Hit $120 in my grocery bill last week and almost dropped my coffee

I thought I was being smart with meal prep but added up every receipt and realized I was spending more on 'budget' ingredients than just buying the premade meals at Aldi. Has anyone else crunched the numbers and found their DIY savings were actually an illusion?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_robinson2315d ago

Actually stumbled into this exact thing last week when I was trying to make my own granola bars. Thought it'd save me a ton compared to the boxed ones, but after buying oats, honey, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and a new baking sheet since mine was rusty, I spent like forty bucks. Then they came out kinda crumbly and didn't taste great, so I ended up throwing half of them out. Meanwhile the store brand ones were three dollars and actually good. Idk, sometimes convenience just wins, especially when you factor in time and stress.

emmag2215d ago

Well actually I have to push back a little on that "budget ingredients" idea. Meal prep is only cheaper if you already own the spices, oils, and other staples that go into making those meals from scratch. If you're buying a whole bottle of cumin and a jar of paprika for one recipe, that's not a fair comparison to a premade meal. The real savings kick in after you've built up a pantry and can just replace the fresh bits. It sounds like you're comparing your first trip with Aldi's already established supply chain, which is a bit like comparing apples and oranges since one has years of built-up fundamentals and the other doesn't.