just in time

Golden and I have different ways of approaching purchases, especially grocery purchases. I like to stock up on items and Golden likes to buy around the same time we run out of the item. I say that the reason I like to stock up is for efficiency, but it is really because I get really annoyed when I run out of certain things.

Since Golden was an accounting major she likes to point out that she simply likes the "Just in Time" (JIT) method of buying inventory, which simply means that a product is not purchased until it is actually needed.

In my technology operations class on Monday, the professor emphasized that good managers try to implement JIT into their processes. This probably means that Golden would be better at managing inventory than I would be.

This has caused some of the following differences between Golden's and my shopping.

• I look for the largest package of toilet paper in the store because I can never have enough. Golden tries to find the four-roll package because she doesn't want people to wonder why we would need a 64-roll package of toilet paper.
• I top off the tank in my car. Golden used to put five or ten dollars in the tank. Now that barely pays for the trip to the gas station.
• I buy regular cans of pop. Golden has in the past purchased the miniature cans of pop that are six or eight ounces. Okay, that's not the same thing, but still...
• If I go to the drug store because someone is coming down with the sniffles, I will buy cough medicine, cold medicine, antihistamines, and chicken noodle soup. Golden will find the smallest package of applicable medicine and buy that.
• If we are doing housework, such as painting, I will go through the store aisles and pick up anything that looks remotely handy. I don't know how Golden would handle this since I haven't let her pick up the supplies yet. I'd bet we would have more money if she did, though.