In it for the Long Run

wellness | intuition | curiosity

What I Ate Wednesday: Examining My Food Budget

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Welcome to What I Ate Wednesday where I share what a day of (mostly) healthy meals looks like in these here parts, while also starting the conversation about food issues we all face.

I love grocery shopping.

There I said it. I love planning my shopping list, spending far too much time perusing through the aisles, picking up every flippin’ new product I see. Gleefully agonizing over which nut butter to buy. Planning to use, but ultimately forgetting my reusable bags. Rationalizing why I need to spend $4/lbs. on Honeycrisp apples. Then unloading the groceries into their new home in my fridge and pantry.

 

In it 4 the Long Run

Breakfast: overnight oats in an empty trader joes almond butter jar

 

In it 4 the Long Run

Lunch: Eat Smart Protein Power Salad

 

I’ve often rationalized my larger-than-your-average-20-something’s grocery bills by using the excuse “oh, but I’m a healthy food blogger, I NEED this.” Well, yeah, but no. So often things go to waste because I’m not paying attention to what I have already and how much I actually eat.

In September, I made the goal to spend less than $50/week on groceries. For some of you, that’s probably totally do-able but for someone who hits the triple digit mark frequently it was a challenge. But surprisingly (to me at least) it actually worked!

It worked for these 2 reasons:

1.)Have a bigger goal in mind

Ok, sooo I don’t even know how I stumbled on his radio show, but I’ve been listening to the Dave Ramsy Show, which is all about taking control of your finances and DAMN is it inspirational. It’s helped me be more mindful about my budget. I really (really really really) want to buy a new full frame DSLR – lookin’ at you Nikon D750* – but I refuse to use credit cards/have any debt. Sooo somethings gotta give… Now everytime I think about buying an $8 juice, I focus (real hard) on that beautiful, beautiful camera.

In it 4 the Long Run

Graze Box’s flapjacks

 

In it 4 the Long Run

Earnest Eat’s Oatmeal Bars

 

 

2.) Go to the store full & with a list

Guys, oldest flippin’ trick in the book, but I swear EVERY time I go to the store hungry I end up with WAY too much food. I can follow my list to a T and still spend too much because I over estimate the quantity of food. Like, really did I need all 5 of those avocados? No. Put them back, Georgie. My mom gave me this trick: she has a box of kind bars in her car for emergency shopping trips. See, we’re totally related #AlwaysPackSnacks.

I’ve also been better about making lists (and actually bringing them to the store, that helps). Before you go to the store think about the food you want to eat and make for the next week and write it all out. It makes it so much easier to resist temptation with a list (and when you’re not hungry.)

[Tweet “Cut your grocery bill in half with these 2 tricks”]

In it 4 the Long Run

Quinoa Pasta with Tuna and Homemade Pesto

Your Turn:

  • What’s your favorite splurge item at the grocery store? I’m looking at you $15 jar of artisanal nut butter
  • Where’s your favorite place to grocery shop?
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I used to feel really guilty for spending so much at the grocery store (like I don’t even want to say the amount) but I realized that I need the food and very rarely eat out or shop so it kind of balances out. Favorite place to shop is Fresh Market lately!

    • That’s a great point. I’m a proud lunch packer and I enjoy making my food and trying new things so I don’t feel too bad, but I noticed if I wanted to save up that it was one place I could technically save money.

  2. I love taking my time grocery shopping and heading down my favorite aisles to see what new items are in. I usually go grocery shopping alone because I do take so long to grocery shop (and bargain hunt) and hate making people wait for me, unless I know exactly what I need and don’t spend the time casually looking down aisles. My favorite place to grocery shop is Fresh Thyme which is like the baby of Trader Joes + Whole Foods <3 <3

  3. girl i GET YOU! Im the same exact way, I fricken love taking my time browsing the isles at TJs and feel the need to buy EVERYTHING! I really need to cut down though, because a lot of the splurges were “in the moment” and when I got home I realized that I did need them! #strugglesofafoodblogger !

  4. I LOVE grocery shopping too…although it is a little different on a island and I am definitely a heck of a lot more aware of what to buy because of price. It’s hard not having my Costco and TJ’s around, but honestly it is okay. I adjusted and there is always Amazon and family who bring me the goods…LOL!

    • My mom does a ton of Amazon shopping for non-perishables and it’s totally affordable with Prime. Luckily the new stop and shop is a lot better but it’s funny growing up there I thought that was “normal” until I went to college, shopped at Wegmans and thought I went to heaven.

  5. My favorite splurge would probably be just buying ‘healthy food’ in general. Like chia seeds, hemp seeds, all that stuff is so expensive so I don’t buy it that often but when I do I’m like wo0o0ah feeling risky over here lol

  6. I love Trader Joe’s! I have a routine where I go every Sunday with a list in hand for a week’s worth of recipes. I usually always spend about $50/week there no matter what I get. My biggest splurge there is usually the $9 jar of almond butter or meats/fish. I just love almond butter though so it’s definitely worth it now and then.

