Outrageous
Alright. Prepare yourselves for a rant.
WHY is it that the things that are necessary in life cost so much money? For example, healthy food. This summer I was working more, and so I treated myself to a healthy diet full of vegetables and fruit. My grocery bill was, on average, at least $30 more every two weeks. Seriously? I'm trying to live a normal-length life here, and all I want are some simple veggies and chicken and healthy food, and it costs more. On the other hand, if I want to eat pasta and pig out on chips for days on end, I can maybe make rent this month. What the hell? Another example (sorry to all you men out there who won't be able to relate...) is feminine products. So, these are things without which most women cannot function. And they're wicked expensive. For no good reason, as far as I can see. Most of the contents are fairly cheap materials: plastic, cotton, etc. Pat tonight pointed out one to which we can all relate: razor blades. Tiny pieces of metal and plastic. $8 for 4? Seriously? My final example brings me to the major subject of this rant: jeans.
Seriously, JEANS. (Adam, this one's for you, since you're so into fashion.) Now, some of you are familiar with my recent search for a new pair of jeans. For those of you who are not (or did I blog about this already? Well, anyway, here's a summary since I'm too lazy to check...) all I wanted was a pair of non-stretch jeans that were not loosely cut that cost less than $65. Impossible to find in regular retail stores. Seriously. I found some pairs that met all the other requirements, but they cost $80. Wait, let me say that again, in case you thought I was joking. $80. They're made of cotton, people. Cotton! $80 for cotton? Is there some cotton shortage I'm unaware of?
I finally found some jeans (several pairs, in fact) at the outlets in Florida. Three pairs. And get this: $12 for one non-stretch pair, $15 for another, and $20 for a stretch pair. After relaying my frustrations and final discovery of treasures to my friend Tracy, she sent me an article from her local paper about the jeans craze. As it turns out, jeans actually cost $80 now. Really? And those are the mass-produced, cheap jeans. There are brands of jeans out there (Seven for all Mankind, True Religion, and others) for which people pay between $150 to $300. Now, here's my question: WHY? The article Tracy sent mentions that these jeans are hand-stitched and hand-treated so that they look just right in terms of fit and weathering. Some have different sized pockets for different sizes, and some apparently shape your butt to just the right shape. People like Jennifer Garner and Jessica Simpson buy these jeans.
Now let's return to my original question: why do these necessities: healthy food, clothes, hygiene products - cost so much money? OK, so there might be a valid reason for the food. Supply/demand, weather, economy, farmer stuff. That could possibly make sense. Hygiene products - well, I really have no idea. Probably something to do with the fact that the manufacturers just can charge that much because we need it. Kind of like a group monopoly - if nobody lowers their prices, then we all will still have to pay the prices. Don't get me started on that. But the jeans? I think they cost that much because people will pay those prices. And why? I guarantee you that I look almost as good in my $12 jeans as I would in the $300 jeans. And I certainly wouldn't look $288 better in the $300 jeans. There's no pair of jeans that can magically make you look that good. And if you're Jennifer Garner, or Jessica Simpson, do you really need a pair of jeans that special to make you look good? My guess is you would look just as good in a $12 pair of jeans. You would look good in garbage bags made into pants. You just look good all the time. It baffles me that people pay so much more for such tiny differences. I get it that jeans are the new thing in fashion: you can dress them up with the right top and shoes and they're acceptable almost anywhere (a movie premiere, fancy restaurant, clubs) or dress them down with your favorite flip-flops and tank top and head to the beach. Great. That's why I like them: they're versatile and it's hard to go wrong with them. If I could, I'd wear jeans and a white cotton tshirt every day.
Anyway, maybe someone else has some insight into this. I refuse to even try on jeans that cost more than I can afford, so I can't say for sure that I wouldn't look incredibly good in one of the expensive pairs of jeans. But I can say that I'd still probably keep my $12 pair and put the money I would have spent on the expensive jeans into buying healthy food and a gym membership so that I'd look good enough not to worry about having to buy expensive jeans to make me look good. And then I'd be healthy too, as a bonus.
All I can say is, thank goodness for outlets. And blogs, on which I can rant about things like the price of food and jeans. =)
posted by Kristy @ 9:44 PM
4 Comments:
Have you considered The Keeper: http://www.keeper.com/ ? I mean, sure, there's Seasonale or you can just take The Pill without a break, but ... I'm not convinced that would be less expensive, depending on health insurance.
And you can just stop shaving. I mean, really, that's not a necessity: just wear pants. More of a requirement for boys in the business world, but even so you can skimp on it. I tried to figure out whether it would be cheaper to have my facial hair lasered off permanently, but I am concerned about skin cancer and lasers on my face just don't sound like a good idea. Besides, that requires a substantial up-front investment.
For discounts on healthy food, try Harvest Co-op- it's reasonably priced for the general public, and if you join it's less, and if you volunteer like four hours a month you get even more off.
And for jeans, try The Garment District on broadway in cambridge. (Alternately: H&M and Old Navy both have inexpensive products... not well-made, but inexpensive).
But yes, I agree, necessities are wicked expensive and it's just not fair. No wonder poverty and obesity go together.
a.
jeans are just like any clothes. You can get a $50 suit, or you can get a $5000 suit. Or anything in between. People pay for brands, so they get mroe expensive. I have a pair of Sevens, and they rock. Even moreso are my BlueCults and Earl Jeans. Both a little more pricey, but they are the bomb. Stylish and very comfy. I guess I could wear a pair of walmartjeans for $20, but I wanted the brand so I had to pay for it.
And your other point is right, stylish jeans are the most versatile you can get. You can wear then to frump around in, and to go out to a nice place in. And you wont look out of place. You can frump in a cheap pair of levis, but if you try to go to a club in them, you get bounced.
Hmm, what else. I buy razors on ebay. You can get them in bulk for cheap. Food is just that way, I suppose. Fresh veggies are more $$ than the canned ones. Maybe go to price club? Maybe buy generics for hygiene stuff? I buy generic contact solution since its so much. I guess its all business. There is a demand, so why not charge?
Oooh, also, check out this article on The Dollar Stretcher (stretcher.com) about how to eat healthy for less:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05jan10d.cfm
Verbal
Secretly Ironic Dot Com
(yeah, it was me the first comment too)
From Mom: Think about it: pasta requires that ingredients be loaded into machines, and then shipped
after boxes come it. It can sit on shelves for a period of time. Not a lot of maintenance costs. Some costs, but it is fast and not labor intensive. Veggies, on the other hand, require space to grow, have to be planted, nourished, good weather has to happen, proper water, sun, then a person has to pick them (in most cases) and they have to be sorted, packed and speed shipped. A person has to unpacked, sorted, and put on sale. Veggies go on sale, but those that are bruised or not chosen quickly rot, so there are the costs of not selling them. There are costs to refrigerate them, and ongoing maintenance for them (resorting, restacking, etc.) - and these happen more frequently than other wise. There are more variables, more risks, more people, less time involved, so veggies are more expensive.
We need to feed people good food. We need to love them, and teach them to love each other. We need to see that everyone has decent housing, and good schooling. When we find a way to care for everyone, and can teach everyone to care for everyone else, I think we will likely move closer to peace on earth.
I am thinking perhaps you need a grocery card for Martin Luther King day ??? Love, Mom
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