The Real Reason You Shouldn't Buy The Same Groceries Every Week

For a lot of people, grocery shopping is a chore that takes up a lot of time and often involves spending quite a bit of money. Juggling the foods you'll need to last you the week (or several weeks, depending on how you shop) and making decisions for upcoming meals and snacks can be a bit overwhelming. Worse still is when you buy items that you end up throwing away later due to not using them in time, it's basically like throwing your money down the drain. 

Luckily, there's a few techniques you can use to help make for smarter grocery shopping choices that include shopping with a list, making a plan for your meals that week, checking weekly ads, and only buying items when you run out of them. It is also wise to not purchase the same groceries every week, which seems counterintuitive, but there's a reason for this advice.

While many of us may think that buying the same items every week would help us save, Stephanie Nelson of Coupon Mom says otherwise. Instead, she told Las Vegas Review-Journal that it's important to "vary your diet and preferences by trying the sale-priced options. For example, get sale-priced broccoli instead of full-priced asparagus, and reverse that when the sales switch. That principle applies in every department of the store." 

Putting items in your cart regardless of the price can lead to unnecessary expense, whereas shopping for produce (and other items) that are seasonal and on sale, could help cut your grocery budget down. So, if you're in the habit of buying the same groceries week after week for the sake of simplicity and you notice your grocery bill could do with a little slimming down, maybe try exploring the different deals your store is offering and base your weekly groceries around what's priced at a discount.