A quiet Six Decade Ledger of Our Standards >>>>> Monthly Grocery Bill Taught Us About Living Well : Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

 A quiet Six Decade Ledger 

of Our Standards

Monthly Grocery Bill 

Taught Us About Living Well

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

            Our June month provision bill from a reputed grocery store in Hyderabad is little over Rs 9400, and I noticed plus or minus 15% the same amount every month. As I studied the bill containing rice, dal, flour, cooking oil, spices, coffee, ghee, cow ghee, and a few household necessities, I realized that it told a much larger story, not merely about what I and my wife eat, but about how we live. I am 78 years old, my wife 73, and have been married for 57 years. We live in Hyderabad in the apartment bought for us by my son, and despite our children have their own lives and responsibilities, we both are taken care of comfortably by them.

Looking at this grocery bill made me reflect on the economics of ageing and the simple upper middle-class habits that have helped us maintain a reasonably contented life. In addition to expenditure on provisions, we spend about Rs 1500 on vegetables. Milk remains an important part of our daily routine and costs between Rs 3500 and Rs 4000 every month. We eat out occasionally, spending another Rs 4000 to Rs 5000. A modest allowance for sweets adds about Rs 1500. Our monthly expenditure on these items would be roughly Rs 18,500 to Rs 20,000.

Looking at the grocery list, I see influence of eating habits formed over a lifetime, far more than commodities and prices. There is rice, idly rava, rice flour, dals, spices, besan, jowar flour and cooking oil. There are negligible packaged snacks, instant foods, sugary beverages or fashionable products popular in markets. Despite change in prices, shockingly, our grocery basket remained unchanged over the past 57 years. Essentials remain much the same. We continue to eat the foods we grew up with trust, and that itself is one reason we feel comfortable with our lifestyle.

One item on the bill always attracts our attention whenever I and my wife discuss household expenses, is the coffee powder. We are particular about our coffee and spend a fairly substantial amount on it each month. We never planned to switch to a cheaper brand and save a few hundred rupees. At this stage of life, I have come to believe that not every decision should be made with a calculator. The pleasure of beginning the day with a good cup of coffee shared with my wife, and of late prepared by me has a value that cannot easily be expressed in financial terms.

The same principle applies to our occasional restaurant visits. In fact, most of our meals are prepared at home. We dine out because it gives us a change of scene, an opportunity to meet friends or simply an excuse to step out together. Likewise, the small amount we spend on few favourite sweets each month has been part of our lives for decades. At seventy-five and beyond, moderation is important, but so is enjoyment. A life stripped of all pleasures in the name of efficiency can become unnecessarily austere.

We both believe in cultivation of sustainable habits. The quality of old age life often depends as much on lifestyle as on income. My wife and I are not particularly thrifty, nor are we extravagant. We spend on things that genuinely matter to us and avoid spending merely because others do. We do not go by advertisements and we do not imitate lifestyles displayed on social media. This does not mean denying our comforts. On the contrary, we believe old-age life should be enjoyed. We distinguish between genuine comforts and cluttered expenditures.

What struck me most while studying our grocery bill was how ordinary it looked. There was nothing remarkable about it. Yet perhaps that is precisely the point. Most meaningful lives are built not on extraordinary events but on ordinary routines repeated over many years. A simple breakfast, a cup of coffee, a home-cooked meal, an evening outing, a favourite sweet and a conversation with our spouse: these small pleasures accumulate quietly and become the foundation of a satisfying life.

That handwritten grocery bill that we receive for payment, therefore, became more than an account of monthly expenses. It became a reminder that a good life need not be complicated. In a world that constantly encourages us to consume more, upgrade more and desire more, there is wisdom in recognizing when we already have enough. If there is a lesson hidden in that bill, it is not about saving money. It is about living deliberately.

Financial security matters, but so does simplicity. Health matters, but so does enjoyment. Planning matters, but so does gratitude. Somewhere between austerity and extravagance lies a balanced way of living. As my wife and I move through our early and late seventies, that balance is what we continue to seek, and, most days, what we are fortunate enough to find.

There is another item that quietly occupies a similar place in our monthly budget: cow ghee. Our expenditure on cow ghee is almost equal to what we spend on coffee powder, amounting to about Rs 1600 a month. Interestingly, very little of it is used as a food ingredient. My wife spends a few hours every day engaged in prayer and devotional activities, and cow ghee is used regularly for Harathi in the kundulu. This may appear to be an avoidable expense. But it is part of a lifelong spiritual routine that brings peace, discipline and a sense of continuity.

Our milk consumption may appear somewhat high for a two-person household, but there are reasons for it. A significant portion of the milk eventually finds its way into buttermilk, which has been a regular part of our diet for many years. Hyderabad summers are long and often unforgiving, and we always found buttermilk to be one of nature's simplest and most effective refreshments. It is light, nourishing and comforting, especially in advancing age.

Bananas are a staple in our home. We consume them every day, after night meal, which of late is Idly. Over the years, bananas have remained one of the most affordable, nutritious and convenient fruits available. Unlike many modern dietary trends that come and go, both buttermilk and bananas have stood the test of time in our household, providing sustenance without fuss and reminding us that good nutrition is often found in the simplest foods.

There is one final item that does not appear explicitly in the grocery bill but nevertheless influences our monthly household expenditure. I have a modest social drinking habit, and from time to time a few close friends and visitors join me at home. The beverages themselves are only part of the story. Hospitality in our culture is rarely limited to a glass in hand. It is accompanied by snacks, fruits, home-prepared items and the general warmth of receiving guests.

Consequently, such gatherings add a little to our provision bill every month. I do not regard this as an expense in the conventional sense. Friendships become increasingly precious as one grows older. The opportunity to sit together, exchange memories, discuss current events, laugh over old stories and enjoy each other's company is one of life's understated blessings. In a world where loneliness has become a growing concern among senior citizens, maintaining friendships may be as important for well-being as maintaining a healthy diet.

Looking back, I realise that our monthly grocery bill is not merely a record of expenditure. It is a quiet ledger of our values, reflecting nourishment for the body through food, for the mind through companionship, and for the spirit through faith: proof that a good life is measured not by how much we spend, but by how meaningfully we live.