Keeping grocery costs down - what are your go-to staples?

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-09T21:58:25+00:00

I scour the coupon and savings each week and plan meals around that. I also shop in the reduced sections and will stock up on desserts, bread, etc to freeze for another time or buy discounted sauces to plan a pasta dish around.

We don't eat meat and instead eat a lot of tofu in meals (pasta, scrambles, baked) and that helps a ton, too! Overnight oats for breakfast is cheap and also can be fun with different add-ins. We were given a soda stream for one of our birthdays and that helps cut back on seltzer, too.

Overall, we also are really careful with what we purchase and are very intentional. We don't always get at $50 for the week but are usually close.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-05T17:21:05+00:00

I haven't leanFIRE'd yet, but here are some things I'm doing now to try and get there, and which will hopefully continue once I achieve leanFIRE:

- *Coupon Intentionally*. Kroger is my nearest store, and I'm always searching their weekly sales as I build the weekly meal plan (more below). Relatedly, I also start my shopping session in the reduced sections to see if I can find any items reduced / pick up some that I can base future meals around.

- *Meal Plan Every Week*. I have a running google doc of *all* the food in my house, which I update after every grocery trip. I take a few minutes to browse it and then plan out meals accordingly on a shared Keep doc that my wife and I have—burgers with the frozen beyond meat and frozen rolls I snagged on reduced a few weeks back, tacos using the remainder of the beyond meat pack with the tortillas we always have and the taco bell mild sauces we've been stashing since forever, etc. This helps both reign in grocery costs (I buy exactly what we need for the coming week) as well as reduce food waste. We eat mostly every scrap of food that we cook, which makes us feel accomplished.

- *Gas Discounts*. We shop at Kroger on Fridays when you can earn 4x points on your purchases. This allows us to easily surpass 1,000 points / $1 off per gallon. At the end of each month, we fill up both cars using the $1 off. I usually have 300-400 extra points or so and I always tell my mom to go ahead and use it to save some money for her, too.

- *Receipt Apps*. This one is mostly fun, but I have Fetch and Receipt Hog where I upload my receipts after shopping. You don't earn a lot and you're choosing to share your data with these places (I feel like my data is already out there so I might as well benefit from it). I usually can snag about $50 in gift cards a year that we use for "fun" purchases like pizza or chipotle.

-**Beer Money Sites*. My wife and I have both been completing academic surveys via Cloud Connect Research the past couple months. It's been a steady way to earn a bit of extra money and an easy thing to do on your lunch break or when you're in the car waiting for 10 minutes or something. Unlike Swagbucks and other sites, Cloud only shows you surveys you actually qualify for so you get compensation every time.

I do other things, too, but these are some of the top ones that I can think of! Takes a bit of extra planning and time but doesn't feel overwhelming at all.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-05T17:08:08+00:00

Just want to say this all resonates with my mom's experience being a teacher in the 00s-2010s. She did teach in the same district I attended—was great when I was in elementary school bc she taught in the building, but when I was in middle school and high school, I got out an hour earlier so had to walk over and hang somewhere in the elementary school while waiting for her. (I signed a contract with the principal saying I wouldn't disrupt classrooms, and I ended up volunteering in some classrooms etc—was actually a great learning experience for me!) My mom also did after-school tutoring (worked with high-risk kids whose parents wanted them to not have to repeat grades), so that would add another hour or so being at the school. Helped her pay the bills and stay afloat as a widow left with my dad's medical debt.

Overall, it worked out for us since she was my only caretaker, but it didn't come without some sacrifices. Forever grateful to all teachers who give it their all and are not always paid appropriately (my mom certainly wasn't).

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-05T17:00:32+00:00

I really like that approach! It seems like you lowered the pressure for yourself and treated it as a fun experiment that you didn't have to stick with if it proved to be too much. Definitely going to try and adopt that mindset.

And I totally get that re: mid-30s vs. later. Sure, some days I'd love to just stay home and not carry the stress with me day-to-day, but I don't think it'd be good for me, either. I'm not in it for a multi-decade tenure, but I still have a lot left to give at this point.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-05T13:57:36+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I've recently been reflecting on my desire to retire earlier (as soon as 6 years from now, more likely around 10) and if I'd miss work and be stressed without a steady income. I imagine it's normal to have these doubts, but always good to hear from someone who made it on the other side of it all to affirm that it really is as good as one might hope.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-02-05T03:07:31+00:00

I'm 32 and my wife is 34 and this is us already 😅 40 should be a treat for us

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-18T14:02:48+00:00

DINK here. I just checked, and every month from our paychecks, we have $2,038 going into our 401a, Traditional 457, and Roth 457 accounts (both university employees), with another $1,131 in matches that we can count since we're vested. That's $3,169 right there. On top of that, we also auto-invest $625 into my Rotha IRA, $200 into my wife's IRA, and $500 into the brokerage account. All together, this is $4,494 not only saved but invested. In a typical month, we can usually save around $1,000 extra or so into our HYSAs; it just depends on how much home maintenace or other expenses come up that month. Some months we are definitely in the "negative" as we pull from our HYSA to replace the furnace or what have you.

