I learned another lesson today about why planned living is the basis of frugality and why careless living must be shunned as far as possible. At the very least, it will help you get good quality sugar at Rs. 7.50/- less than the market price!

Sugar and Cream

When the Tamil Nadu government initiated a programme a few years to move the creamy layer (read economically well off) out of its public distribution system, our ration card was moved to category H, indicating a high income family (well, we are actually middle class, but that's another story). Ration cards with H marking were stripped of provision of rice, fuel and other essentials.

It seems that, at some point in the past, the government partially reversed its decision and allowed H card holders to avail of a monthly provision of sugar at subsidised prices. Of course, I was blissfully unaware of this...until a couple of days ago when my parents heard that we were entitled to this. And, indeed, the word 'Sugar' was printed in Tamil in big bold letters on the face of the card!

Unexpected Savings

So, off they went a short while ago and came back with 5 kgs of quality sugar, our monthly allowance. Amount saved = Rs.7.5 x 5 = Rs.37.50/- per month or a saving of Rs.450/- for one full year. The amount may be peanuts in one sense, but it can actually nearly sponsor a lunch for kids in an orphanage once a year, sponsor two sets of uniform for an orphan child or pay for a child's medical expenses for a month. Now, that makes for a different perspective, doesn't it?

The sideline to this story is that the changes to our ration card happened in the last two years when my parents were mostly away in the U.S with my sister, looking after her baby daughter. So, it was yours truly who processed the card formalities and missed this important and useful change.

It seems the people at the ration shop told my parents that they were obliging them because they were old; otherwise, the card holder would have been sent to a zonal office to do some paperwork to reclaim their entitlement.

Moral of the story?

If you are living in Tamil Nadu and have a ration card, check your entitlements. There may be nice surprises waiting for you. And if there are, how about using that saving to support a charity in your neighbourhood? Little drops count.

Notes to self

Live carefully.