5 Ways to Save Money Each Time You Do Your Grocery Shopping

We all gotta eat, so that means we must shop for groceries. Unless, of course, you've been fortunate enough to acquire the means to hire a personal chef or all your meals consist of take-out Chinese, pre-packaged convenience store "food," and trips through the local fast food drive-thru.

While some people love the process of strolling the aisles, gathering up the weeks' edibles, others dread the trip and wish the food would magically appear in their pantries and fridge. Perhaps it's the crowds of shoppers fighting for that last ripe avocado, the bright lights and slippery floors, or maybe it's the amount of dough they're spending on their dough (and other stuff) each time they hit up the local grocer.

Of the gripes one may have, the one they can control is how much money is spent each time it's time to go grocery shopping. Here are 5 money-saving tips anyone can use and still come home with bags full of fresh (or packaged) foods and beverages. Is your mouth watering yet?

Stick to Your List

Before heading out to the market, take inventory of what you're out of and what you plan to cook or eat during the week. After you've perused and planned, write out a simple list, organized by category (dairy, snacks, produce, etc.) or placement in the grocery store. This is your list and that's that. If you see something tempting at the store, if it's not on your list, you're not buying it. Simple as that. Allow your self-control to hold more weight than a seasonal display of pumpkin spice truffles.

As per PopSugar, "If you follow the list, you won't be buying more than you need or buying unnecessary items. There are even free printable grocery lists online that let you check off which groceries you need. A good one to check out is the very detailed Ultimatest grocery list."

Shop Mid-Week (and preferably, just once a week)

Annette Economides, the co-author of Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family tells Time Money, "The less you shop, the more you save." Sounds obvious, but when each trip is a new experience, it may not register how much you're spending overall for the week when it's spaced out. A $20 trip to the market may seem reasonable, but times that by 3 or 4 and the spend adds up quickly.

Additionally, certain days of the week may yield more savings. Andrea Woroch, consumer and money-saving expert tells Bankrate, "Wednesdays are a great time to get your hands on those manager markdowns. Food that is nearing its 'sell by' date is typically reduced midweek. Grocery stores also release new circulars on Wednesdays, so you get a double bonus since stores usually honor last week's deals, too." Looks like "hump day" is the best day to fill up your "paper or plastic!"

Consider Coupons

Clipping coupons and perusing weekly circulars won't take long but the money you save will go a long way. Compare and contrast brands and see if your favorite brand is really worth the money.

Store specials pop up every week and they are worth considering. If you normally buy a name brand pasta but the store brand is half-off, your family will never know the difference when they are asking for seconds of your famous penne primavera.

And couponing isn't what it used to be. Like nearly everything else, you can access coupons online. As per PopSugar, "Be sure to check out online coupon sites like Coupons.com, RedPlum.com, SmartSource.com, and CouponNetwork.com, which are apparently the best sites to print from. Further, 'like' your favorite brands on Facebook to get access to some of the coupons they give out over the social media network."

Huffington Post reminds us that savings from coupons can be stretched even further. "Double your savings by combining coupons with what's on sale at your local store. The store's circular is the best way to know what's being promoted." Plus, some stores offer a "double coupon day" where the savings can be multiplied, so try to shop on that day for even more money left in your pocket!

Snack Before You Shop

Going to the supermarket on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster – both financially and for your waistline. Instead of sticking to your shopping list and buying the best foods for you and your family, you'll be tempted into anything and everything that looks delicious – many times high-priced and not-so-good-for-you items.

Time Money notes, "A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers are likely to spend more if their appetites have been stimulated beforehand. That's probably why baked goods and rotisserie chickens are placed by the entrance of the store. Combat those tempting odors by eating a mint—which satiates hunger and can help overwhelm other scents—or by making sure your belly is full."

You don't have to have a 3-course meal if that's not convenient or it's not the right time. Simply grab a piece of fruit or a protein bar. It will give you enough power to combat all those temptations. And don't bring along someone who's "hangry" either… they'll sabotage your willpower!

Try a Meal Delivery Service Instead

If all this grocery shopping how-to info's got ya down, a meal delivery service may be just what you need. Starting at just $8.74 per serving, Blue Apron will deliver farm-fresh, seasonal produce, no-hormone added meats and poultry, sustainably-sourced seafood, and all the other recipe needs you'll require in order to make healthy and quick meals for your family. Get started with a plan that's perfect for you.

