My sister looked at my grocery receipts and asked why I shop 4 times a week | Budgeting Wins - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
My sister looked at my grocery receipts and asked why I shop 4 times a week
She stayed with us in March and saw me run to Kroger on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for small trips. She pointed out that each trip had at least $15 of stuff I grabbed just because I was already there. I started doing one big trip on Saturday with a written list, and my food spending went from $780 a month to $540. The first two weeks felt tight because I kept forgetting things, but now I plan meals around what's already in the fridge. Does anyone else meal plan on a fixed day, or do you just shop when you run out?
How long did it take before the Saturday trip actually felt normal though? I tried this a few years back and I caved around week three because I kept forgetting stuff and making mid week runs anyway. The thing that got me was produce, like I'd buy all the veggies on Saturday and by Wednesday the spinach was slimy so I'd run out "just for that" and come home with $40 of other stuff. Did you switch to frozen veggies or do you just buy less fresh stuff at a time? Also do you plan the meals first and then build the list, or make the list from what's already sitting in the fridge? I feel like the second way would save even more but I never know what I actually have without digging through everything.