  7. Do you have an Aldi where you live? It’s owned by the same parent company as Trader Joe’s, so they have many of the same items, just with a different label and a much smaller price tag. It’s a great place to stock on on staples that don’t need to be name brand, and they have greatly increased their organic selection to include organic quinoa, spices, nut butters, baking ingredients, etc. I buy the bulk of my groceries and produce there and go to TJ’s and Whole Foods for the things Aldi doesn’t have. It has really trimmed my grocery bills considerably. I spend more than half of my grocery budget on fresh produce, and being able to spend $1.19 for a pack of three bell peppers, vs. $3.99 at Trader Joe’s makes a huge difference.

  9. I enjoy grocery shopping at home in CT, but dislike it in NYC because it is basically a combat sport and it is SO expensive. I don’t think spending <$50 a week is possible in NYC, at least unless you are in a neighborhood far away from where I live, and I actually don't buy any big splurge items like artisanal jams, and I won't buy fruit other than apples and bananas unless it is on sale. But regular old Braeburn or Gala apples cost $2.49 a pound at nearby stores, a package of 6 GF wraps is $5, lettuce (freaking iceberg lettuce) is sometimes $2 a pound, and forget about buying smoked salmon – for that I have the best dad in the world who will make monthly Costco deliveries from the suburbs!

  10. STORY OF MY LIFE. I spend way too much $$ on food. These are great tips! I recently began cutting back too, and have also found using cash helps me spend less than aimlessly swiping my debit card (like I usually do). My splurge items are definitely nuts, nut butter and supplements.

  11. Yesssss this is totally me! Once I came back to school this semester, I was like, okay I cannot be spending this much on food and making 3-4 trips a week just for one thing. So I started planning out my meals using the Copy Me That app, and it lets you make a shopping list based on the recipes you have for the week! My budget is $50 a week, too. There’s a lot of stuff I have to pay for in college (and a new camera would be nice ?), so every time I want to get a $4 bottle of kombucha (aka every day) I stop and think.

  12. My favorite place to shop is the farmer’s market because I’m crunchy AF but followed up by Whole Foods, which is cheaper than Safeway. WF just never lets me down – they have EVERYTHING I need.

    I’m trying to cut back on spending too. My bill for little old me is usually close to $100. Nut butters are my weakness… also fancy cheeses and $5 containers of ********* berries. UGH.

  13. I probably spend more money on food than anything else, there’s just always something new that catches my eye. Looking at you “new items” section at Trader Joes…I love your idea of having a greater goal in mind, sometimes I don’t realize how much it really adds up to every week but keeping your eye on a bigger goal really puts it into perspective 🙂

  14. I always feel bad about the money I spend on groceries, but then I realize how much money my friends are spending eating out and I don’t feel nearly as bad! Honestly though, I got married almost two years ago and lemme tell you, buying for two is a BIG adjustment. I find that making a list helps me buy the right amount of food where we don’t run out by Thursday or have a drawer full of rotten zucchini. I semi meal plan based off of what i find at the farmer’s market in the summer. The rest is pretty split between Costco and Trader Joe’s.

  15. Hi Georgie! Well of course fresh produce costs more than the packaged goods! I spend a lot too, but I’m usually shopping for two (husband included). I tend to get the same things, which means I don’t take advantage of the sales … so really, I have no tips. But I do love your oats-in-a-jar and you’re making me wish I had a jar getting closer to empty. Better work on that …

  16. Sometimes I don’t even look at the grocery bill after I purchase groceries! I travel every week for work, and it’s crazy how many times I can even go to the grocery store on just the WEEKEND. I use the “I’m a food blogger” excuse too many times to count..

  17. I used to lament about how I wished we had a WF in Australia.

    I try SO hard to have a budget but since learning how to use an oven, I’ve had many errors. Oh I saw that poison water (komboocha or whatever) and it was like $6?!!!!!!!

  18. Grocery shopping is one of my favourite hobbies to be honest. I have 3 grocery stores in very close walking distance from my house, which is handy and a little dangerous. My favourite ‘splurge’ items are mangoes and cereals. I used to splurge on beautiful nut butters, but it’s been a while!
    I’m heading to America pretty soon and I just know I’m going to splurge like crazy on all the foods I can’t get in Canada (hello Bai drinks, cool hummus, and all the vegan protein bars).

  19. I have thee hardest time sticking to a grocery budget!! I’ve always made a menu and then a list before. I go but somehow my receipt always reads $$$!! Towards the end of the month I’ll have a “clean out the pantry” week and try to cook without shopping or buying < 10 items. I typically shop at Smith's/Kroger but twice a month I'll go to whole foods. Where I always feel great about what's in my cart, until I see the bill!! Yikes!!

    -KJ