It has been quite some time since I've posted about life in the fast lane here in Moscow and I thought I'd write a quick entry about my grocery store experience today.
As you may recall, the cost of living here is rather high. Food prices are quite dear, commodities of all sorts are available but are expensive and daily needs are met but at a significantly higher cost than back in Canada. Before moving overseas, I had finally reached the snack bracket in which I no longer had to check the price of toilet paper (as I could afford to buy the premium, 3-ply kind) but still did as old habits die hard as they say.
Here in Moscow, produce doesn't seem to last quite as long as it does in Canada so it is necessary to adjust one's routine to accommodate smaller and more frequent trips to the store. Baby spinach (my favourite, yum!) lasts about 3 days maximum before it begins to wilt and decompose before your very eyes. I buy one bag at a time and often I am forced to throw away at least one third of the bag as the spinach has gone south faster than we can consume it. This drives both Mr. U and myself crazy -for different reasons. He gets frustrated at the thought of wasting money (I can't say that I blame him as that makes me pretty angry too) and I get upset that there is no mechanism for composting when faced with the task of cleaning out the fridge of no longer edible food.
In aid of my quest to avoid spoilage and the unnecessary wasting of produce, I have taken to buying smaller quantities of fruits and veggies more frequently, which brings me to the tale of today's foray into Азбука Вкуса (av.ru) which set me back to the tune of 2'026.00 руб/ $65.79 as of 20h00 MSK, 26 April, 2013. Lucky for me I am the proud owner of a "discount card" that now entitles me to 9% off most items. The amount of discount is based on your purchasing history and increases incrementally over time the more you spend at the store. I haven't a clue how they decide what does and does not merit a discount but I am certainly not complaining. The more you buy, the larger the discount over time to a maximum of 20%, I believe. I started at 5% and have worked my way up to 9% over the past two years. I am hoping to hit the 20% mark before we head back to Canada. If I keep up my new shopping pattern, I'm sure to get there sooner rather than later. Sadly, it has taken me almost two years to come to this conclusion. At least I do learn...eventually.
Today I saved 108.77 руб. At an exchange rate of 30.7922 руб to the Canadian dollar, that means that I saved us $3.53. I'm so proud.
Here is what I spent my money on today. Not everything from today's trip is listed/pictured here but the highlights give you a pretty good idea of what it costs to buy quality produce from reliable sources (i.e. no geiger counter needed).
962g of strawberries: 433.74руб (477.15руб - 43.41руб discount) = $14.09
2 apples from France: 106.97руб (117.55руб - 10.58руб discount) = $3.47
Ooops! Don't tell Mr. U, please. I didn't realize I had purchased the expensive ones until I got to the cash. I was past the point of no return then.
an enormous cauliflower (1.79kg): 332.94руб = $10.81 (there was no discount on this item for some unknown reason)
1.030kg of small cucumbers in 3 packages: 365.12руб = $11.88
two packages for a total of 253.78руб (278.88руб - 25.10руб discount) + one package for 111.34руб (no discount on the third package for some mysterious reason)
As you may recall, the cost of living here is rather high. Food prices are quite dear, commodities of all sorts are available but are expensive and daily needs are met but at a significantly higher cost than back in Canada. Before moving overseas, I had finally reached the snack bracket in which I no longer had to check the price of toilet paper (as I could afford to buy the premium, 3-ply kind) but still did as old habits die hard as they say.
Here in Moscow, produce doesn't seem to last quite as long as it does in Canada so it is necessary to adjust one's routine to accommodate smaller and more frequent trips to the store. Baby spinach (my favourite, yum!) lasts about 3 days maximum before it begins to wilt and decompose before your very eyes. I buy one bag at a time and often I am forced to throw away at least one third of the bag as the spinach has gone south faster than we can consume it. This drives both Mr. U and myself crazy -for different reasons. He gets frustrated at the thought of wasting money (I can't say that I blame him as that makes me pretty angry too) and I get upset that there is no mechanism for composting when faced with the task of cleaning out the fridge of no longer edible food.
In aid of my quest to avoid spoilage and the unnecessary wasting of produce, I have taken to buying smaller quantities of fruits and veggies more frequently, which brings me to the tale of today's foray into Азбука Вкуса (av.ru) which set me back to the tune of 2'026.00 руб/ $65.79 as of 20h00 MSK, 26 April, 2013. Lucky for me I am the proud owner of a "discount card" that now entitles me to 9% off most items. The amount of discount is based on your purchasing history and increases incrementally over time the more you spend at the store. I haven't a clue how they decide what does and does not merit a discount but I am certainly not complaining. The more you buy, the larger the discount over time to a maximum of 20%, I believe. I started at 5% and have worked my way up to 9% over the past two years. I am hoping to hit the 20% mark before we head back to Canada. If I keep up my new shopping pattern, I'm sure to get there sooner rather than later. Sadly, it has taken me almost two years to come to this conclusion. At least I do learn...eventually.
Today I saved 108.77 руб. At an exchange rate of 30.7922 руб to the Canadian dollar, that means that I saved us $3.53. I'm so proud.
Here is what I spent my money on today. Not everything from today's trip is listed/pictured here but the highlights give you a pretty good idea of what it costs to buy quality produce from reliable sources (i.e. no geiger counter needed).
962g of strawberries: 433.74руб (477.15руб - 43.41руб discount) = $14.09
2 apples from France: 106.97руб (117.55руб - 10.58руб discount) = $3.47
Ooops! Don't tell Mr. U, please. I didn't realize I had purchased the expensive ones until I got to the cash. I was past the point of no return then.
an enormous cauliflower (1.79kg): 332.94руб = $10.81 (there was no discount on this item for some unknown reason)
1.030kg of small cucumbers in 3 packages: 365.12руб = $11.88
two packages for a total of 253.78руб (278.88руб - 25.10руб discount) + one package for 111.34руб (no discount on the third package for some mysterious reason)
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