Rant: My grocery bill went from $800 to $450 a month in six months

I was just looking at my bank stuff and saw the change... it's crazy. Back in January, my family of three was spending almost $800 every month at the store, mostly at the big chain by my house. We'd just grab stuff without a list, buy whatever looked good, and a lot of it went bad. The big thing was I started planning meals on Sunday and only buying what's on the list. I also switched to getting meat and veggies from the cheaper market across town, even though it's a longer drive. It took a few weeks to get the hang of it, but now we waste almost nothing. Has anyone else cut their food spending by almost half? What was the one thing that helped you the most?

4 comments

4 Comments

shane_morgan7d ago

Holy cow, that's an insane drop! My wallet would probably faint from shock if I saved that much. I guess the secret is to not let your eyes do the shopping, who knew? Seriously though, good on you for figuring out the meal plan thing, it's a game changer once you stop buying random stuff that turns into science experiments in the fridge.

ninar686d ago

Right? It's crazy how much meal planning helps, @shane_morgan. Honestly, I used to buy way too much produce that just went bad. Now I stick to my list and my fridge looks totally different.

ruby_bell476d ago

Remember feeling shocked seeing my own bank stuff last year... started freezing bread ends and veggie scraps for stock. Sounds small but it adds up fast when you stop tossing things out.

jessica3316d ago

Totally get what you mean about the bread ends and scraps. I started doing the same thing after my grocery bill got out of hand. Making a weekly meal plan like @shane_morgan said was the real key for me, it stops all those extra trips for one ingredient. I even keep a list on the fridge of what needs to be used up first. It feels kind of good to actually see the bottom of the vegetable drawer for once.