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Nov 27, 2023

Food Diary: How a Fayetteville pharmacist eats on $150K a year

Welcome to Food Diaries, a series documenting what Fayetteville Observer readers

Welcome to Food Diaries, a series documenting what Fayetteville Observer readers eat and how much they spend on food. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader's weekly expenses for groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, Food Diaries aims to be a glimpse into how people throughout Cumberland County — with different incomes, dietary needs and schedules — manage their food budgets.

In today's Food Diary, a 54-year-old pharmacist eats takeout burritos for dinner, buys doughnuts for his staff and splurges on Hendrick's martinis at the end of a long work week. He says eggs, bacon and Coke Zero are his grocery staples.

Interested in being interviewed for this series? Email [email protected].

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

What is your occupation? Pharmacist

How old are you? 54

What is your relationship status? Engaged

How many people live in your household? I maintain a residence in Fayetteville due to work. My days off are spent in Chapel Hill with my fiancee.

What kind of housing do you live in? Three-bedroom condo

What city do you live in? Fayetteville

What is your annual salary, if you have one? $150,000

How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $3,300 after taxes and other deductions, like insurance and retirement

How often are you paid? Bi-weekly

How much money do you have in savings? Immediate access savings, about $100,000

What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food?

Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? Not really, I could eat healthier but I don't eat that bad either. I never snack between meals and rarely eat candy. When I’m at work, I am constantly drinking water, easily more than two liters in a nine-hour day.

What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Deli meat, bread, eggs, bacon, ground beef, pasta, orange juice, potato chips, popcorn, salad greens, tomatoes, cheese, Coke Zero and water

How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I dine out two or three nights a week.

Where did you grow up? Fayetteville's VanStory Hills area, near the historic Haymount neighborhood.

How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? What restaurants did you dine at? Perhaps twice a month for dinner, four times a month for lunch, usually after church. We frequented K&W Cafeteria, Wendy's, Pizza Hut and local fried seafood places.

How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? We ate at home nearly every night and rarely went out. My mother was the cook. As we got older and she started working, we probably had carry-out more often.

The breakdown:

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7:30 a.m. I go into work later today, so I have time to fix something in the morning. I cook four pieces of bacon and three eggs.

1:30 p.m. For lunch, I have a homemade turkey and ham sandwich with mustard on multigrain bread with garden salsa flavor SunChips on the side. I always prepare my lunch at home and take it with me to work for two reasons: First, if I leave the store I don't want to come back in. Secondly, spending $10 to $15 on lunch every day adds up. I can fix something at home that's just as good and less expensive.

7:30 p.m. I eat a Chipotle steak burrito with brown rice, peppers, onions, red chili salsa and cheese with a bag of chips and tomato salsa, $13.

Monday's total: $13

6:30 a.m. I eat a bowl of Fruit Loops cereal, dry with no milk, and a glass of orange juice. I go into work early and don't have enough time to cook.

12:30 p.m. Lunch is another turkey and ham sandwich with chips. Yes, it's boring and I eat one every day at work, but again, it is yummy!

6:30 p.m. I cook myself two of what my mother called flat cheese sandwiches — three pieces of cheese between two pieces of multigrain bread, browned in a skillet with butter and mashed as flat as possible while cooking. One sandwich was mozzarella and the other was colby jack.

Tuesday's total: No purchases made

6:30 a.m. I eat a bowl of dry Frosted Flakes with a glass of orange juice.

12:30 p.m. For lunch, yet another turkey and ham sandwich with SunChips.

6:00 p.m. Dinner is a butter lettuce salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Nothing fancy, but tasty and healthier than what I’ve been eating this week.

Wednesday's total: No purchases made

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9 a.m. It's my only day off this week, so I slept in, then cooked bacon and eggs again. I took my weekly trip to the Harris Teeter to replenish some things I needed, which came to $79 after a $10-off coupon.

1 p.m. Lunch is another salad, prepared like the night before.

6 p.m. Dinner at Luigi's is my reward for a long work week. I always sit at the bar and start with the grilled Italian sausage and tomato appetizer followed by a half-portion of the baked penne with pepperoni added. With a couple of Hendrick's martinis and tip, the total comes to $82, which is by far the most I will spend on a single meal this week.

Thursday's total: $161

7:30 a.m. Home-cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast, again.

1:30 p.m. Turkey and ham sandwich with chips, as usual.

7:30 p.m. Dinner is a couple handfuls of spicy peanuts and a bowl of Smartfood popcorn. Working the weekend can be challenging because the pharmacy has much less staff than during the week, so Friday night I just want to relax as much as possible and eat something quick and easy.

Friday's total: No purchases made

8:30 a.m. No breakfast this morning, because I’m continuing a tradition that I started more than 20 years ago — I stop by Krispy Kreme on Bragg Boulevard on the way to work and buy two dozen doughnuts for my staff. I usually eat one glazed doughnut when I get to work and another a couple of hours later. With a coupon, the total is $15.72.

1:30 p.m. Lunch is another turkey and ham sandwich with chips.

6:30 p.m. Takeout from MiCasita's for dinner: the signature burrito MiCasita made with steak and queso, a side of rice, pico de gallo and salsa and chips comes to $19.60.

Saturday's total: $35.32

8:30 a.m. No breakfast again; I had one leftover Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut when I got to work.

1:30 p.m. Turkey and ham sandwich with chips.

7:30 p.m. After a long week, I’m off to Chapel Hill to spend time with my fiancee. We always have dinner out and rotate around various restaurants. Tonight, we go to 411 West, an Italian restaurant. I have a pizza and a couple of Plymouth martinis. With tip, my part of the bill is $60.

Saturday's total: $60

Food, dining and business reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter, or Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter.