I ended January’s grocery spending post questioning what might happen if I decreased my number of Costco trips. Don’t get me wrong, I love Costco, but it always takes my top spending category heartily. What would happen if I didn’t go as often?
Well, I decided to experiment with that a bit in February, even though I knew it wouldn’t be a perfect comparison- but what month is? Life looks different every month. Yes, we were in Jackson Hole for 5 days of the month, but still, what the number shook out to be still intrigued me.
| Whole Foods | $589.28 |
| Food Lion | $44.62 |
| Publix | $135.27 |
| Butcher Box | $181.56 |
| Aldi | $57.78 |
| TOTAL | $1,008.51 |
That is over $600 LESS THAN JANUARY (total $1,683.86). Apologies for the all caps, but I believe it’s warranted.
A few caveats: we were traveling for 5 days of the month. I was using some staples that I get from Costco without replenishing them. My grocery spending more at Whole Foods increased and I think I spent a little more per ounce on some items than I would have at Costco (like for coffee).
However, $600 in savings is nothing to scoff at.
This has tickled my interest. I’m not ready to give Costco up, in fact I already went once for March for some staple items: yes, Hailey’s favorite chips on sale are considered a staple.
However, what would happen if I limited my trips? Maybe once a month, or twice if a list of staples I need start to pile up.
I am spending more at Whole Foods, but shopping the sales means I’m getting a lot of bang for my buck. I haven’t noticed any drastic change in the way we are eating. In fact, we are probably eating more variety of fruits and vegetables because it’s easier to switch them up each week.
I’ll be interested to see what happens in March. The only trip we have on the books is a RV adventure where we’ll be bringing and cooking our own food, so that shouldn’t skew grocery spending.
I’m curious, have you ever cut out or lessened your trips to a particular store and noticed a big difference in your grocery spending?
