My grocery bill went from $120 to $75 a week just by changing one thing

For the past year, my weekly grocery run in Portland was always around $120, no matter what I tried. I felt stuck. Then last month, I started planning five dinners before I went to the store and only buying those exact ingredients. The first week I did it, my total was $75. I've kept it under $80 for four weeks now. The big change was stopping the 'just in case' buys, like that extra block of cheese or a random sauce I might use someday. I write the meal list on a notepad on my fridge and stick to it. It sounds simple, but seeing the receipt total drop that much felt like a real win. Has anyone else found that meal planning was the key to cutting their food costs?

3 comments

3 Comments

singh.uma16d ago

Used to think meal planning was for people with too much time on their hands, honestly. But I got tired of throwing out wilted herbs and half-used sour cream every week. Started doing exactly what you said, writing down four meals and only buying for those. My fridge looks empty now but nothing goes bad.

taylor.jordan16d ago

The empty fridge look is weird at first, but it grows on you when you stop wasting money.

reese_chen1d ago

Read a blog post about this exact thing, how an empty fridge is a sign of a good system. It clicked for me after wasting a bag of spinach again. Like @singh.uma said, I pick three dinners now and only buy those veggies. My fridge has like milk, eggs, and the stuff for tonight's stir-fry. It feels weirdly clean and I save a ton because I'm not buying random stuff that just dies in the drawer.