charles640•3mo agoProlific Poster

I watched my monthly food spending drop from $750 to under $400 in three months after switching to a meal plan app (Mealime, specifically).

4 comments

4 Comments

Wait, that's a huge drop though. Are you sure you weren't just throwing out a ton of food before? I tried a meal plan thing once and ended up buying weird spices I never used again (still have that sumac, actually). Cutting your bill in half feels like there's more to the story, like maybe your old shopping had a lot of impulse buys or ready-made stuff.

betty_carter3mo ago

Spot on about the impulse buys. Meal plans force you to stick to a list, so you stop grabbing random snacks or expensive pre-cut veggies.

joelmoore3mo ago

Totally, the list is key. My grocery trips got way faster too since I'm not just wandering the aisles anymore.

west.casey1mo ago

Honestly, that list can backfire big time. What if you see a great deal on chicken or your favorite fruit is on sale? Sticking to a rigid plan means you miss out on actual savings. Plus, sometimes you just don't want the meal you planned for Tuesday. Then you order takeout anyway and the planned groceries go bad. Feels like it just trades one kind of waste for another.

-1