BYOB and BYOF

You’re thinking Bring Your Own Beer, right? Well, this is a take-off from that. How about Bring Your Own Bottle (of water, tea, lemonade, etc) and Bring Your Own Food?

Maybe it is corny, but when it comes to saving money on food why not bring your own container of liquid, whatever it is that you drink, and save yourself the cost of buying the exact same thing at a premium price because now you’re thirsty and $1.79 is looking good.

When I visited my daughter and grandbaby recently, I took along a reusable bottle of water that I had filled up with water at home before leaving to catch the bus. I also took with me four tangerines, three small yogurts and three spoons, just in case.

My daughter was in the first trimester of pregnancy with their second baby, and her nausea and food sensitivities were insane. I knew that she would be ravenously hungry every hour or two, but she would not know what she could hold down until the moment came. Very frustrating for her.

My plan was to bring the tangerines and yogurts to have inexpensive snacks. But when I arrived at the bus station, she wasn’t there yet to meet me. It seems that little toddler at home and a zillion other things demanded her attention so much that she couldn’t leave on time.

No problem. I still had my snacks if I got hungry waiting for her, right? Oh, no. I didn’t factor in the cafe at the bus station, AND the really good-looking sausage-egg-cheese croissants that they made fresh right there, AND the fact that I had not had breakfast food that morning yet.

Pausing for a brief struggle with myself, I decided to break for the $4.00 yummy croissant. Sigh. Yes, I did. And, it tasted so good while I waited for my daughter. Later, when she was hungry (as anticipated), she suggested abandoning everything to get food immediately. I pulled out my tangerines, and we all had a great snack.

The yogurts I brought weren’t needed, but they made a great back-up plan. Once home, I had time to think about “hungry” purchases versus “planned” preparedness. My planned tangerines and yogurt equaled about $2.50 total, and would have fed three people. My hungry purchase was over $4.00 and only fed one – me! Yet, since I had eaten the croissant, I also wasn’t hungry for lunch. Skipping lunch, those coconut macaroons at the store looked awful good, so I impulse-bought another $2.79 of macaroons ... plus 8% sales tax. Sigh.

At least bringing my own container of water worked – I didn’t buy anything else to drink. Perhaps next time I should work on self-control AND preparation!