A Frugal Fight over Arizona Tea: How Blogging Keeps Me On Track

Every time I shop, for food or clothing, I hear personal finance voices in my head. That frugal chorus keeps me firmly planted on the money-saving path. Last night, for instance, I ran to the little grocery store ( a little bodega) near my home. It's not cheap, but it's close.

I went to the store because my son was making smoothies (frozen mangoes, strawberries & orange juice.) Homemade smoothies cost about 35 cents per serving to make vs. about $3-5 (and up) at restaurants or health food stores. My son had everything in the blender, but we were out of bananas, an important ingredient for taste and texture.

So I gladly went to the store for an over-priced banana. Besides, it was so sweet of my son to make drinks for the whole family.

At the store, I was suddenly thirsty. I picked up a bottle of Arizona Tea, (green tea with plum juice.) The price was 50 percent more than most stores, but I convinced myself that I really, really, really needed the anti-oxidant vitamins and the energy lift.

Besides, I'm entitled to a few treats and the Arizona Tea bottle is sooo pretty. I could re-use it as a vase and really get my money's worth.

But the real truth: It wasn't about thirst or well-deserved treats. I was just lazy and impatient. A fruit smoothie was waiting for me at my home. And I also own boxes and boxes of herbal teas. For the price of that Arizona Tea, I could have made at least one gallon (maybe two) of my own tea, with honey! And there's always filtered free water from my kitchen tap.

Still, I walked to the register with the pretty bottle in my hand. But I finally put back that tea when I thought of blogging. How could I write about saving money, if I couldn't wait five minutes for a frugal drink? I put the tea back. Last night, it would have been wasted on me.
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