So Pithy » money

(W)Hy-Vee

Jason — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:49:29 +0000

When I go shopping I like to buy in bulk: big boxes of cereal, big bags of noodles, etc. But recently, while shopping at Hy-Vee, I noticed something that annoyed me. I could get:

a 12 pack of Ramen for $2.42
two 6 packs of Ramen for $2.40
twelve individuals packs of Ramen for $2.00 (those prices might be off, but you get the picture)

So frustrating! Sometimes they do the same thing with cereal: cheaper to get two small boxes than one big box. Come on, Hy-Vee, quit interfering with economies of scale!

On the cheap

Jason — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:58:15 +0000

So it recently came to my attention that thus far I have spent a little less than 25% of the pesos I bought. I leave VERY early on Saturday, so tomorrow’s it. I need to either:

eat a lot more food,
eat much more expensive food,
buy things, or
change a bunch of money back tomorrow.

Hopefully I can make it to a bank tomorrow to change at least some of my money back.

Horace Mann

Jason — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:34:36 +0000

In Mexico they name schools after Horace Mann, just like in the United States.

My first full day in Mexico City is behind me. Highlights:

shopping around for the best exchange rate really pays; I got an extra 100 pesos by walking ten or fifteen minutes out of my way (and waiting in line ten minutes)
parts of Mexico City remind me of Prague or Stettin, other parts of Las Vegas, others of Dar es Salaam
I found breakfast baked goods heaven; cheap, self-serve, huge variety; will take photos next time!
nobody at the conference hotel knowing anything about the conference is not fun
my Spanish is terrible
gotta love all the VW bug taxis (there are tons of them in Mexico because of the VW plant/plants)
lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, dinner alone at an authentic Mexican place
$30 spent on food so far, more than half on that lunch; going to stick to authentic places from here on out, they’re cheaper

A penny saved

Jason — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:55:45 +0000

Seems to me that instead of replacing the current penny with four different versions of the penny (depicting different stages of Abe’s life) it would make more sense to just get rid of the penny altogether. For further reading… er, viewing, see the West Wing.

It is worth noting that I do not support getting rid of our dog Penny, but I am definitely against replacing her with four new versions.