Sting.

So, having to live (sort of) independently here in the UK has taught me a thing or two - and more to come I know. I have always grew up as someone who is very careful with money, with the exception of certain things like good food. I have always been a budget person, never really cared about brands of clothes or bags, except probably for the Nike sports shoes that would last me a good five years wearing it off by using it for all my sports activities. When I finally got my very own pair of spike shoes, it costed RM20 and lasted me from when I was 12 till today.

However, my parents had a good point when it came to grocery shopping. WJ and me would have a jolly good time picking things off the shelf at Carrefour and simply putting them in the trolley, perhaps with little thought as to how much all those little things that are supposedly affordable would amount to when you have a trolley overflowing with stuff. When we get to the cashier, Mummy would almost always shake her head, sign the bill and say, "Bringing you kids along for grocery shopping very expensive lah!" I guess I did understand to some extent how costly it was having to spend a few hundred Ringgit a week just to get household groceries, but I never really knew how it felt till I came here to the UK.

I do my grocery shopping weekly, sometimes twice a week depending on how often I decide to take the 30-minute walk to town, and also how willing I am in carrying all the things back, especially when it involves cartons of milk and juices alongside a tray of 15 eggs. Back home when I shopped for groceries, more often than not, I would never resort to buying the Carrefour/Tesco brand of things because it was somewhat deemed as a lower quality good. Buying dish washers and clothing detergent by Sunlight and Breeze was a norm, but when I came here, everything changed. Everything I bought was by Tesco, the dish washer, the clothing detergent, for the simple reason that it is way cheaper. The only thing I don't compromise; my cereal. The must-have Kellogg's corn flakes and Cocopops, no other brands. I guess when it is my own cash flows, I feel the pinch. Having to swipe my own card knowing that the money would be debited that very instance, I learn to manage my temptations and straighten up my priorities. I dare say, I know what it feels like now, Mummy.

Grocery shopping when I get home this time around would definitely be different.

Loves,

Ee Ping