It’s really easy to get caught up in the details. The hows, the what’s, and the mess of saving money on groceries.
And sometimes, we forget the why.
When we forget why we’re doing something – especially if that something is inconvenient – it gets hard to want to follow through with the how.
Let’s be honest, when it comes to groceries, it’s easier to buy convenience food. We’re busy, and we’ll do anything to make life easier. And while I’m a huge fan of doing what you need to do in the busy moments, and giving yourself grace, ultimately, overspending on groceries does not serve you well.
Why? Because of the opportunity cost.
When your money is consumed at the grocery store, you don’t have the opportunity to do anything else with it.
You literally eat that money up.
So why should you save money on groceries?
Here are a few reasons:
- To save for a big down payment on your dream house.
- To save for the ultimate Disney vacation
- To put it in a college/education fund
- To fund your IRA and create future financial stability
- To go to Macchu Picchu (personal goal)
- To buy awesome shoes so you can walk, run, and just plain live pain free
- To pay for a zoo or aquarium membership you and your kids can enjoy the entire year
- To renovate a room in your house
- To create the best backyard that ever was
- To make the raised bed garden of your dreams
- To build a chicken pen so you can finally have those backyard hens!
- So you can enjoy getting your nails done at a salon every month
- To pay for that something extra you’ve always wanted
The list could go on, but you get the point.
Not too long ago, I saved as much money on groceries as I could simply because we hardly had any money to spend and the choice was pretty clear – eat beans or the electricity gets shut off.
But your goal is probably not to save money just for the sake of saving money.
You need to have a goal that makes the tradeoff of the effort that goes into the money-saving game worth it to you.
For me, I do want to travel – like I said, visiting Macchu Picchu is a bucket list goal of mine – but my big, big “why” is because I want a solid financial future – I want to invest.
Every dollar I don’t spend on groceries is a dollar that can be working for me, making money in an investment. Even if it’s only a few hundred dollars a year. That investment will compound!
So why should you save money on groceries?
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