I’ve always been fairly frugal. I’ve always bought generic brand everything – maybe it’s because I was in advertising, but I knew that the only difference was the label. I didn’t see the point. When I cracked down on my budget at the end of 2014 and started paying attention to what I was spending and trying to reduce it I discovered that the one place that wasn’t out of control was my grocery budget…possibly because I didn’t cook 🙂 .
My grocery budget has always been reasonable. I would buy what was on sale and usually decide my at home meals based on that. I didn’t buy expensive or luxury items such as grapes or seltzer, which I both love. Grapes are often very expensive ($3/lb) and seltzer was an uneccessary luxury (and a bitch to carry through NYC streets or up Seattle hills).
Last year my grocery budget basically tripled because I started eating keto, started learning to cook and wanted to eat out less as a result. My eating out budget was greatly reduced and groceries began to have a bigger space in my life. Last year I also did something I hadn’t before: I bought luxury items because I wanted to! Grapes are 50% off at some times during the year and I would buy them. Generic seltzer is always $3 for a 12 pack. At times I would buy it and haul it up our hill home. I even routinely buy Carb Smart Ice Cream – even when it’s not on sale. I’m such a princess now!
I don’t know if it’s because I basically have my savings goals automated or because I am less than 2.5 years from retirement, but I’ve loosened my reigns a bit – especially when my cost/benefit analysis makes sense. These little luxuries make me very happy and I want to revel in those simple pleasures.
UPDATE: Every time my Mom is in town and we rent a car (to go whale watching or see the tulips etc) we also stop by the grocery store and I buy all the seltzer we can fit in the car!
UPDATE 2: I just realized that there is one luxury/unnecessary item that I’ve always bought: Tea. I love tea. Yes it only costs $2-5 a month, but I never cut it out and it doesn’t have any nutritional value. Hm. Maybe I’ve been a princess all along 🙂
Wait, grapes are a luxury item? Oh no! I’ve been a princess all along too! 😉
I buy whatever fruits and veggies are on sale. It means I’m always buying whatever is in season for the most part. Right now it’s been a lot of grapes, peaches, and watermelons in the fruit department. I rarely pay more than a buck per pound for grapes and it’s usually 0.79-.89.
I never considered them a luxury item since it’s about the same per pound as a lot of other fruits (aka under a buck). And they’re so easy to prepare for consumption (just wash them) and very little waste (just the stems).
But are grapes keto? I assume they have a fairly high sugar content but for non-keto followers it’s a decent snack (vs alternates like potato chips 🙂 ).
Haha – I feel like you wearing a tiara has come up before…
Those are some awesome prices! I’m so jealous. I can’t find anything like that when I’m in Atlanta (though we only have a Publix and Kroger nearby, not the amazing Aldi…) I might need to pop up to Raleigh to feed my grape addiction on the cheap! (Though it’s probably more expensive overall after including gas…Darn!)
Almost anything can be keto if you just eat meat, cheese and cream the rest of the day 😉 . But yes I’m able to fit half a cup of grapes into my macros on some days. I track them daily because I’m data obsessed and the math checks out!