What if your normal eating habits are actually making you poor?
That’s what we will explore in Strategy #4 – Get Wealthy Buying Groceries(part 1)
I put together a two-series article with the first part focusing on your grocery bill. Part 2 will focus on annihilating your restaurant bill.
Most people don’t even realize they’ve eaten themselves into the poor house. No matter how full you might be, your wallet is likely empty as a result. Now there are a lot of ways your eating and drinking habits can be affecting you. One such way is the long-term negative health effects your diet has on the body. That’s an entirely different area we won’t be discussing today, but is something you should always be mindful of.
What we will be discussing is how your trip to the grocery store, restaurant, and cafe is like slow leaks. On the surface, it appears to be an innocent panini here or an iced lemonade there for a couple of bucks. In reality, it’s costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the long run. Did you know on average Americans go to the grocery store every 2-3 days? Plus, did you know Americans spend more overall going to restaurants than grocery stores?
Those are lots of opportunities to waste money instead of retiring early. And just about everyone complains about the price of groceries and the check at restaurants too.
Don’t be one of those complainers. For one it’s better to be positive than to complain.
Once you finish reading both parts of this article you’ll no longer be complaining to anyone about your grocery or restaurant bill. Instead, you’ll have a different outlook, and realize you can control the amount of money you spend on this necessity more than you think.
Let’s start off with your trip to the grocery store. You go in determined to get everything for this killer recipe you found for tonight’s family dinner. You round up all the ingredients, throw them in the cart, and proceed to the register. Then “BAM!” you get hit with a whopping $175 bill to feed your family of four tonight. You might start thinking you would have been better off going out to eat since you don’t have to cook or cleanup. That is how many people justify their decision.
Well, it’s not worth it, and we’ll touch on that in Part 2 .
It’s not uncommon for many to head into the store with no real strategy and leave with nothing but a couple of bags, and empty bank accounts. Some people start out by finding a cool dinner recipe they really want to make. That is totally fine, but the recipe might not be feasible tonight.
Suppose the recipe called for a lot of ingredients that aren’t in season right now. Most people forget that every plant has a season it normally grows. Modern farming methods and transportation systems have managed to bring us fresh food our ancestors only saw a few weeks per year. This allows us to feast on fresh peppers, lettuce, asparagus, blueberries, oranges, and exotic fruits year-round. The result is you find all the ingredients you need, but at prices so high your new dinner recipe has just turned into its own recipe for financial disaster.
Now there are a couple of alternative strategies.
Strategy 1
You do not buy something to eat simply because you want it. If it’s November and you want asparagus you don’t buy it. The reason is simple.
It’s not in season and is usually overpriced!
If you spend $5/lb on asparagus because you want it you’re making a horrible choice. Take note of what prices are in the spring. You’ll routinely find asparagus for less than $1/lb.
The solution is to find out what’s in season & selling at a good price.
When certain foods are in season the prices plummet as inventories increase. Farmers & grocery stores are willing to unload tons of food to you at rock-bottom prices over the next few weeks since there is so much supply! Eat all the fresh seasonal vegetables until you are tired of them. By that time the next plant will be in season allowing you to switch things up.
You should also take these opportunities to buy fresh vegetables and fruits to freeze yourself. Now you’ll always have quality ingredients you can whip out of the freezer for months down the road. I personally load up on cheap berries in the summer to use in protein shake smoothies year round.
This leads us to a related area.
Limit your purchases of packaged, frozen, and canned foods! First of all, they mostly taste like garbage. The reason is companies buy the lower class produce to freeze or can. The better-looking produce gets sold unfrozen at the store since it commands a higher price. Remember with packaged goods YOU pay for the processing, packaging, and freezing of the food which adds to the overall cost. Now of course you can find frozen/canned items cheaper than their fresh counterparts on various items throughout the year. If you do by all means purchase the food and enjoy it! Your wallet will still thank you.
Let’s say you want frozen strawberries for your smoothie. You buy the frozen 10oz organic strawberry bag for $4. You might say to yourself “Not a bad deal, plus strawberries are healthy for me!”
Wrong!
You just bought strawberries for $6.40/lb which is a huge rip-off. If you headed over to the produce aisle you can probably find fresh organic strawberries for less than $4/lb. Most people don’t notice the difference because each one is priced at $4.00, but the package size matters.
If you planned ahead you would have bought strawberries when they were in season during April-June for even cheaper at $2lb. Then you could have frozen them yourself to have at your convenience all summer long!
I implore you to analyze the cost/benefits of buying fresh vs frozen in your area, and when possible freeze/can your own.
