There are two schools of thought about this. One says; stay out of shops as much as possible to avoid temptation. The other says; keep going back to get the best bargains. I shilly shally - actually I do like browsing to see what's on sale, but I impulse splurge far less than I used to. (I used to be one of those ooh-a-bag-sale-at-the-thrift-store-I'll-get-five-bags-of-stuff-I-don't-need shoppers)

But today I got lucky - thrift store was selling herb plants. I got some basil and lemon balm at a dollar each. I also saw two new stores had opened. One was a consignment store. Wow, did they have some lovely stuff! Many garments with the original price tags still on them - up to 80% off. Of course they were horrendously overpriced in the first place, which is why the store of origin probably went bust - but still good quality. Will definitely go back there when I am earning again.

The other place was a new Asian food store. Lots of very cheap convenience foods - catering to local Asian students. I prefer the one in town where I can buy mung beans, big bags of rice, vegetables and other real food. I ocassionaly get some soy or other sauce, but all that MSG does me no good. The only thing I bought today was some soy milk for nz$1.70

Going past McD's drive in I remembered I had some packets of their ketchup still sitting in the pantry - it was from when a friend came round with burgers as a treat, but he doesn't eat ketchup - So when I got home I made a risotto with the last red pepper and squeezed in McD's blood for some flavor. Well, let's just say I'm glad I've got some herb plants now.