Eating well, even in poverty

Harris Teeter is my savior.

Where else can I get a cheap bottle of white (I recommend the Barefoot wines, but only the whites; their reds taste like donkeynuts), a tub of baba ghanouj, a bag of pita and the ever-necessary Slice o' Cake? That right there is a decadent feast for about $15.

There are many other ways to indulge on a budget. Of course, many of them involve birthday candles and Taco Bell -- but rest assured, if you are unemployed and desperately in need of a little something special, you can make it happen.

Those of us under 35 need to remember, in these pitiful economic times, that eating at home isn't the antichrist. No, really. We may be tempted by payday and the pile of dishes in the sink to head out to indulge that new craving (ahi tuna! chocolate mousse! margaritas!) -- but the fact is that wages aren't even nearly aligning with cost-of-living increases. Which means that mebbe, just mebbe, we should actually cook. Or at least have an HT picnic on the living-room floor. Just try it. You might even find it romantic. And doesn't it feel goooood not to have to leave a $20 tip at the end of the night? I thought so.