I WORKED AT A GROCERY STORE & THESE ARE THE SHOCKING WAYS YOU'RE WASTING MONEY

I know I'm not alone in experiencing a distinct kind of grocery-related whiplash lately. More often than not, I'll scan my grocery receipt, let out a big sigh, and then say, "Why?" quickly followed by, "How?"

As you've likely read, so many grocery-budgeting tips are a bit, how you say, kind of a big duh. No matter where you shop, groceries are downright pricey. And since we all gotta eat, it's never a bad idea to find out ways to stay on budget at the store that are not only achievable, but also go beyond the same old "Don't shop when you're hungry" maxim.

In fact, I worked at Trader Joe's for two years, and had a party trick where I could Price Is Right-style guess with frightening accuracy what a customer's cart total would be just by looking at it. Even though I'm on the other side of the register now, I saw so many budgeting "oops!" moments on the job that I still remind myself to steer clear of when my own cart starts to give me sticker-shock. Here are a few mistakes that'll have your groceries go from $ to solidly $$$ territory:

You Rely On Frozen & Pre-Made Items

I hate to be the Fun Police here, but frozen foods, pre-cut fruit, and pre-made items are the quickest way to rack up a huge grocery bill. My aforementioned party trick was so accurate mostly because it's very easy to guesstimate how much a cart of groceries would cost just by the quantity of frozen items alone. Whenever possible, opting for the least processed product possible (i.e. a bag of rice off the dry goods shelf over frozen pre-made rice) means you're paying for way fewer people to process it, and thus you'll find a lower grocery bill come check-out time.

You Buy 'Aspirational' Groceries

This one is a bit trickier to spot, but I saw it multiple times a day. Make sure you're buying groceries you'll actually use, and not what some aspirational version of you would buy. And by that, I mean trying to emulate some fridge-scaped TikTok fantasy, an episode of The Bear and Chopped, or trying a flash-in-the-pan health trend or too many viral recipes. I'm not saying to not be interested in changing your life (far from it) but to just be aware of how much you're buying and actually eating, rather than trying something out and wasting food and money along the way.

You Shop Directly Into Your Reusable Shopping Bag

I know it feels convenient and, dare I say, ever-so-romantic and slightly French to shop directly into your favorite tote bag, but stay vigilant out there! The beauty of a cart or a basket is that you're still able to see everything that's going into your cart. The tote bag has sort of a smoke-and-mirrors effect that, more often than not, leads to a pretty random shop (with maybe one or two items you don't really need).

You're Afraid To Return Items

This one is very simple: There's no shame in returning food! Things don't work out, and maybe you grabbed an expired item or a flavor of yogurt that was just not your taste. No one is judging you, and that return is hardly hurting any large grocery chain's bottom line.

You Use The 'Just One Thing' Excuse

If I had a nickel for every time a customer said they "just came in here for one thing" as they approached the register with a full cart of groceries, I'd be backstroking through a pool of nickels like Scrooge McDuck. The best plan of action? Pick a grocery day and stick to it. Grocery stores know you're easily swayed to stay and explore the store once you're inside, so running back in for a single item is a recipe for budgeting disaster.

2025-03-18T21:15:54Z