Photo Credit: Too Cute Custum Crafts

 

It was my first year of high school and I was having dinner at their modern mansion, situated on a very famous golf course green in one of those 'doctors and celebrities only' neighborhoods.

 

"This is why we're wealthy," she said matter-of-factly. 

 

Pulling a basket of linen from her granite kitchen island she finished her sentence: "Cloth napkins."  

 

Cloth Napkins.  I didn't want to offend Mrs. Dr. B. so I suppressed the urge to inform her that "actually, you're wealthy because your husband is a surgeon." I kept this thought to myself.

 

Cloth Napkins.  She went on to share that they couldn't afford paper towels while her husband was in medical school, this was how they got by.  Once he started operating they kept using cloth napkins and quite simply, this is "why they're wealthy." 

 

At age 14 I didn't get it, but I do now.  Eating healthy does cost money. Paper supplies can easily account for as much as 20% of the weekly grocery bill.  Opting for cloth is one old-fashioned, brilliant way to trim grocery expenses.  It creates budgetary 'wiggle room' for families transitioning from a modern lifestyle to a healthy diet.  and, at least according to Mrs. Dr. B., it could make you rich.