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?
Kelli H says
Wow six hundred seems like a huge savings. I’m someone who stopped shopping at Costco to save money. I do plan to go sometime soon to get a few staples. I just hope I can stick to only a few items.
Brittany Dixon says
I’m going to start keeping a list for items I want at Costco and then try to go less and like you said, stick to the list. It’s tough because they have so many great items, but dang, $600 less shocked me. We’ll see how that theory holds in the coming months.
katie says
I don’t have a Costco membership, but figure that I will at some point. A friend cut out Costco and did notice that her budget improved. Less impulse purchases and more correct quantities for her family of 5.
Heather says
We have a Costco list and stick to it. Also, if we run out on some things like chicken, but still have the majority of our staples like egg whites…I’m not going to make a special trip to Costco.
I shop at Aldi and Publix. I can buy almost everything at Aldi and then usually go to Publix to hit up whatever good BOGOs they have. We spend about
Brittany Dixon says
I do like Publix’s BOGOs and will make a special trip there if it’s an item I love. I wish Aldi was closer to me because I’m sure I would utilize it more often.
Joanna says
This is very interesting. Costco is a once a month big haul for me (if it was closer I’m sure I’d be running in a lot). All the other groceries are one or two trips to Publix/HT. I’m with you with on going to Costco for coffee for example. I hate when I’m running low on something like that and have to buy a smaller bag at the grocery store. Chips also come in mind. Their prices on things I always buy keep going up but I don’t think I’ll let go of Costco because of the larger quantities/lasting longer for us. 🤦🏼♀️ Love your grocery posts, thanks for sharing!
Brittany Dixon says
CHIPS! Oh my goodness yes. I feel like I can’t bring myself to buy chips at a regular grocery store because they just look so tiny in comparison to the Costco size, ha! 🙂
Ashley says
I tend to always be making small trips to different stores.I’m trying to cut back on how often I go to the grocery store. I spent way more this morning than usual but I’m hoping we can make it most of the week with just a trip for just bread/milk/fruit.