My partner told me our grocery budget was way too generous and she was right

I had it set at $600 a month for two people in Chicago. Thought I was being realistic since food prices keep going up. My partner sat me down and pointed out I was using that as a ceiling but spending closer to $500 most months anyway. She suggested we drop it to $450 and see if we actually felt restricted. First month we came in at $463 and didn't feel like we missed anything. The extra $150 a month is now going straight into our emergency fund. Has anyone else had someone call out a lazy budget number that you just set out of habit?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hayden6d ago

Man that roommate did you a solid, saved you a lot of money without you even realizing it.

cora_scott777d ago

I used to think "lazy budget number" was just a normal thing everyone does. Had my grocery budget set at $700 for two people in Denver for like two years. Never actually checked if I was spending that much, just figured it was safe. Then my roommate pointed out I was averaging closer to $550 and I felt pretty dumb honestly. Dropped it to $500 and we hardly notice the difference. Your story made me actually go check my own numbers instead of just guessing.