Time to save and crave! Get shopping!

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A Guide to Quiet Quitting: How the Gen Z TikTok Trend Is Actually About Setting Boundaries At Work

Quiet Quitting is the latest trend among Gen-Z TikTok that encourages setting boundaries at work

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Toni Morrison has an anecdote about her first ever job, which was cleaning some neighborhood woman’s house. The young Toni arrived home after work one day and expressed her troubles to her father. But he didn’t provide the sympathy she expected. Instead, he gave her something better — his advice:

“Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”

Years later, she wrote about this remarkable experience for the New Yorker and said, in hindsight, this is what she learned:

1. Whatever the work is, do it well—not for the boss but for yourself

2. You make the job; it doesn’t make you

3. Your real life is with us, your family

4. You are not the work you do; you are the person you are

What Morrison so eloquently articulated was setting boundaries. I revisited this piece during the pandemic when working from home ramped up in earnest. Back when work was one of the few things that anchored my day.

Without a physical office, the pandemic shattered the work/life balance for many people. There was no more of that physical separation that Morrison talked about. There is no coming home from work physically. There is no real life to come back to — just a manufactured commute to your laptop in your makeshift home office.

But, par for the course, Gen Z are navigating this boundaryless era using TikTok. While internet gurus promote hustle culture and constant online availability since you’re not getting face time with your managers, there’s a trend in town — “quiet quitting.”


@zaidleppelin On quiet quitting #workreform ♬ original sound - ruby


The trend arose from the depths of the pandemic. Layoffs, salary cuts, and furloughs proved that their employers did not care about their hard-working employees.

The Washington Post dubs quiet quitting as a fresh trem for an old phenomenon: employee disengagement. In many cases, it’s a response to burnout. For much of Gen Z, it’s a way of establishing healthy boundaries in the office and resisting the pressure of the rat race. After all, why work yourself to the bone for a company that just proved it’s ready and willing to let you go?

Despite the term’s negative connotations, Quiet Quitting can provide an empowering shift in thinking for employees.

For far too long, employees have been indoctrinated with a slew of toxic workplace advice. Faced with these old misconceptions and lacking job security or clear paths for advancement, Gen Z is untethering their identities from work.

Quiet quitting — therefore — might be a bit of a misnomer. These employers aren’t completely disengaged. They’re certainly not launching Flight Club-esque sabotage attempts on their employers. NO. Contrary to media panic, Gen Z understands the value of a job — the fickle market they entered ensured that. But they also understand the value of life.

They’re doing what they’re being paid for. Nothing more, nothing less.

According to Chief, a private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders, older generations should learn from this approach.

“Gen Z has already endured the largest seismic shifts to the career landscape than any previous generation, having started their careers in the middle of a pandemic that changed office culture forever and a gig economy that makes piecing together work more viable. They’re taking both those realities and therefore demanding more autonomy and flexibility than any other generation.”

Gen Z are less attached to job titles and statuses. They’re more concerned about their lives. Sure, this can lead to problematic outlooks on money and experiences — see the “I can earn my money back” TikTok trend. But it’s better than hustling for no reward. Besides, as some Gen Z-ers put it on TikTok, the office isn’t even a vibe.

“With the ability to work from anywhere and for more than just one place, Gen Z-ers are forging their own paths that don’t rely on old patterns set by previous generations and are redefining what “career success” looks like. Gen Z can take note, as more and more leaders are similarly pursuing multiple income streams of their own through the form of a portfolio career. The way in which work looks like and where it happens is evolving.”

With less single-minded focus on one job, some TikTok business gurus advocate shutting your laptops precisely at 5 pm. And then jump onto your side hustle. Do nails or lashes on the weekend. Become social media managers for your phone. Sell soap on Etsy (again … perhaps not in the Fight Club way).

But this valorization of side hustles is not about hustle culture, either. They say job security isn’t guaranteed. Learning new skills and develop an alternate income stream/s to keep you afloat. Just make sure you’re not left in the lurch. BTW inflation is here. So every little bit helps.

But where do you start? Watching TikToks can only get you so far. Try a course on LinkedIn Learning to sharpen up your skills and learn new ones that you can turn into a verifiable side hustle — or leverage in your job search if quiet quitting leads to … real quitting.

