Hot take: I used to think 'buying local' was just a trend until I tracked my spending for a year

So about 18 months ago, I moved to Portland and started hitting the farmers market every Saturday. I figured it was just for the vibe, you know, but I kept a spreadsheet of where my money went for groceries. After 12 months I noticed my total food costs actually dropped by about $60 a month compared to when I was at big chain stores. The thing is, I wasn't buying as much processed stuff or snacks because fresh veggies made me feel full faster. But here's the clash part: I still feel guilty about spending like $8 on a dozen eggs from that one farm. My brain keeps saying that's too much for eggs even though my wallet says I saved overall. Has anyone else dealt with that mental block where something feels expensive even when the numbers prove you're better off?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninaowens19d ago

Laughing at the $8 eggs guilt because I literally had the same crisis last week. My brain was like "you paid HOW much for chicken periods?" but then I realized I was spending less on takeout because the eggs actually kept me full through lunch. It's like our brains have this baked-in mental resistance to paying more for one thing even when the bigger picture works out. The farmers market is basically playing 4D chess with my wallet while my gut just sees the price tag and panics.

robins8319d ago

The first time I spent $9 on a dozen eggs I literally stood there in the aisle and whispered "what am I doing with my life" to myself. But honestly three of those eggs for breakfast and I don't even think about lunch until 2pm. My regular grocery store eggs would have me snacking by 10am like clockwork. It's weird how we'll drop $15 on a fast food combo without blinking but a $2 difference on eggs feels like a crime against humanity. Our brains are just bad at math when it comes to the small stuff adding up.

sage_green19d ago

My wallet just gets scared every time I walk past the egg aisle like it owes them money.