Appreciation post: The week I accidentally saved $200 on groceries

So last Tuesday I went to the store and forgot my wallet at home. Got halfway through the parking lot and just went back. Next day I found a $20 bill in an old coat pocket. Then my neighbor gave me a bunch of zucchini from their garden. By Friday I had spent almost nothing on food all week. Made me realize how often I just buy stuff out of habit. Has anyone else had a week like that where things just lined up?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronb522mo ago

Question whether it's really that serious, but I've had similar weeks and they always feel more like coincidence than some big life lesson. You forgot your wallet once and found a twenty, that's hardly a revelation about your spending habits. People give away garden zucchini all summer because they have too many, it's not the universe telling you to stop buying groceries. Honestly, if you track your actual spending for a month it's probably more about just not needing to restock that week rather than some accidental savings breakthrough. Not trying to be a downer, but sometimes a string of small breaks is just that.

skyler_adams6d ago

Couple years ago I had a run like this for about three weeks straight. Found ten bucks in a coat pocket, got a free coffee from a punch card I forgot about, neighbor gave me a bag of lemons from their tree. I started to think I was somehow in sync with the universe or whatever. But @james_ramirez is right, you just gotta take the small win and move on. What helped me was I started keeping a simple envelope in my drawer and every time something like that happened I'd toss the cash or the note in there for later. After a few months I had like forty bucks saved up that I used to get pizza for me and a friend. It just felt better than trying to read into it or turn it into some big thing about my life.

james_ramirez2mo ago

Cameron, you're right to keep it grounded. I've been through weeks like this myself and the best thing you can do is take the small win and move on. A good approach is to just set the found money aside in a jar and use it for something fun later, that way it feels like a bonus instead of a reason to overthink. If you're worried about spending habits, a simple notebook or a free app for a month will tell you way more than a lucky streak ever could. The main thing is don't let a few good breaks make you feel like you're doing something wrong when they stop, because they always do.