Learn on your own time with bite-sized videos or in-depth courses. Watch them after work, before you clock in, or on your lunch break. Then, after your courses are complete, you’ll have certificates prominently displayed on your profile that prove your skills.

quiet quitting

The Future of Coffee is Melted

Why You Need Cometeer Coffee: Coffee You Can Take on the Go

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There’s an internet trend that says that everyone has three drinks: one for energy, one for hydration, and one for fun.


Hydration drinks are usually seltzer, a sports drink, or good old-fashioned water. Fun drinks can be anything from boba to kombucha to a refreshing fountain sprite. But the drink you choose for energy says the most about you. Are you a chill tea drinker? An alternative yerba mate devotee? A matcha-obsessed TikTok That Girl wannabe? A chaotic Red Bull chugger? Or are you a lover of the classics, a person after my own heart, who just loves a good cuppa joe?

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Can We Afford To Return To The Office?

Over two years into the most momentous event in our lives the world has changed forever … Some of us have PTSD from being locked up at home, some are living like everything’s going to end tomorrow, and the rest of us are merely trying to get by. When the pandemic hit we entered a perpetual state of vulnerability, but now we’re supposed to return to normal and just get on with our lives.

What does that mean? Packed bars, concerts, and grocery shopping without a mask feel totally strange. We got used to having more rules over our everyday life, considering if we really had to go out or keeping Zooming from our living rooms in threadbare pajama bottoms.

The work-from-home culture changed it all. Initially, companies were skeptical about letting employees work remotely, automatically assuming work output would fall and so would the quality. To the contrary, since March of 2020 productivity has risen by 47%, which says it all. Employees can work from home and still deliver results.

There are a number of reasons why everyone loves the work from home culture. We gained hours weekly that were wasted on public transport, people saved a ton of money, and could work from anywhere in the world. Then there were the obvious reasons like wearing sweats or loungewear all week long and having your pets close by. Come on, whose cat hasn’t done a tap dance on your keyboard in the middle of that All Hands Call!

Working from home grants the freedom to decorate your ‘office’ any way you want. But then people needed a change of environment. Companies began requesting their employees' RTO, thus generating the Hybrid Work Model — a blend of in-person and virtual work arrangements. Prior to 2020, about 20% of employees worked from home, but in the midst of the pandemic, it exploded to around 70%.

Although the number of people working from home increased and people enjoyed their flexibility, politicians started calling for a harder RTW policy. President Joe Biden urges us with, “It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again.”

While Boris Johnson said, “Mother Nature does not like working from home.'' It wasn’t surprising that politicians wanted people back at their desks due to the financial impact of working from the office. According to a report in the BBC, US workers spent between $2,000 - $5,000 each year on transport to work before the pandemic.

That’s where the problem lies. The majority of us stopped planning for public transport, takeaway coffee, and fresh work-appropriate outfits. We must reconsider these things now, and our wallets are paying

the price. Gas costs are at an all-time high, making public transport increase their fees; food and clothes are all on a steep incline. A simple iced latte from Dunkin’ went from $3.70 to $3.99 (which doesn’t seem like much but 2-3 coffees a day with the extra flavors and shots add up to a lot), while sandwiches soared by 14% and salads by 11%.

This contributes to the pressure employees feel about heading into the office. Remote work may have begun as a safety measure, but it’s now a savings measure for employees around the world.

Bloomberg are offering its US staff a $75 daily commuting stipend that they can spend however they want. And other companies are doing the best they can. This still lends credence to ‘the great resignation.’ Initially starting with the retail, food service, and hospitality sectors which were hard hit during the pandemic, it has since spread to other industries. By September 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 4.4 million resignations.

That’s where the most critical question lies…work from home, work from the office or stick to this new hybrid world culture?

Borris Johnson thinks, “We need to get back into the habit of getting into the office.” Because his experience of working from home “is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you’re doing.”

While New York City Mayor Eric Adams says you “can't stay home in your pajamas all day."

In the end, does it really matter where we work if efficiency and productivity are great? We’ve proven that companies can trust us to achieve the same results — or better! — and on time with this hybrid model. Employees can be more flexible, which boosts satisfaction, improves both productivity and retention, and improves diversity in the workplace because corporations can hire through the US and indeed all over the world.

We’ve seen companies make this work in many ways, through virtual lunches, breakout rooms, paint and prosecco parties, and — the most popular — trivia nights.

As much as we strive for normalcy, the last two years cannot simply be erased. So instead of wiping out this era, it's time to embrace the change and find the right world culture for you.

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