Safeway can be a really affordable place to buy your groceries if you are really selective in what you purchase. There are a really great perks to shopping at Safeway including excellent customer service and fresh, high quality produce. Canadians also have the benefit of collecting Air Miles. The downside is that Safeway is pricy unless you are careful. You definitely want to apply for the Safeway Club Card so you can take advantage of the sales. Otherwise you are paying way more for your purchase.
While traveling in Los Angeles, my husband and I decided to stop and spend a day at Universal Studios. We knew it would be pricy, but we thought it would be worth the time and money we would spend. We opted for the $74 day pass, although the lady at the booth sure tried her hardest to get us to buy the $119 pass so that we wouldn’t have to wait in line. I am glad we didn’t go for that, though, as we went on a Thursday and hardly had to wait at all to see any of the attractions.
I recently read an article about a woman who lives in a tiny New York City apartment that is just 90 square feet. Her bed is within a few feet of her ceiling and she doesn’t have room for a kitchen. She’s in a prime location near Central Park and she says she is content with her living conditions. It allows her to spend money on other things besides a huge rent bill.
There is always a trade off, I guess. If you want to live really comfortably but still live in a prime location, you have to expect to pay a lot more. If your goals are to travel, eat out a lot, etc. then you may not be able to afford the luxury of having the best of both worlds and you may need to live in a much smaller place.
Success doesn’t have to lead excess. Just because you may find yourself becoming more financially successful throughout your life, it doesn’t mean that you should dramatically change your lifestyle. People who earn more generally spend more, and to a certain extent, that’s okay, but if you find yourself constantly trying to keep up with your peers, you may discover some negative surprises.
Just because your fellow colleague may eat out for lunch every day, drive a fancy car, and wear expensive clothing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can afford to. You don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. They could be in debt up to their eyebrows for all you know. What matters most is that you know what you can truly afford and spending accordingly.
Most of the time it costs more to eat out at a restaurant then to eat at home, especially when you consider the taxes and tip, but it all depends on what you are planning to eat. For instance, if you are craving crab legs and you go to your local grocery store, you will discover that paying retail price for crab legs is extremely expensive. If you want to eat crab legs, you are better off going to an all-you-can-eat buffet that serves crab legs, where you can enjoy as much crab as you like plus other dishes as well.