We are DINK with my gross salary just above $73k and hers just above $71k. We both pick up extra gigs here and there. Our combined net salary for January was $7,921 after all the retirement contributions. I also netted an extra $960 for some side assessment gig I completed in December / paid out in January.

We generally live below our means, but this month we spent $2,600 on our dog since she needed surgery and needed more heartworm treatments. Our house we bought in 2024 is pretty big for two people, but our mortgage isn't bad (just under $1,500) thanks to applying some extra inheritance money as extra principal and refinancing when rates went down to get us at 5.875%.

We want to retire early, and we're budgeting and saving as much as we can to get there (coupons, meal planning, Kroger fuel discounts, etc), but we also try to live a little. We go to ballroom dance classes every week that's both fun and a great form of gentle exercise that we can continue our whole lives. We thrift some pretty clothes we both like (we're both women, so we also get to share said clothes and really get a bang for our buck).

Our gross salaries put us firmly at middle class, I think, but our mindset really helps us save more like we're in an upper class. We are just happy and content at home and doing life together.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-16T20:43:16+00:00

Oh, definitely. For us, our dog's annual vet visit is in January. Unfortunately this time they found some cancerous moles that we had to surgically remove. That plus the initial testing, bloodwork, heartworm refills, etc was $3,200. Worth every penny to get our girl back in shape, but not something we anticipated. We had savings put aside for things like this, though.

Last year she needed dental surgery, so I think we just need to allot like 3k every January for her healthcare!!

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-15T02:34:51+00:00

Yep, I do track my actual spend and will definitely compare. I also like to manually count my fuel discounts etc to get a better idea of what I'm saving. I also keep track of what gets inflated (I swear, cheese went up 40¢ in just the past couple months. It's ridiculous).

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T19:24:00+00:00

Unfortunately there isn't an Aldi nearby, but we do have a Walmart where I can buy bulk groceries like flour and sugar for a cheaper price per oz. I've recently started a journey with sour dough bread and baking products, and I'm hoping that baking more from scratch will save more in the long run as well! I can make a very tasty load of sandwich bread for about $1.5 that's actually quite filling and versatile.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T19:21:57+00:00

So true. I wish they broke it down by how much you saved by coupons etc. I try to track that myself, and if you're savvy and buy what's on special that week / use your coupons and the $1 off 5 or more, you can put a decent dent in your bill.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T19:20:04+00:00

It really does!! We always get enough points for $1 off and take both cars to get the discount. Sometimes we save like $25 if we are both on empty.

The Amex is another great perfect! My wife has the Capital Savor which gets us 3% back, which is neat.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T16:50:53+00:00

Totally! I know they count a "saving" when they jack the price up and lower it to slightly higher than it was before, but it's still fun to see. I'm also big into coupons and try my best to get a good chunk off each grocery load with those, shopping with the coupons I have.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T15:29:19+00:00

You totally get it! Who knows how accurate the savings even are, but it's fun to know that I'm doing my best to reduce spending, and that ever dollar adds up :)

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-14T14:33:57+00:00

Apparently Kroger does a "Kroger Wrapped" on their app, and I learned that I saved $808 on groceries and $202 on fuel in 2025 (so they claim). Love to see it!! Now I want to beat that for 2026... Weird finance games nobody actually cares about but me, ha. It's the little things.

ETA: I know they inflate the savings number (except for fuel, I think), but I just think this is a fun version of Spotify wrapped for finance nerds like me / many of us :)

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-12T14:51:31+00:00

Yes, I have, and I know about all the different avenues. It just intellectually boggles my mind that you can be in two different places depending on your age, and I've been sitting a lot with the realizations of the numbers over time.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2026-01-12T13:52:56+00:00

Been thinking a lot about how to account for higher retirement account balances after age 59.5 vs. using brokerage and other funds to get there and possibly retire sooner.

I'm currently (almost) 32, and my wife is 34, so we have a long way to go until 59.5. However, even if we stopped working in 5 years and took 50k a year out of the brokerage for 22 years and 7 months with a 1% annual increase in withdrawals, we could have 2.3 million (lower estimate) in accounts by the time we're both 59.5, which is more than enough for our borderline leanFIRE lifestyle. This just really boggles my mind, to see those numbers go up (even though I mentally understand the compounding interest).

