The issue I see today (much as Christina elaborates above) is that many of us believe we’re maybe better off than we are and tend to pay to relegate work to others. As a generation raised on convenience, we may not be able to tell the difference between productive and non-productive time, and end up paying for services to free up our time just because “that’s the way we do thing”. Maybe so, but it’s also an expensive way to operate, and if we’re looking to cut costs, we may have to invest more time and less money doing things we mostly don’t feel like doing.

That’s the generational change! BTW I completely agree with the education establishment’s hand in there. But TV is probably the biggest offender. That’s the prime medium through which convenience is marketed, esp in regard to fast food. What’s shown on TV quickly becomes normal, even if people claim they don’t believe what they see there.

I talked about this recently in a blogged response to Michael Pollan’s NYT essay about the rise of the cooking show. He talks about how the way we relate to food has changed drastically over the past fifty years or so. Convenience foods (frozen meals, “sauces” that come in packets, etc) were marketed to housewives so that companies who had developed these products to feed soldiers in trenches would continue to profit after the war was over. Then as TV became more popular, we went from chefs like Julia Child actually showing us how to cook, highlighting techniques and recipes, to the Food Network packing its prime-time slots with celebrity chefs eating and talking about how good the food is. How did cooking, of all things, become a spectator sport? It’s a great read, especially if you like to cook.

One word about shopping with coupons, though: I generally don’t bother, because most of those coupons are for “convenience foods,” like frozen dinners, rice mixes, Hamburger Helper, etc, that are high in sodium and contain lots of preservatives. And generally the meals they produce can be recreated more healthfully and more flavorfully (I think that’s a real word), and for the same (or lower) cost, by stopping in the bulk foods aisle to pick up grains, legumes, and spices.

The problem is that in order to even consider this, you’d have to stop what you’re doing and think about it. The essense of convenience is that it’s uninterrupted, we just do it. It really requires a different way of thinking.

This type of convenience penalty is typically incurred due to a lack of planning (“oh, I’m low on milk … I should hop in while I’m pumping my gas and get some.”). Alas, because you didn’t spent a few moments planning ahead, you will now pay a convenience charge. Consequently, you will have to work more to cover this cost differential!

This highlights a fundamental principle underling the post: How much extra time did you spend working to cover the cost of the item+convenience fee, versus getting the item in a less convenient manner? This is how we answer the question in our family Kevin.
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