Savings Earned By Adopting One Good Mental Habit

Frugal living sometimes equates to good mental health. When you are in control of your finances and in a manner that is thoughtful and rewarding it becomes an investment in your livelihood. 

SHOPPING IN THE MORNING 

The idea of living within your means creates an approach to how you do things; up to the point of when and how you see things. Here's an example, like most people we tend to do our grocery shopping after work or on weekends. This is the time when it's most convenient. However, I recently tried a different approach. After writing out my list of things to pick up for shopping, I decided to go to Trader Joe's Grocery in the morning. Since my list was the basics, I could pick up a few things and then head to work. Generally, I would store the perishables in our office kitchen fridge. 

FEWER CUSTOMERS 

To my surprise and I didn't really think about it until I walked into the store but I was able to see only a handful of fellow shoppers. This was a nice sign. Most times I'm always fighting to get through an aisle when other shoppers just stand there and don’t show any consideration to free the aisle for movement. Its's a good sign that it's liberating to see during a quiet time. 

FRESH AND ABUNDANT PRODUCE 

Another thing that I noticed was when I headed over to the produce section, it was stocked with all the things I needed. The produce inventory was abundant, fresh, and inviting. Who would have thought? The price certainly justified the look of the produce. You can really look at the produce and really make a sound decision without being rushed by customers' arms coming from behind me to grab what they needed. Refreshing! 

BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE 

As I checked off my grocery list and matched it with what was in my basket, I headed to the checkout stand. Usually this grocery store has a friendly staff that would greet you. Sometimes they would put up a front as they know they have to deal with so many customers waiting in line. Once again, to my surprise, I experienced a genuine cashier. He gave me eye contact, really asked how my morning was and took note of my purchases. Not to be nosy but interested. I guess he had time to do this, but it was the interaction for just that moment made it seem all was good. In this day and age of smart phones, texting, the basics of face time was refreshing and evident. My interaction with this other human being made my mood a little more elevated as I headed to work.  

As I walked out of the store with my groceries, I gave thought as I headed towards the office. That by adjusting one's routine for a change, it really made a difference in my mental health. I looked forward to my work day for one; I took care of my grocery shopping. Shopping wasn't stressful as there were fewer customers to compete with in a grocery store. I'm happy with my purchases knowing that the produce I selected was abundant and fresh. Finally I had an opportunity to meet a cashier who was genuine, receptive, and in a better mood towards me, a mere customer. 

This one simple behavior modification in my pursuit to be a mindful frugal shopper paid dividends in my mental health, pocket book, and overall shopping experience. If I keep up with this new change in shopping, who knows what else is around the corner in my case of frugal living?

#frugallivingwithedgar