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PSA: I thought my grocery bill was stuck at $150 a week forever | Budgeting Wins - nhfree.com

PSA: I thought my grocery bill was stuck at $150 a week forever

For months, I kept hitting the same number every time I shopped, no matter how hard I tried to cut back. I was convinced that was just the cost of feeding two people now. Then my partner pointed out we were buying the same brand-name stuff every single trip without even checking prices. I started a price book, just a little notebook, to track what things cost at three different stores near me. It took me a solid month of checking every week to get real data. Turns out, store brand canned beans are 40 cents cheaper at the place five minutes further away. By switching stores for specific items and dropping some name brands, I got our weekly cost down to $110. Who knew a simple notebook could save $40 a week? Has anyone else tried something this basic and been shocked by the results?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elizabeth6mo ago

I get the worry about extra driving, I felt the same way. My trick is to only track the big ticket items that add up fast, like meat, coffee, and laundry soap. I plan one longer trip a month to the cheaper store to stock up on just those things. The rest I grab at my regular spot. It cut my bill way down without turning grocery shopping into a second job.

juliahall5mo ago

Saw a budgeting blog that called this the 80/20 rule for groceries. Focus on the 20% of items that make up 80% of your spending. For us it's definitely cheese and chicken thighs, plus paper towels. Those four things alone probably account for half our bill some months. I keep a little note on my phone with the per unit price at the bulk store versus my local shop. Makes it feel less like guesswork and more like a real plan. One monthly stock up trip sounds way more manageable than chasing sales every week.

terrywilson6mo ago

Isn't that a ton of extra work and driving around? I just don't have the time to track prices across three stores every week. For me, the gas and the hours spent would eat up most of that forty dollar saving. I'd rather just buy the store brand at my main shop and call it good.