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Was my $50 monthly budget too tight or just right? Took me 3 months to figure out groceries.
I set a $50 weekly grocery budget but kept going over by $10-$15 every time. After 12 weeks of tracking, I realized I was ignoring bulk buys for things like rice and chicken. Anyone else find their budget needs a few months to actually settle?
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faithpatel2d ago
oh my god YES, the seasoning thing is such a trap. I totally thought I was saving money buying plain rice and chicken in bulk, but then I'd end up at the store every week grabbing soy sauce or chili crisp or whatever and it wrecked my whole budget. It took me a solid two months to realize I had to plan those things too, like actually figure out what spices I need for a month and buy the big bottles. And now I'm the person who stocks up on ginger paste and garlic in jars when they're on sale, makes such a difference. The whole "buying cheap staples" trick only works if you also buy cheap flavouring in bulk, learned that one the hard way.
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william_craig72d ago
Did you factor in stuff like seasoning and oil for the rice and chicken though? I found that was the sneaky thing that kept pushing my budget up until I started buying those in bulk too. Also, were you hitting up different stores for different items or just sticking to one place the whole time?
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zaranelson2d ago
Oh man, the seasoning and oil thing got me too at first (especially sesame oil, that stuff adds up fast). I started buying the big jugs of soy sauce and a bulk pack of generic seasoning blends from the international aisle, huge difference. And yeah, I'm totally that person who hits three different stores in one afternoon for the best deals on specific stuff, it's kind of a ritual now honestly.
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