I’ve experienced every type of grocery trip there is to experience, life throws a curve ball and it’s all, “huh, this is new.” I’ve been sick at the grocery store. I’ve been tired. Hungry. Sad. Pregnant. Lonely. Anxious. Excited. Free. Never before have I felt resigned. Just dragging my feet and cart through the aisles, half heatedly doing the math in my head, considering if I should check my coupons and then just shrugging to myself. Dejected. This was a dejected grocery trip.
A small sample:
“Oh. Papaya. You like papaya. You could get the papaya. You could also not get the papaya. If you do you might be over budget. You might also not be. You could do that math. Or you could not. Does it matter? You have to buy food. It might as well be the papaya. Sigh.”
Then I would shake my head, my newly short hair would hit me in the face, and I would be sad all over again. Imagine forty minutes of this.
It will come as no surprise that I went way over budget. There were things I pulled out at checkout that I have no recollection of getting. Where did those strawberries come from? Did I get all that organic baby food? Who is eating all these canned tomatoes?
This is the part of the blog post where I tell you how I picked myself up by my bootstraps, got the thing done, and learned an important lesson on the way. Then I tell you the lesson. Now.
Except.
I don’t know. Nothing really changed for me. I paid for my food. I was over budget, even with my fancy $8 off coupon. I was still sad. I loaded my groceries in the car, unloaded them at home, took pictures, and still missed my hair. I guess sometimes you have the big revelation in the middle of choosing cereals, and sometimes you have to wait a little longer.
- Bananas, 2.26 lb -$1.33.
- Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, pint (2)-$5.23. Buy 5, Save $5 brought these down to $2.99 each, stacked with a *Digital Coupon* for $.75 off.
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .75 lb-$5.66.
- Boneless Roast, 3.19 lb -$11.10. In-store sale, $3.47 a pound.
- Clementines, 3 lb-$3.77.
- Grapes, 2.11 lb-$2.05. In-store special for $.97 a pound.
- Green Peppers (2)-$1.38. In-store sale, $.69 each.
- Happy Baby Organic Puffs (2)-$3.98. $1.99 each with Buy 5, Save $5.
- Happy Baby Organic Teether Biscuits (2)-$3.98. B5S5!
- Happy Baby Organic Yogurt Melts-$1.99. B5S5.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 5.02 lb -$9.99.
- Honey Bunches of Oats (2)-$3.58. $1.79 each with Buy 5, Save $5.
- Kroger Cream Cheese, 2 ct-$1.79.
- Kroger Sausage, 1lb-$1.79. Manager’s Special!
- Papaya-$3.99.
- Parrano Gouda-$4.59.
- Private Selection Angus Steak, 3.17 lb -$22.19.
- Private Selection Wheat Bread-$1.99.
- Private Selection Honey Turkey, .5 lb -$4.55.
- Private Selection Pasta-$.50. $1 off with B5S5!
- Private Selection Ice Cream, 48 oz -$1.99. *Digital Coupon*.
- Red Gold Canned Tomatoes (3)-$3.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, .95 lb-$1.61.
- Roma Tomatoes, 1.03 lb-$1.02.
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$3.99.
- Quest Bar-$0. Free Friday *Digital Coupon*.
- Vidal Onions, 1.44 lb-$1.43.
- *Digital Coupon* for $8 off a purchase of $80 or more.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta ($.10 Off Any Item, $.15 off Honey Bunches of Oats 2x, $.25 off Any Ice Cream), CoinOut
Total Budget: $79.83
Total Spent: $98.68
Total Saved: $52.03
Deducted from Next Week: $18.85
If going to the grocery store today, or tomorrow, or the next day, is hard for you but you’re resigned to do it, know that I’m cheering for you. If you still feel the same heaviness at the end of the trip that you did at the start, know that I’m wishing you light and an easier load. Sometimes you just gotta buy the groceries.
And if you’ve recently had a bad haircut, or are feeling like a two decades old sitcom character for another reason, or just need to hear it today: you’re beautiful. You are not your hair, or your clothes, or your oversized apartment in NYC. Pivot!
Okay, let’s hear it. What and when was your worst haircut? I need all the details down below!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!