Had a chat with my neighbor that made me rethink my grocery budget entirely

I was talking to my neighbor Linda last Tuesday, and she told me she feeds her family of four on $60 a week by shopping at Aldi and a local discount grocer called Grocery Outlet. She said 'I just buy what's on markdown and plan meals around that, not the other way around.' It hit me differently because I've been meal planning first and then spending $150+ at the regular store. Has anyone else tried flipping the order like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyl9819d ago

Hang on, $60 for four people? That math doesn't work unless they're eating a lot of rice and beans and zero fresh produce. I tried the "buy what's on markdown" approach for two weeks and ended up with a fridge full of weird flavored yogurt and bruised apples, then had to go back to the store anyway because I still needed basic stuff like milk and bread. Picking meals first means you don't waste anything, isn't that actually the smarter way to not blow your budget?

kevin_martin19d ago

$60 for four people... you'd be lucky to buy the rice and beans for that these days.