A Weekly Trip Worth Being Grateful For

This is my first post in this subreddit. I just started being frugal about two months ago. So far the results have been amazing. I eat better, I feel better and the little debt I had keeps getting lower and lower. I'm planning to pay everything off a week after my thirtieth birthday next month. I started saving $50 USD per week for my retirement, something I hadn't even thought about before.

This post is about a small change I made to my lifestyle. I used to do zero budgeting. I ate pretty much whatever I had at the time, often going out to eat with no real reason to. Whenever a friend asked me to go out with them, I'd go without hesitation often several times per week. I had absolutely no idea where all my money was going.

Since I live alone, a lot of my food went bad because I had no schedule. My intermittent trips to Walmart often ended up in me buying random stuff I didn't need, plus expensive food and other items.

For two months now I've been making a weekly trip to the local market. I'm lucky enough to live a few minutes away from it.

I've lived very close to this place for years, and still I always ended up going to Walmart. Now I really enjoy talking to the people who sell me my goods, as I often compare prices and select the best provider for my produce.

Here's what this place looks like:

https://i.imgur.com/jganFnJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jAotqIf.jpg

I decided to make a weekly visit because that's what works best for me. I've also made sure to eat a balanced diet consisting of plenty of meat, chicken, vegetables, egg, tuna, cheese and so on. Every couple of days I read more about what constitutes a nutritious, balanced diet. For now, I've almost completely eliminated sugar from my life. I also haven't eaten fast food a single time since I started my lifestyle changes.

Another advantage of my new lifestyle is that I'm quickly learning some great recipes. For me the whole experience of selecting my food and preparing it is incredible. It tastes so much better than mindlessly going out to eat, plus it saves me a lot of money.

After around 45 minutes of shopping around I headed to my amazing ride parked in the best spot:

https://i.imgur.com/eOu4tAQ.jpg

Although I live in a third world country my city has what I consider a very decent cycling infrastructure:

https://i.imgur.com/R4YGmnz.jpg

Upon reaching home I unpacked everything:

https://i.imgur.com/vE8OcWb.jpg

The whole cost of all of this was around $17 USD, which is what I'm budgeting for myself per week. I didn't buy the cheapest food either - the meat, the eggs and some vegetables where priced a bit above average.

I also drink regular water all day, every day. Being frugal is amazing because now I feel like I actually control my life. It's not just about savings, but it's about taking full control and responsibility for myself. The savings are amazing too!

I'd like to end my post with a quote I really like by Dave Ramsey:

"A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went."

This is something I'm planning to live by from now on.

Thank you for reading!