High inflation rates in the US and other parts of the world have had major effects on mortgage rates and food prices. I am not kidding when I say that our current grocery bill has doubled from 2020 to 2024. Upon realizing the huge difference in the cost of our monthly grocery bill, the certified chef in me knew that I had to do something to fix our increasing grocery bill.
I also decided that I was not going to cut back on the things we ate, but I had to dive deeper and looked at where we were shopping for our groceries and quickly found out that our real problem was our choice of food sourcing. I am not about to change my 5 star menu due to inflation. This started my campaign to continue to ” Eat like the rich and shop like the poor.”
How To Eat Like The Rich And Shop Like The Poor?
“My High Turnover”
The key is planning and sourcing. It’s like running a restaurant except no one is purchasing the food. I had to take responsibility for my role in the rising cost in our groceries by our lack of planning. I decided to take out my calculator and note pad and divide my groceries into 3 different categories.They are as follows:
- My High Turnover Items
- My Specialty Items
- My Durable Items aka My Amazon Items
Where Do I Source The 3 Categories Of Groceries?
“My High Turnover” – Source: The farmers market or local grocery stores like H-Mart, Lidl, Walmart etc.
My “Speciality items”
Source: I decided to continue purchasing the following items from places like Costco, PJs, Sam Club or if you live in the Caribbean, then you can shop at PriceSmart. These specialty items include the following:
My”Durable Items”
My final category is ‘My Durable Items” which I also now call my Amazon items. By the way, these items are the most expensive on my monthly grocery list. These include laundry detergent/strips, paper towels, toothpaste, mouthwash, dishwashing liquid, dish cloth, bath soap, black pepper, sea salt and spices.
As I separated my grocery items into 3 categories, I started to break down the cost of each item and do an online price comparison. This is where I was able to identify the right source for the right category. As an Amazon prime member, I benefit frequently from multiple discounts at checkout. Therefore, Amazon was the first place I went for my online shopping. By doing this study and changing the way I source my grocery, I saved 50% of the cost of my monthly grocery and reduced my fuel cost as well by shopping online. I hope this new sourcing strategy will help you.
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Cheers
Basia Powell
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