Yes, this is what I was recently told – and I considered it a compliment!
I popped into our local kosher supermarket for some chicken and vegetables on Thursday evening. I loaded up on turkey wings since they were .79 lb (that’s the kind of price I don’t often see!), and got a bunch of fresh vegetables for Shabbos salads (naturally the ones that were a good deal). I was in the checkout line following a friend who said she needed to be more frugal and could use my tips, so I laughed and pointed to my stuff on the conveyor belt, and said: “Here’s my frugal tip of the day – buy lots of what’s cheap!” 😆
The cashier heard us and then took a look at what I had, and started estimating out loud how much my order was before he even finished checking out my friend! When he finished ringing up my order, he looked at the total and said, “That’s awesome! It’s even less than I was guessing. You’re not a member of the (name of store) club!” So naturally I asked him what that meant.
He said that he’s noticed that shoppers fall into four categories: those who spend a) $100, b) $300, c) $700, and d) $1000 (though he said this usually only happens around major Jewish holidays) for each shopping trip. And since my full cart of food came out to less than $100, I’m not a member of the club. Boo hoo. 🙂 I told him that I infrequently top $100 and only can spend $300 at a time in that store before Pesach (Passover) (since it includes my hand matzos)- which may be a total joke to some people, but that’s my notably big shopping trip there.
Personally I was more interested in how frequently most people are shopping, because it’s less relevant how much you spend than each time than how long a time you’re buying for. When I do my monthly shopping, I spend a lot, basically my entire month’s budget in a day less $50 – 100. Even after shopping like this for so long, I still am taken aback when I come out of the stores and think about how much I just spent. Someone could look at me and think I’m a big spender and someone spending just $50 look like the frugal person, but I’m shopping for 4 – 6 weeks of supplies and if the $50 person is a typical shopper, they’re back in the store 2 – 3 times a week. And that would add up fast.
In case you were wondering, the turkey wings can be useful in a number of ways – roasted as is, stewed, chopped for turkey salad and pot pies – and you can use the bones and carcasses as a base for your stock as a nice bonus. They were very tasty for Shabbos lunch as turkey salad – I cooked a very large amount and then chopped it all into evenly diced pieces, then froze half so all I’ll need to do next week is defrost and add seasonings. I actually enjoy cooking with inexpensive ingredients so much more than expensive ingredients – it’s like buying clothes at a thrift store – you’re just not as invested if something goes wrong, and when something goes right, you’ve gotten way more value than what you paid.
Avivah
It’s a cute story, but obviously just buying turkey wings and veggies was not your whole shopping order for the week. So truthfully, even though WE know that you are a frugal shopper, I don’t see that shopping trip indicative of such or not.
Tova, it wasn’t intended to be anything but a cute story! And as I said in the post, I don’t think it’s indicative of anything unless looked at in a broader perspective which of course a cashier couldn’t have.
Actually, what I bought for that trip was enough for two weeks of vegetables and Shabbos meat, supplementing my main monthly shopping trip, though of course the cashier couldn’t know that (but he could see quantity-wise that it was a very significant amount of food).
However, my shopping habits differ pretty dramatically from the average shopper and it’s obvious to a cashier right away (I often get comments from shoppers and cashiers when they see what I buy). Part of this is that I buy a lot of food for a relatively small amount of money, so cashiers are often surprised when they total up my bill. Another difference is that I buy a lot of one thing, not a little of this and a little of that.
I bought turkey wings awhile back when they were on sale. I figured the price was good enough for me to try them for the first time. They were tasty (I baked them over mashed potatoes), but difficult to separate from the bone! Eating them was messy and quite a workout. They were delicious and juicy, and seemed perfectly cooked, so I don’t think I under- or over-baked them. Any tips?
BTW, I also do one huge shopping trip at the beginning of the month, and just stock up on milk, sometimes eggs, and fruits and vegetables (at the shuk) the rest of the month. It’s such a relief not to be in the supermarket every week!
That’s the challenge of turkey wings, and what I like to do is to season them well and cook them with a very small amount of water in a covered pot. It softens them up so that they don’t have a chewy quality. When I bake them in the oven, I use a similar approach, covering them for most of the cooking time and then uncovering them so they can brown.
I’ve had the same experience when it comes to monthly shopping – I spend so much less time in the store, which is good since I have plenty of other things calling for my time and attention!
My method for cooking dark turkey meat (including wings) is to crock pot/slow cook them. After 7-8 hours on low heat the meat is tender and moist. I oil the crock and put the turkey in the pot with spices (I use paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary/oregano/thyme), and drizzle of olive oil on top — no water! After cooking there will be enough juice to make a gravy if you wish. You can make the gravy (make a slurry with either cornstarch and water or flour and water, turn the slow cooker to high and mix the slurry in) right in the pot while you take the meat off the bones. You won’t have any crispy skin, but it is a small loss for a great dinner.
I had the same grocer!!
He told me (when I got 2 weeks of shopping for under $150 — INCLUDING Shavuos stuff, and I told him my goal was $150; I usually spend about 80/week) that I could be a member of the bronze club. (Total was $145 and change.)
The week prior to that, he was shocked when I guesstimated my purchases to be 70, and they were 69 and change 🙂
He said he has seen it go over the thousands, especially over Passover/Pesach (he asked me which of the 2 is more correct).
I like to see someone having fun doing their job 🙂
Lol, he’s the one! He told me about naming each level – I don’t remember the names (just dollar amounts), but bronze was the first level of over $100, right? Nice guy – we chatted about homeschooling and how people can develop social skills during that same checkout (because he heard the person before me mention my article that just came out).