This next comment may sound really obnoxious to some, but I have to say that I am very happy to be in college during a tough economic time such as this.
I know that I'll be hit with an economic crisis cycle at least 3 times or so during my lifetime, but I think that watching how our current crisis plays out will prove to be very helpful with the way that I deal with future economic woes.
The situation at hand does worry me, and I have close friends and family members who are struggling at the present time. It bothers me to see them going through this and being so uncertain of what their next moves are going to be. I wish there was a way that I could help, of coarse, but there is realistically not much that I can do.
When I am not on school time (such as when I go home for a weekend), I can somewhat feel the repercussions of what's going on. It is at these times that I think being a vegan largely helps keep my spending costs at a low level. 'Trendy' vegan foods can certainly cost you a pretty penny, but if you keep things simple, you'd be surprised at how much money you can save.
Here's an example:
When I went home last weekend, I did a little bit of shopping since my stay was more than just a couple of days. It had been so long since I last made myself some quality juices, so I took my time at home as an opportunity to catch up on some lost nutrition.
One of the first things I did when I got home was make a grocery store run. I bought some essentials, such as Almond Milk - $1.49 per box, and then I put most of my focus on juice ingredients.
Once again, I kept it simple. Carrots, cucumbers, peaches and apples...that was about it. It's amazing how far this stuff can last you and how creative you can get with it.
The bag of organic carrots that I bought form my local health food store ran me about $5.50. This bag was 5lbs and was more than enough for me. I left the carrots that I didn't eat at home so that my parents could have them if they wanted to juice also...I can only hope that they didn't go to waste.
I decided not to bring my juicer back to school with me. It was too much to carry on the subway and I was told that it would apparently cause 'noise pollution' in the dorm (whatever...not like the people on my hall aren't loud ALL the time).
As far as food quality goes, my diet has not seen much freshness in the last 3 or 4 weeks. I took a trip to Whole Foods this week and got some fresh items, but they only lasted me a few days. I really have to buckle down and figure out a solution. I can't keep living off of three smoothies a day and expect to be healthy.
I'm open to suggestions. Don't be afraid to comment.
Raw. Love.
-Natalie
