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Frugal Temptations

Today at the grocery store I was tempted twice. Not by the fancy gourmet coffee or the expensive take-home meal section. I think I have already pre-programed myself to automatically pass those things by. I have my “impossible blinders” on. This is such as “buying something like that is simply impossible for me to do.” Since I know those types of purchases aren’t possible, they don’t tempt me in the least.

A good example is what happened today with my six-year-old. With coupons in hand, I scanned the sales for pancake mix. Sometimes the mix is cheaper that putting it together myself. As I picked up an economy box that would be rendered less than a dollar at purchase, said six-year-old zoomed in on a “shake and pour” version. It was a yellow plastic container with a handle. Close examination revealed about an inch of pancake mix surround by lots of, well, air. The price was $3.99, and it made exactly one batch of pancakes.

Hmm, time for a lesson, I thought. I explained how we could buy four of the boxed versions for the same price as the yellow jug. Each box would yield about four batches of pancakes, perhaps more. “But this is cool,” my son argued. “Yes, I can see that,” I replied. What could we do to make the less expensive version cool? “Buy one container and then refill it with the other mix?” Smart kid. I suggested instead that we pre-fill an empty and clean milk jug. At breakfast time, we can add the water, and he could shake it as much as he liked. My guess is that he’ll try this method once and then discover that stirring it up with the whisk is just as good. But we will see.

There were other temptations today in the grocery store, too. Next up are the temptations that I faced.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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About Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot. The author of many magazine, newspaper and online articles, Mary Ann enjoys writing about almost any subject. "Writing gives me the opportunity to both learn interesting information, and to interact with wonderful people." Mary Ann has written more than 5,000 blogs for Families.com since she started back in December 2006. Contact her at maromans AT verizon.net or visit her personal blog http://homeinawoods.wordpress.com