Most grocery advice is either too vague (“just meal prep!”) or too extreme (“never buy snacks!”). But for most households, the budget leak comes from a few predictable places: impulse items, duplicates you forgot you already had, and ingredients that sounded fun but never became dinner.

A useful reset starts with a simple question: what do you already cook on repeat? Not what you *wish* you cooked — what you actually make when you’re tired. Those repeat meals are your foundation. If you build your list around them, you reduce the number of “new” ingredients that risk expiring in the fridge.

The next step is inventory, but keep it short. You don’t need a spreadsheet. Open the fridge and pantry and write down a handful of “use-first” items: a half bag of rice, two cans of beans, a jar of pasta sauce, frozen veggies, eggs. Then plan dinners that use those items before buying anything new.

Strategy number three: decide your “flex category.” This is the part of your grocery run where you allow choice — like fruit, a dessert, or a favorite beverage — so the plan doesn’t feel like punishment. If your budget is tight, you can shrink the flex category rather than blowing up the whole list.

A short list built around repeat meals can cut down on both spending and decision fatigue.

Finally, use a “one new recipe” rule. When you experiment with five new meals at once, you often buy specialty ingredients that don’t fit into anything else. One new recipe per week keeps variety without creating leftovers that only work for a single dish.

If you want a quick benchmark, try this: for one month, track (1) how many items you throw away, and (2) how many times you do “emergency takeout” because the plan fell apart. Improving either number is a real financial win — and a sign that your system fits your life.