Rant: My cashier friend showed me why I was bleeding money on groceries

I was at the register at Kroger a few months back, complaining to my buddy Mike who works there about my $150 weekly total. He just laughed and pointed at my cart. He said 'you're buying name brands and pre-cut veggies, that's your whole problem.' Then he walked me over to the bulk section and showed me how I could get the same rice and oats for half the price. I started buying whole produce and chopping it myself, switched to store brand for stuff like canned tomatoes and pasta. My weekly bill dropped to like $90 pretty quick. It sounds obvious now but having someone actually walk you through it in person made it click. Anyone else have a store employee or friend give them a real talk about where you're wasting cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren_thomas163d ago

Oh, absolutely. That store brand advice is the real kicker. I had a similar moment years ago when a stock boy at my local grocery store told me most of the store brand stuff comes from the same factory as the name brand, just in a different box. I started comparing ingredients on the back of cans and it was the same stuff for a dollar less. It feels silly to call it a life hack, but swapping to store brand for things like pasta sauce and canned beans is probably the single easiest change you can make without eating any different.

olivia_morgan83d ago

Started doing that a few years back with cereal and it saved me a ton. The store brand frosted flakes taste exactly the same to me and the box is half the price. Same thing with baking supplies like flour and sugar, I've never noticed a difference. Only thing I still buy name brand is ketchup, that's the one item where the cheaper stuff just doesn't hit right.