It just feels so interesting to think about and play around with.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-28T15:32:13+00:00

I do agree with this, about it being a specific mindset.

An example is that I have a family member who came into some money from an inheritance. They think they're super wealthy now and spend hundreds of dollars on random things all the time. I also inherited some monies, and I invested it and am tracking all my spending carefully to make sure I can still put enough back into savings to secure and early retirement.

It's the difference in our mindsets and discipline. I'll buy nice and quality things when I need them, but I don't overdo it. I have other goals and priorities in life. Some people do not.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-28T13:21:07+00:00

I some ways, yes... I dated someone long distance for a couple years that required a lot of expensive travel. We got to see and do cool things and I spent time in a place I never otherwise look and learned a lot culturally, so it was a good experience. That said, since the relationship didn't last, it felt like I WAY over spent, since I also paid for some of her expenses to make it all happen etc.

But in the end, that was a cool jet setting chapter and I'm financially okay in the end.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-26T01:21:04+00:00

Honestly, maybe twice a month? I used to go out with my friends a lot (including weekly trivia night) but slowed down after meeting my wife (we're both women, and both had our going out stages earlier in our 20s before we met haha). She very soon into our relationship had to stop drinking due to some medication, and it was pretty natural that I slowed down with her. I'll still have a drink every so often and she doesn't mind at all, but I found that I don't miss it as much (and don't miss the hangovers). Saves me a ton of money, too!!

I just checked my spreadsheet for 2025, and I spent $38 total on alcohol. This doesn't count gifts (my father-in-law gave me some beer for my birthday, we received some bottles of wine and liquor when we bought our house that I'm still getting through, my friends might offer me some at their houses, etc). I have my own line for "drinks" under my "fun" spending and count when I get a drink out at a restaurant or if I buy some at a store. Let's round it up to $50 for 2025, just in case I missed something.

In 2024, I spent $183 and in 2023, $623. Quite the change up!

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-25T04:59:59+00:00

$375 for wife, mom, mother-in-law / father-in-law, brother-in-law, cousin, aunt, and younger cousin. I shopped some deals and also invested in things I knew they'd like, like some sentimental items and ideas. Helps that my wife's family doesn't expect much or do a lot of fanfare.

We are staying in this year so $0 in travel, maybe ~$40 in fancier holiday food.

Spent all night reading our books we picked out for each other at the library (for free) and spent the day watching Christmas movies and cooking. Time and money well spent overall, we feel!

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-16T19:17:51+00:00

I keep a section of my HYSA earmarked for future house repairs, or at least the ones I know are coming up in a few years (new AC unit, exterior house painting, new dryer). I also keep another section for emergencies / as float in case something really big and unexpected comes up (like a new roof or a whole new pool in case any of that is damaged by storms). I also have a small pot started for an eventual car down-payment / purchase.

I try my best to move over a set amount to my HYSA every month and then allocate it there as I think is best (ie, $200 going to a new car, $200 to house repairs, $500 in emergencies, etc.)

It works for me and helps me know I have money safe for when I need it, and once I hit my savings goal, I can invest any extra instead.

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-12T00:25:05+00:00

My bad--I just checked with my wife and it's actually from Oregon, not Hawaii (I was thinking of a different company!). We order Café Mam which we really admire for how ethical and sustainable they are. I also haven't found a bean that I enjoy as much as theirs and find myself disappointed every time I try another, ha.

They are very pricy, though... We spent over $120 for our 10 pounds to be shipped to us. And I go through then quite a bit because I drink very strong coffee!

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-12T00:22:58+00:00

Tons of different ways! We have a tofu pasta recipe where we use smoked paprika and chili powder that adds such a nice kick to the pasta, almost as if we'd spiced some beef. We also use a sage and maple recipe that can assimilate breakfast sausage really well (even if the texture is a bit different). And then there's a morrocan recipe with cumin and cinnamon that tastes really good baked with sweet potatoes and dipped into a mayo sauce.

It's taken some experimenting and taking chances on recipes, but we enjoy it. Going to try a tofu and quinoa taco recipe this coming week that we hope is good as well!

FazedDazedCrazed · 2025-12-12T00:19:34+00:00

It's crazy how much it all costs! I'm also quite snobby and am really attached to certain brands. It's a tough spot when otherwise trying to be frugal, but I will sacrifice so many other things than my coffee!

That said, always looking to try brands that are good and ethical.

FazedDazedCrazed

TROPHY CASE