13 Food Items Frugal People Always Exclude from Their Shopping Lists
There will be times when you look at your receipt and ask yourself, ‘How did it actually climb so high in no time?’ Some years back, a family could take time to shop for a week’s supply of food without worrying about the effect of inflation, but this is no longer the case.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that food prices at home rose by 13.5% in 2022 alone, one of the highest rates in history. This change has caused households to recalculate their shopping strategies, and people more inclined to save money are at the forefront of this change.
Counterintuitively, they have established that excluding some conventional products makes it possible to reduce the overall cost of food without compromising on quality or nutrition. Interested in what they do not include and, most importantly, why? Here are the 13 food items that are not a part of the shopping list of a frugal person.
Pre-Packaged Salad Mixes
Purchasing pre-packaged salad mixes is a convenient way to obtain salads, but as far as budget-conscious consumers are concerned, they are rather expensive and wasteful. The Fresh Trends 2023 survey established that, regardless of household income, consumers still buy more bulk lettuce than packaged greens.
For the income category of $100,000 and above, 42 percent purchased bulk lettuce, while 46 percent from the $50,000–$100,000 income category did the same; even those in the lower income groups of $25,000–$50,000 and less than $25,000 opted for bulk lettuce as well, with 38 percent and 32 percent respectively.
This trend is consistent with the increasing concern for food waste in the United States, which disposes of about 60 million tons of food per year, or 325 pounds per person, as reported by Recycle Track Systems.
Name-Brand Cereals
Brand cereals are displayed at the best positions in supermarkets, yet they are not more beneficial than generic cereals. According to Consumer Reports in 2022, private labels are cheaper and often taste better.
Frugal consumers understand the value of the product and do not confuse the cost of the packaging with the quality of the product.
Single-Serve Snacks and Beverages
Small items such as snack packs and bottled iced teas are available at a very high price for the consumer’s convenience. For example, chips packaged into small portions may seem quite useful.
However, wise buyers know that the same outcome is obtained much cheaper by sectioning the whole family packs into smaller containers. Another reason that they avoid these items is the hidden waste in packaging.
Bottled Water
People who are wise with spending think bottled water is one of the worst things to buy when shopping. Medical News Today reported that one gallon of bottled water can be between 240 and 2,000 times more expensive than one gallon of tap water.
Since most tap water in developed countries is safe to drink, smart consumers buy refillable bottles and filters. This small change also cuts costs and helps minimize the use of single-use plastics that pollute the environment.
Pre-Cut or Pre-Peeled Produce
Using ready-to-buy fruits and vegetables that are already cut or peeled may be convenient for the homemaker, but it increases the cost of meals. The Huffington Post reported that packaged fruits and vegetables are two to five times more costly than whole fruits and vegetables.
For instance, a whole watermelon selling around $0.89 per pound will be sold at between $7 and $10 per pound when sliced and packaged. Such shoppers know the right ways of handling their produce to minimize the expenses of buying washed vegetables and fruits from supermarkets.
Gourmet Condiments
Gourmet additives, including truffle oil and mustard imported from afar, are nice but overpriced. Economic people do not buy such items for specific uses; they buy general-use products like olive oil and vinegar at low prices for cooking and other uses.
Organic Produce Without Prioritization
Consumers love organic food in the global market, but tight-budget consumers only buy it if they deem it necessary. A study conducted on ResearchGate showed that a basket of organic vegetarian food was 60 percent more expensive than its conventional counterparts available at 13 retailers in Australia.
The premiums were particularly high for fruits, vegetables, and grains because of the high logistics and marketing costs. Some consumers are willing to pay for organic factors.
Still, some people prefer value for money and only opt for organics, sometimes for pesticide-laden items such as the Dirty Dozen. This approach takes care of health needs while keeping costs in mind.
Meal Kits and Subscription Services
The idea behind meal kits like HelloFresh and Blue Apron is a good one, but, as we all know, there is no free lunch. As it turned out, meal kit subscriptions are even more expensive than cooking your own as WIRED found out.
People who don’t want to spend money on these convenient meal kits still get the same convenience through meal prep and easy-to-make meals.
Ready-Made Frozen Dinners
Heating a pre-made frozen dinner may seem easier, but those meals are tremendously costly compared to those prepared at home. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that homemade meals are cheaper by €0.60 per four portions compared to processed meals (P < 0.001).
The difference is that home cooking uses cheaper and fewer raw materials and energy than restaurants. Besides cost, homemade meals are prepared with minimal or no preservatives and high amounts of salt, which is characteristic of most frozen foods. For those who like to save money and get some additional positive effects, cooking at home is the only way.
Expensive Cuts of Meat
Buying only the best cuts of meat, such as ribeye or tenderloin, is another grocery expense raiser. According to Engage3, the prices of ribeye steak increased by 12%.
Cautious spenders go for cheaper cuts of meat, including chicken thighs, pork shoulder, or ground beef, which can be as delicious as other parts when prepared correctly.
Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are known to boost energy instantly, but the amount charged for them makes them a product that is unnecessary to help thrifty-minded consumers save money. However, many people go for coffee or tea, giving the same energy supply with much less money.
Designer Coffee
For those trying to save money, avoiding the Starbucks latte is easy. At $0.25 per cup of homemade coffee, brewing at home is a great way to do so. On Yahoo Finance, information from The Perfect Brew revealed that women spend $2,327 a year on coffee, while men spend $1,934 yearly on coffee alone.
Exotic or Specialty Imported Foods
Gourmet items like saffron, out-of-the-ordinary cheeses, and imported truffles have high markups that the average economic consumer will rarely allow. Taste Cooking noted that saffron is one of the most expensive spices, costing $10,000 a pound.
Economic people use only available in-season produce and do not waste money on luxury products that do not yield many returns.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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