Strategy 2
Set a price per pound limit on the items you buy.
This helps you set clear and simple guidelines. When you buy proteins, which are expensive, you will quickly reign in the overall grocery bill.
For most families, meat and seafood are the biggest components of their grocery bill. It’s super easy to buy New York strip steaks and salmon filets which routinely cost close to $10 per pound. When saving money is a goal you need to find other protein sources that are more affordable. Chicken and pork are usually the cheapest. Or, consider buying the less expensive ground versions.
If you’re really struggling financially consider buying alternative protein sources. For many people, this means more eggs, or plant-based sources such as broccoli, beans, and brussel sprouts. Now, I’m not saying to get into all the factory-produced meat alternatives. It’s much healthier to buy real food.
I focused a lot on protein so remember to set a price per-pound limit on your fruits and vegetables too.
Strategy 3
There are some foods you simply need to stay away from. PERIOD!
Here they are:
Processed Foods – Generally these are horrible for you, and the larger the ingredient list the worse off you will be. The more processed it is, the higher it will likely cost you on a per-pound basis. Plus it’s not healthy for you. If you were to actually calculate the cost per pound of many boxed items you’ll routinely find it costs more than $5-6/lb for basic foods. That means you’ll be leaving the Mac N Cheese box & Potato Chips, on the shelf.
Beverages – Most beverages are nothing more than water, sugar, artificial flavoring, and some fake vitamins. They usually taste like garbage unless you are used to consuming them. I challenge you to go 30 days without these beverages and try them again. Your taste buds will say “WTF, I used to drink that!?” As for fruit juices, you’re actually better off eating the fruit. Plus, fruit juices are overpriced so avoid them too.
The only beverages you should buy are milk or its plant-based alternatives for lactose-intolerant folks.
Lastly, here is the one beverage you should ABSOLUTELY NOT BUY AT THE STORE.
It’s called water and it’s free virtually everywhere.
I’ll remind you that almost every American has access to a super high-tech water system through the convenience of their own home providing fresh water 24 hours a day! This means If you need to buy a bottle of water or soda you should punch yourself in the face to shock yourself out of this bad decision. Instead, carry around your own refillable water bottle or get a really swanky filtered water bottle to cart around town.
As for alcohol, the occasional case of reasonably priced beer, a bottle of booze, and wine help keep you sane. My personal recommendation is max 4-6 alcoholic drinks per week which is more than enough. Keep it in moderation and remember you don’t need to drink alcohol!
Strategy 4
Buy In Bulk
This doesn’t even need to be explained. It is widely known buying items in bulk means a lower price. Use warehouse and wholesale clubs to your advantage. You can routinely find every staple selling at massive discounts in these stores.
So let’s put together a new Go-To List of ways to save:
1. Buy what’s in season at a great price and store extra for later.
2. Set a price per pound limit on the items you buy. If what you want is over the limit then purchase a lower-price substitute item.
3. Generally avoid processed foods, and beverages
4. Buy in bulk.
Now I challenge everyone to go out and look at their grocery shopping in a different way this week. It is entirely possible to eat healthier at a much lower cost throughout the year if you just look at these things a little differently. Personally, my 2 person household eats very lavishly(and healthy) with mostly organic food for about $350/month. If you aren’t sure about the exact amount you spend each year it may be very beneficial to use Valor’s zero-advertising budgeting app. Research has found people who budget can potentially cut their annual expenses by 10-15%.
Of course, indulge once in a while since life is short and a good meal is never forgotten. Just remember to always employ these money-saving strategies when you go to the store. Also, keep in mind wasting food is basically throwing your money away so chow down the leftovers!
Let’s take a look at how much money you may be wasting at the grocery store. According to 2021 USDA data a family of 4 lavishly treats themselves to whatever they want at the grocery store totaling $1,383/mth. They read this article and immediately cut their grocery bill in half to $691.50/mth. After 1 year they would have saved $8,298!
Now if we project these savings monthly with an 8% return over 30 years we’ll find this family has likely saved enough money to pay for both children’s college tuition.
After 30 years earning an 8% monthly compounded return this family will have $1,029,838!!!
Who wouldn’t like to become a millionaire by shopping smarter at the grocery store!?
If you are just starting a family now is a great time to review your grocery spending habits so you can pay for college. Did you know Valor can calculate your child’s college cost in the future? Our tools can help you calculate the cost at any college in America for your child based on their current age. Then, Valor can even help you set up a college savings plan!!! Does this sound like an appetizing strategy!?
