Cheaper ≠ Better

Since I've been here in Madeira, I've been doing alot of grocery shopping, as is my habit. Being directly across the street from a grocery store makes it convenient to buy daily rather than weekly. Over the years, every time I would go shopping with my mom, she would always show me how to hunt for the best bargains. To this day, I still hear her in my head when I walk into stores, "Why buy something now when you can wait a week or two to buy it 50% off?" As such, I am a deal hunter. I walk into the grocery store and compare, "How much cheaper will it be if i buy the 750ml olive oil over the 250 ml?" Usually, I end up saving cents here and there, saving big bucks in the long run. This all sounds wonderful, right? Well, not all the time. You see, today is a great example of how the "best deals" aren't always the best deals. I bought this chicken for dinner tonight:

Aside from the neck being still attached and some feathers still on (I am recognizing a trend here in Madeira), it seemed like a great bird. In fact, I managed to get two of them for only five euros. Two chickens, five bucks. Awesome. Or so I thought. After cooking the chicken, however, I realized why it only cost me €2.50. It was because this particular chicken was probably only fit for a dog. It was dry and entirely too skinny. I'm all for free range, but this chicken probably never rested a day in his poor, overworked life. Needless to say, he is going to be made into chicken stock. Sadly, that's all he's good for...

 My kitchen is now covered in pots and pans and plates from my initial attempt to make dinner, followed by my second making of dinner. Tuna salad. Yum...

Disappointed, and a little downtrodden, I decided to have a glass of wine. I had bought some red wine for a recipe and thought now was as good of time as ever to drink some. It was Pingo Doce brand (the grocery store), as is everything else we buy, because it's a great brand. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I'm not very picky when it comes to wine. But you have to draw the line somewhere. A few sips into my PD glass, I realized again, that paying an incredibly low price for wine might only be suitable for cooking. Drinking, not so much. 


So kids, the lesson to be learned here is that being frugal and watching where your money goes is always a good idea. But sometimes, quality doesn't come cheap and cheaper does not always equal better.