Today I did my big shopping, and even though I didn’t feel like I really needed much, came home with the van stuffed.  I often marvel at all the things I can buy while staying within my budgetary constraints – today I got a good amount of quinoa,  raisins, dates, walnuts, and sliced almonds, along with the usual other items (eg 50 lb onions, 50 lb potatoes, 40 lb yams, 20 lb.cottage cheese). My shopping would seem totally imbalanced to the casual observer, since I buy large amounts of a small number of items each month, but it all balances out when taking into account the current pantry holdings.   

I came upon a super bargain when shopping – I found a dried bean mix for .50 a pound.  Being me, I scooped up all that there were into my shopping cart (all 43 pounds worth :));  bean prices usually average around.99 lb, and since beans stay forever it’s not like they’ll go bad waiting to be used.

When I got home, I mentioned my purchase to my husband, but when he looked at the package, his attention was attracted by something other than the price.  These beans were marketed as a specialty item, called cholent mix.  Most of you know what this is, but it’s basically just a mixture of three different  beans used for a traditional Shabbos/Sabbath lunch dish.  Where I was shopping they were being passed over as unfamiliar.  My husband laughed when he noticed that the packaging displayed no less than three separate kosher certifications.  He works in the field of kosher supervision, and commented on how unnecessary even one of those certifications were – dried beans don’t need any supervision!   

So many times people pay  a higher price because of certifications or assurances of quality.  Sometimes that’s worth it; often it’s not.  Be a conscious shopper.  I see so many items that are very inflated because the marketers have found an effective way to manipulate your emotions or thoughts regarding a product without actually doing anything to increase the value.  

As an side note, a neighbor came by and asked if I had a package of cholent beans she could borrow.  Umm, yes, one package or forty….:)  This was the first time in seventeen years that anyone came to borrow this item from me, and the only time in seventeen years that I had them on hand (you don’t think I’d buy this at the usual inflated price, do you?).  Very timely, wasn’t it?!  

Avivah