Showerthought: A lousy Tuesday in March changed how I budget for groceries

I used to swear by coupon clipping, thinking I was saving big by spending hours each Sunday scanning sales papers. Then one Tuesday I added up my actual grocery bill for the month of March and saw I spent 58 bucks more than last year just on impulse buys at the Safeway in Salem. Has anyone else had a single bad day that made you ditch your old savings method for something totally different like meal planning?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_evan22h ago

58 bucks more than last year just on impulse buys" is exactly why I stopped couponing too. Spent all that time clipping to save like $12 then blew it on a bag of fancy kettle chips and a rotating display of Easter candy.

noran2113h ago

A rotating display of Easter candy? Like the whole wire rack thing that spins around? Those things are traps set by the devil himself, I swear. You walk in for milk and suddenly you're staring at a giant chocolate bunny like it's a long lost friend. And the fancy kettle chips are the worst kind of impulse buy because they're always like 7 bucks a bag and gone in ten minutes. I'd be so mad at myself for wasting the coupon savings on stuff I didn't even need. That's how they get you, man. They know you'll undo all the work you put in.