Comfort food. It’s comforting to my stomach but not to my nearly empty wallet. I’ve been having a bad week at school. I’ve missed another important lecture and detailed notes in Business and Economic Writing, I’m having a hard time understanding Binary Numbers in Basic IT, and now I haven’t even had an economic beat for the first subject yet. I could console myself with the fact that it’s only the prelim period, but that’s still 10% of the entire grade. But surely, the remaining 90% can still make a tremendous impact.
Even with limited pocket budget, I couldn’t help but succumb to Dunkin Donuts. I had two from Mister Donuts this morning but it never diminished the craving. I thought I deserved a box of dessert. Besides, I’m sick of canned goods and instant meals. After all, giving in to occasional temptation is one factor of happiness, says Cosmopolitan magazine.
Inflation has taken its toll once more. Donut prices have increased from Php 10 to Php 11. That may be just one peso to you but a dozen will now cost Php 12 more. That’s half an hour at an Internet café or one short ride on the LRT and MRT lines. Most importantly, that’s almost as much as one trip from school to our new flat here at Cubao. Angkong (Fukien Chinese for “grandfather”) taught me that one way to realize the value of money is to equate it with daily necessities. Php 1,000 can buy half a sack of rice that can feed my sister and me for three months. Or I can splurge it for an (impractical) pair of Havaianas flip flops.
I finally arrived at my home sweet pad. I just threw my uniform recklessly at the sofa bed and devoured five donuts. That’s partly out of hunger and partly out of violent cravings. The first five were luxury for the tongue. Afterwards, when my tummy felt heavy, it suddenly hit me that I just spent Php 110 on a box of donuts. That amount can buy 3 kilos of rice; enough to feed my sister and me for more than two weeks. Two weeks worth of staple food thrown away for a few minutes of comfort.
Yeah, the sweet taste brought temporary comfort, but the guilt of impulsive spending remained. It was also a heavy blow on my hyperventilating weekly allowance.
The guilt may have remained, but so did the lesson. The latter will be a lifetime aid. It once again taught me the value of money and that it should be spent wisely. After all, experience is the best teacher and mistakes are the best lessons.
