The Summer I Learned My Lesson about Generic Grape Jelly

There is so much going on right now that I don't have the energy to blog about it. All three of us were sick on Saturday and Ryan's still fighting a nasty cold. Throw in daylight savings time and a list of things to do a mile long and it's a perfect storm for exhaustion. So what am I going to write about?

Grape Jelly.

I gave a little teaser in my last post and since the full story was requested, here it is:

The summer after my freshman year of college, my friend and I decided to work at Valleyfair, an amusement park up near the Twin Cities. It was kind of a crazy summer and I have lots of stories about what it was like to live on our own in a Shakopee apartment complex, work at an amusement park, and be away for the whole summer. But this story is about jelly.

See, when you work at Valleyfair, you get a 40 minute lunch break. Depending where you're working in the park, it can take up to 10 minutes to walk back to the break area, so you don't have much time to eat. There is a cafeteria where you can buy food like burgers, fries, breadsticks, etc. or you can bring your own lunch and keep it in your locker--there are no fridges. This is key.

So, being frugal to the EXTREME and determined to not let my lunches eat up my high-flying pay (which I am humbled to say was at a level that is now below minimum wage), I decided to forgo the cafeteria food and pack my own lunch.  Every lunch. Every Supper. For the whole summer. What is the easiest thing to bring to keep in your non-refrigerated locker and only requires you to buy 3 ingredients at Cub Foods?  Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich. 

So, on my trip to the cheap grocery store every 2 weeks, I'd pick up bread, JIF extra chunky peanut butter, and grape jelly. I probably bought some potatoes, Pasta-Roni, and chips/salsa for the few meals I ate at our apartment, but I mostly remember buying my three staples.  One time, I thought I would squeeze a few extra pennies out of my already meager grocery budget, so instead of buying my Welch's Grape, I opted for a store brand.

Big. Mistake.

It was terrible. I should have immediately thrown the rest of the jar away. But if you think I was going to let that $2.78 go to waste, you've ridden the Looping Starship one too many times. I ate that entire jar of jelly, one sandwich at a time.

And even with astronomical rent on the one-bedroom apartment I shared with my friend (both of us sleeping on mattresses on the floor), I came home at the end of the summer with a nice bit of money in the bank to put toward my college expenses...which led to a degree...which led to a job...which led to a better job. And now I never have to buy generic grape jelly again!