Real people share how they save on groceries

Hey friend,

This week we dropped two episodes that go hand-in-hand: one about fixing your budget and one about saving money on groceries.

If you're trying to stop living paycheck to paycheck, these are for you.

🎧 Episode 1: We Make $7,000/Month… So Why Are We Still Broke? (Budget Makeover)

A listener came to us feeling frustrated. She thought her husband's "projects" were draining their budget and keeping them stuck in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

But here's what we discovered: it wasn't the projects. It was their lack of awareness about where the money was actually going.

We walked through her entire budget line by line and helped her redesign it to align with their values and stop the bleeding. The problem wasn't what they thought it was. And that's exactly why this episode matters.

If you've been blaming one spending category for all your money stress, you need to watch this. The real issue might be hiding somewhere else entirely.

🎧 Episode 2: Real People Share How They Save Money on Groceries

Groceries are one of the biggest budget busters, so we went to TikTok to find out what real people (not influencers or experts) are doing to save money on food.

Here's what surprised us:

1. Throwing away the grocery budget can SAVE you money. One person stopped setting a strict grocery budget and started shopping more intentionally based on what they actually needed. Counter-intuitive, but it worked.

2. Scrounge night. Instead of going to the grocery store or ordering takeout, families are having "scrounge night" where everyone makes dinner from whatever's already in the pantry and fridge. It's become a fun weekly tradition that saves money and reduces food waste.

And those are 2 of the many tips we gleaned. These aren't fancy meal-prep hacks. They're practical, real-life strategies that everyday people are using right now.

🍽️ Plan Your Meals, Save Your Money

If grocery spending is bleeding your budget dry, our Ultimate Meal Planner will help you get it under control.

This Google Sheets and Excel planner includes:

✅ Weekly Meal Plan Sheet - Map out breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week
✅ Future Meal Plans - Save your favorites so you never start from scratch
✅ Printable Grocery List - Auto-generate shopping lists
✅ Pantry, Fridge & Freezer Inventory - Track what you have so nothing goes to waste
✅ 1,000 Meal Ideas - Never run out of inspiration
✅ BONUS: Meal Planning on a Budget eBook - Jen's book on saving time and money with meal planning

The Ultimate Meal Planner is just $19 (regularly $29) and works on all devices.

No more wasted food. No more impulse takeout. Just simple, stress-free meal planning that saves you money.

Your budget and your grocery bill are two of the biggest levers you have to change your financial situation. These episodes and tools will help you pull both.

❤️ Jen + Jill

P.S. If you're still living paycheck to paycheck and can't figure out why, start with the budget makeover episode. Sometimes the problem isn't where you think it is.

**Means this is a sponsored or affiliate section. We may earn a small fee or commission when you choose to try one of our sponsor or affiliate partners. But opinions are still 1000% our own.