I was at Food Basics the other day and they had some fresh carrot muffins for $1.99 in a package of six. I bought a package and when I reached home, I brewed a cup of coffee and enjoyed one of the muffins with the hot beverage. My sister and I had the muffins for two breakfasts and I brought one for lunch with a banana when I had to go out the next day. I also brought a bottle of water with me. It was not the bottled water bought form the grocery. I got it from the tap.
I was listening to the news this evening and as it has been these last several months, the reports were topped by the numbers of workers being laid off, the tremendous increase in the percentage of bankruptcies and the forecast that the dire economic situation is going to get worse before it gets better, at least for two years.
The narration on the doom and gloom that the world is facing was followed by the advice of some financial experts on how to cope in times of economic crises like this one we are facing. Many of them talked about ways of saving what are left of sinking investments. There was one who gave a list of ten ways by which one can save, in small amounts here and there that actually adds up and will help in coping during the difficult times.
The top in the list in saving is lessening eating out. The news feature mentioned that eateries have already reported that customers have markedly lessened especially after the Christmas season. Many restaurants have laid off employees or lessen their working hours. So it is evident that people are aware that lessening the habit of eating out can help save money.
Of course eating out is expensive. If you go to one of the classy restaurants be ready with at least a hundred dollars for a couple. For those with a yearly income of six figures that would be affordable but for middle class families even with two breadwinners, going to such places would probably be once in a blue moon. But even going to chicken or hamburger places can cost ten to fifteen dollars a head these days. Have you seen those ads that show a cup of coffee and a muffin for $1.99 or in another place for $1.39?. That is not a meal, just a snack.
To many Filipinos, lessons on how to economize especially with food, is not necessary. Many of us, even before this economic downturn, had already been used to many strategies of making both ends meet. Having a “baon” when we go to work is a practice many of us brought with us when we came to Canada. At lunchtime when most employees go to the cafeteria to eat, Filipinos open their “baon” and sometimes even share them with co-workers.
Buying that package of muffins and enjoying it at home is not a new practice for me. I have been buying pastries in bulk instead of getting them in coffee places wherein they cost two or three times more. I even bake them when I have time. And I know I am not alone in this.
A Filipino couple that came to Canada in the middle sixties and whose children and grandchildren are now all professionals was telling me how they coped during their early days here in Canada. They had five children who were quite young, “I would boil a chicken with one cabbage and lots of potatoes,” she recalled,” and that was a big meal we enjoyed with a pot of rice.
Many Filipino families still enjoy a meal like that. Sometimes we use pork bones or beef bones, which we call “buto-buto”. We have ways of extending a small amount of meat to feed a family of five by adding vegetables and beans. We are used to emergencies when relatives would arrive at mealtimes. We would find a way to feed them. “Dagdagan mo ang gulay at ang sabaw saka ang sinaing.”
We would not leave a relative or even just a friend waiting in the living room while we eat. But of course, many of us know that it is not a practice here in North America to arrive unannounced especially at mealtimes. So we do not often have such situations here.
The younger generation especially those who were born here have mostly mainstreamed as far as eating styles are concerned. For them, hamburger and French fries, pizza or hot dogs are the in-thing. Going to these short-order places to get these young people’s favourites add up. We see hamburgers advertised for $1.39 but with the French fries and pop drink plus tax a five-dollar bill is one. If you have three kids plus yourself that would amount to the price of food for two meals at home.
I am not really worried about Filipino families because most of us have brought with us our coping mechanisms in a tight economy from our home country. Most of us worry not only about our subsistence here but also of the regular amounts we send to family members at home. Maybe we should try to lessen those amounts. I know of certain cases wherein recipients of this regular “padala” spend the money without understanding how hard their relatives work to earn it here.
Another area wherein we can probably save is in the parties that we give. I have gone to several buffets in homes that compete with those in Chinese restaurants. I counted the kinds of dishes served in one and I reached twenty-one, not including the desserts. There were about ten kinds of sweets. Almost everybody had a “balot” when it was time to leave. I have mentioned this practice to several people, which I believe, is wasteful and I was told, “Inaasahan iyan ng mga bisita. Kahiyahiya kung wala kang maibigay na pabaon.”
Recent statistics show that more men are being laid off from work than women. This is because women are often in service jobs like nursing and hospitality while men are in production of goods like cars, various machinery and others.
Many Filipino women are in the service jobs.
Everybody is being adversely affected by this recession, some worse than others. It is hoped that it would not last very long. Let us look at the positive side of this anxious time. It is probably an opportunity for us to teach our offspring and ourselves how to put more value on money and learn to save. Many of us Filipinos who know how hard life in the Philippines is recognize that many lifestyles here in North America are very wasteful. We throw away too much, be it food, clothes, appliances, furniture or whatever we get tired of. We should probably start lessening needless waste.