The Rachel Cruze Show - 7 Reasons You’re Grocery Shopping the Wrong Way

Starting point is 00:00:05 Grocery shopping is one of the topics that I feel like I can never stop talking about because it's a non-negotiable for everyone. We're all spending money at the grocery. Now, money can be really tight right now for a lot of people, regardless of income levels. And so we're going to talk about seven reasons why you might be overspending on groceries. And also stick around for my Parmesan Cheese epiphany that I had that I feel like could be very relatable to other people because I am human and I love my Parmesan Cheese. All right, make sure to like, subscribe and show this episode with a friend. All right, the first mistake is over buying produce. Man, especially the start of the year. You know, we're all like trying to be all aspirational and eating healthy, trying to do good.

Starting point is 00:00:46 But really, are you going to eat the three bags of spinach that are just sitting in your fridge? Are you? That's what we all need to ask ourselves. Or like a bag of apples, you know, sometimes I'm like, I just need a few apples, not a bag of them, but I buy a bag thinking we're all going to eat the apples and they don't. So it is the amount of waste that we all have is when it comes to produce. So obviously we want to eat healthy. Yes, and produce is so great, so wonderful, but it is usually more expensive. And also it's the thing that goes bad, the fastest. So let's just be aware and not over by. Number two, shopping out of hunger or boredom. This is a mistake a lot of us make. You go to the grocery store when you're hungry and you're just like, oh, that looks

Starting point is 00:01:24 good, that looks good, that looks good, and all your intentions are so great because everything looks so good right now. Or you're just bored and you're like, sure, I'll try that. Yeah, why not? Okay, here, here, here. So that is a big mistake that we see constantly, and I've done it before. I'm sure you have too. So listen, just put the list together, know what you got to get, and you stick to it, and try not to go to the store hungry. You know, sometimes we just kind of need some boundaries in place, which is important.

Starting point is 00:01:50 Number three, reaching for the name brand without thinking. So usually the brand items that are right in front of us, we know and we're familiar with because of advertising or maybe it's the thing that we've always been buying. but sometimes we don't look at the price comparison, and it is wild what you can save. And it only may be like less than a dollar here and there. But that adds up, you guys. So if you can find things that are generic, that honestly will save you so much money. I feel like my family has done this so much. We have shifted so much to just generic because I'm like, I don't know. Some things I guess are specific, which I appreciate. Like it's like, no, we only like this brand of whatever.

Starting point is 00:02:24 But for majority of things, like, we don't know. You don't know. I don't know. And so there's something about just saving some money there that's really key. All right. The fourth mistake that we make grocery shopping is shopping at the wrong store. Yes. So listen, we all have to buy it, right? We all have to buy food. But there are so many stores out there. There's all the in Publix and Kroger and Target and Whole Foods and Costco and, you know, I mean, the list goes on and on and on. So if you are not strategic about where you are shopping, then you can fall into more expensive groceries. I'm telling you, there's something about this that is so true. There are the nicer, like, busier stores. you know, I'm going to throw whole foods in there, publics.

Starting point is 00:03:02 Like there's just some, you know, some nicer stores that you see and even some, you know, that are like more geared towards healthy, organic, holistic foods, like all of that. So again, they're not bad. If it's in your budget and that's where you want to shop, that's fine. But you are spending more just because of the actual grocery store and the grocery store name versus places where you can save. And I'm telling you, Aldi for us has been a game changer. And when I say a game changer, like the amount of money that we spend,

Starting point is 00:03:29 now weekly at groceries. I've changed my every dollar grocery line item. I really have because we just are not spending as much as we used to just by switching. And the food is great. The garlic bread and the mac and cheese are the two favorites at our house and the golden grams. I just shows you how much, like, how healthy we are. No, but the store version of all the of those, my kids prefer all these version of those things over the actual name brand. Like I'm telling you, and it's so significantly cheaper. Like, it's just, it's wild. So again, if you need to save money, I'm telling you, where you shop is so important. Now, there's more of this list coming up,

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Starting point is 00:05:19 at join deleteme.com slash Rachel with code Rachel at checkout. That's join delete me.com slash Rachel code Rachel. All right, number five, not budgeting and tracking your expenses. So this is the biggest budget buster for most people is when it comes to grocery shopping because we really do feel, I feel this way if like I'm grocery shopping. So I'm going to get what my family needs and maybe a little bit more just to like have some cushion. There's just something safe about when you open your refrigerator and it's just full, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:48 your pantry, it's full. You're like, okay, everything's good. Everything's fine. And so I always like having backups of things, like all of this. But listen, you end up going over budget very easily when that's your mindset. But when you know, okay, this is how much we're going to spend per week and I'm going to stay within these boundaries of these limits of our money, it helps you stay on track. And we use every dollar.

Starting point is 00:06:10 I mentioned that earlier. But when our grocery transaction comes in, you know, I drag and drop it into the grocery line item and there's just something about having a pulse and knowing here is where our money's going. And if you don't know, you do end up spending a ton. It is so easy to versus how. having to think through some of these tips we talked about. So the budget is very revealing, but it's a good thing.

Starting point is 00:06:31 It's a good thing. All right. Number six is not checking your current stock. Man, this is so difficult. I'm like, whether it's carrots, cucumbers, I mean, like parmesan cheese, all the things. I end up rebuying things that I don't need because I didn't look before. And when I make my grocery list, I'll be honest. It's usually like Sunday afternoon and I'm in bed watching the Real Housewives making my

Starting point is 00:06:51 grocery list and I don't want to get out of bed. I have my heating pad at my feet. I don't want to get out. I don't want to go look in the refrigerator. so I just make a list. I'm lazy. I am lazy when it goes to stuff. But then we end up spending money on stuff that I'm like, man, I already have this. Like, I'm telling you, the Parmesan cheese, I have like four containers of Parmesan cheese right now in my fridge because I keep thinking, oh, we need Parmesan cheese. We use it on everything. Cesar salads and pastas and all of it.

Starting point is 00:07:13 And I keep rebuying it. I don't know why. I don't know why. So let's all just put a little effort into our lives and go check the pantry and the refrigerator and the freezer before we go to the store. All right. Number seven is going in store only. So this is interesting. you actually can end up saving money if you buy online. Now, there is definitely some more fees with this. You have to be careful, especially if it's being ordered to your house. You're getting grocery delivery. You will pay more. So I don't want you wasting money on that necessarily if you don't have the budget for it. But there are some grocery stores where you can do a pickup order and it's free. But you're able to go ahead online and see what you're buying and what the total is. And I love this

Starting point is 00:07:50 because you can remove items from your cart before you buy it. And I would say you're even able to go and find things that maybe you've never seen before. I don't know. Like there's some things on there that are great, some like categories that you can look in within apps. And so being smart about that, if you can shop online and know your total before you get to the checkout counter,

Starting point is 00:08:08 that is pro on your side for sure. Have you ever wondered how you stack up to what the average person spends on groceries each month? Well, make sure to check out my episode what the average family grocery budget is. Are you over or under? You can click right here that's coming up next or if you're listening on podcasts,

Starting point is 00:08:26 I will put a link below. All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.

The Rachel Cruze Show - 7 Reasons You’re Grocery Shopping the Wrong Way

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