It was an odd sort of week for our budget. I was very frugal about most things, and excessively spendthrift about one.
I've been struggling with some long term health issues and have been told that both my health condition and the medications prescribed for it are making it difficult for my body to metabolize certain nutrients. Tired of feeling tired, I consulted with my pharmacist who sat down with me, went through my list of meds and made some recommendations regarding supplements. We ended up with quite a long "grocery list" of extras.
The idea of a row of vitamin bottles on my bathroom counter or breakfast table is not appealing to me. I have always believed that a person should do their best to get the nutrients they need through healthy eating, so I came home and did further research.
In the end, I decided that I can't go on feeling this poorly and that, given my particular set of circumstances, supplements are worth a try.
I could either buy a whole bunch of different bottles of pills and capsules to meet my nutritional needs or I could look for one "all purpose" supplement and get the whole thing out of the way in a single dose. I chose the single dose option and decided upon a nutritional supplement called Vega 1.
Like all supplements, Vega 1 is highly processed - something I'm never a fan of - but it is at least made right here in British Columbia, and made mostly from whole food ingredients. The company is owned by Brendan Brazier, who is to my knowledge the only world class triathlete ever to compete while maintaining a plant based diet.
This bundle of veggie nutrition is not inexpensive. The best price I could find for Vega 1 here on the island was $55.95 for about a month's worth of supplement. That's a hefty addition to our food budget!
The jury is still out on whether this supplement will help with my on -going health problems, but I've decided to give it at least two months before making a final decision about whether or not I'll continue to take it. With that in mind, I purchased two months worth of Vega 1 - at a cost of more than half my usual monthly food budget.
Shoppers Drug Mart made the purchase price for my supplement a little more palatable by throwing in a $20 gas card and a $0.05/liter discount on a further 50 liters of fuel. With gas prices being what they are, I was happy to take it.
I'll let you know what I think about the supplement when I'm done with the two month's worth I now have in the cupboard.
Here's what we spent this week:
|
Date
|
Item
|
Amount
|
|
Feb. 18/13
|
2 x Vega 1 supplement
|
$124.21
|
|
|
4 litres skim milk
|
$4.63
|
|
Feb. 20/13
|
Family pack (10 lb potatoes, 5 lb carrots, 3 lb onions)
|
$5.99
|
|
|
2 lemons
|
$1.00
|
|
Feb. 22/13
|
Burger and onion rings
|
$7.45
|
|
Feb. 23/13
|
1 English cucumber
|
$0.88
|
|
|
5.1 kg/11.24 lbs red bell pepper
|
$9.89
|
|
|
.8 kg/1.36 lbs beets
|
$0.94
|
|
|
.6 kg/1.32 lbs tomatoes
|
$1.95
|
|
|
20 avocados
|
$10.00
|
|
|
Gas
|
$39.95
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Coupons Redeemed
|
-$24.50
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
|
$182.39
|