Grocery talk with my neighbor changed how I budget food

My neighbor across the street, Tom, told me he plans meals around what's on sale at two different stores each week. I always just walked into one store and bought whatever looked good. After trying his method for three weeks, my grocery bill dropped from $180 a week to about $130. Has anyone else found a simple switch like this that actually stuck around?

2 comments

2 Comments

adams.harper27d agoMost Upvoted

@nancy824 that Costco rice trick is wild, $30 for a bag that lasts months? Do you freeze it or just keep it in the pantry? I always worry about bugs getting in but maybe I'm overthinking it.

nancy82427d ago

Tried something similar but backwards. I started buying the big bag of rice and dried beans in bulk. Costco. Way cheaper per meal. Then I just build meals around whatever cheap protein and veggies are on sale. My grocery bill dropped to around $100 a week for two people. The initial sticker shock of $30 for a 25lb bag of rice hurts. But that bag lasts me four months easy. More people should think about shelf stable basics.