“These bananas must peel themselves.”
Shopping Day
After four weeks of researching costs, pawing through recipe books, testing flavor combinations, and investigating ingredient storage strategies, Sugar finally finished her pupcakery menu. Her menu consisted of 10 Sugar tested and approved pupcake flavors. Each recipe was designed to smell like comfort and taste like home.
Sugar poured her heart and soul into each recipe. In fact, each pupcake on her menu was connected to a story. Which made this menu even more special.
Sugar spent the morning reviewing her shopping list. Today was shopping day. Her pupcakery official grand opening was in a few weeks. So, now that she’d unpacked all her equipment, she was ready to start stocking her shelves with her baking ingredients.
A Dog Mom Budget Shopping List
Pupcake Sugar started as Sugar’s side hustle. It was a way for Sugar to do something she loves, be creative, and make a little extra dough. She’d make pupcakes for special events, parties, and local businesses. Sugar would even sell her pupcakes at local farmers’ markets during the summer.
Sugar was used to buying ingredients to bake her pupcakes. She’d even established a good relationship with several of the local grocery vendors. However, stocking a brick-and-mortar pupcakery was on a whole different level.
So, Sugar was very intentional about this shopping trip. Other than get everything on her list, Sugar was adamant that the ingredients needed to be fresh and she needed to stay on budget.
As Sugar roamed the grocery store, she read through every product label. She priced checked every item that she put in her cart. Sugar was doing well with her shopping list until…she got to the bananas.
These Bananas Must Peel Themselves
“Wait.” Sugar barked to the dog standing next to her in the produce section. “When did bananas start costing this much?” She stared at the price sign for a few minutes thinking she might be in the wrong section.
Sugar reached down to grab a bunch of bananas from the shelf. “These bananas must peel themselves.” Sugar barked as she held them up to look at them closer. “Girl, wait ‘til you see the cost of strawberries.” The dog standing next to Sugar barked to her before she walked off with her basket.
Bananas were essential ingredient for her Banana Oatmeal Muffin Pupcakes on her menu. She spent four weeks putting this menu together. So, she didn’t have the energy to try to work out another pupcake option to replace it.
Plus, these Banana Oatmeal Muffin Pupcakes were inspired by the recipe her mama made for her and her siblings to celebrate the first day of school.
Sugar planned her budget down to the cent. So, the price increase on bananas was going to throw off her budget.
Making the Dog Mom Budget Work
Sugar was determined to find a way to get her bananas. But not at these prices. “Maybe the store’s gotta coupon code in the app.” Sugar thought. So, she took out her phone and started scrolling through the store’s app. “Nope.” Sugar woofed to herself. “Nothing.”
Then Sugar remembered that one of her dogs at the farmers’ market was having a special on fruit today. So, she sent him a text. Unfortunately, “no more bananas.” Her dog texted back.
In this moment, the only option was to buy the bananas in this store. She was gonna have to buy less of them to say on budget.
Sugar decided to adjust her baking strategy. She changed her Banana Oatmeal Muffin Pupcakes to a specialty brunch option. Which would allow her to bake less pupcakes. And since Sugar was baking less of this pupcake flavor, she could buy fewer bananas and stay on budget.
As Sugar left the store, she felt accomplished. Even with the minor setback with the bananas, she got everything on her list. Now, she could move forward with the next step. Baking for her pupcakery.
