So I sought the advice of an expert:

"Sweetie", I began, "I've got a real conundrum here. I'm trying to figure out if it's cheaper to go out to a restaurant for breakfast, or cook up a batch of eggs and bacon, and pay for all that extra electricity used in cooking".

Now Sweetie always has been tight when it comes to promiscuous eating out. Particularly back in the early days when the family was growing up. But the habit stayed with her and to this very day, she has to budget for an occasion at a restaurant. Even today, when we are better off in retirement than we ever were working for a living. Strange, but that's how it happened.

"So how much does orange juice cost?" I asked, holding up my nine-ounce plastic glass.

"Well, I never buy it unless it's on sale", she says, "or I should say I buy only that stuff that's on sale that day. And of course, I always have coupons, and that saves quite a bit, especially if you can get double- or triple-coupons."

Yeah, I know all that, but how much does orange juice cost?" I insisted.

"I usually pay about $1.89 for the better brands", she explained. "That's for a half-gallon carton. How big is that?"

And with that I got out our calculator, and divided 1.89 by 64 ounces, which works out to be a skosh under 3 cents an ounce. So therefore, my nine-ounce plastic glass of OJ costs 27 cents. That's per day. And I do that 365 days a year (unless we're traveling). And that adds up to a yearly budget of:

Ninety-eight dollars and fifty-five cents. For one person! That's ridiculous!

That's almost a hundred a year just for OJ. For me. For her, it's just a little less. So for the two of us, we have to start budgeting $175 a year for OJ -- more, if the grandkids come. Or other company.

And to make matters worse, I saw OJ in the supermarket yesterday for $2.79! Now I know why we're always broke.

September 12, 1998