Most financial advice feels sterile. Clean lines, sterile charts. Then there’s the grocery store.
Roughly one in four Americans has zero retirement savings. It’s a grim stat, widely reported and equally ignored. Austin Kilgore, consumer finance expert at the Achieve Center, points to the produce aisle as the gap we can actually close.
Food costs hit hard. Retirees average $6,490 a year on groceries. That’s 12.4% of their total annual expenses. For a fixed income, that chunk of change matters. Kilgore outlines six specific items that shouldn’t hit your cart.
Not just for retirees. For anyone trying to keep cash in their pocket.
The Food You Already Own
Step one before you leave the house. Open your pantry. Actually look.
We tend to ignore what’s in the fridge until we’re starving. Organize. Clean. Throw out the expiration date relics and those leftovers you promised to eat but never will. That Tupperware of lasagna? Gone. If you wouldn’t eat it today, don’t carry it tomorrow.
Kilgore calls this “eating down.” You consume what exists before buying new.
“Maybe it means buying a fresh vegetable… versus buying everything,” Kilgare says.
Why buy onions when you have three sitting in a paper bag?
The ‘Extras’
Here’s a rude awakening: nearly half of Americans think they’ll survive on $1,000 a month in retirement, minus housing.
A 2024 survey by GOBankingRates pulled the data. It doesn’t look good.
Most people claim they stick to a budget. Kilgore disagrees. If it isn’t written down—spreadsheet or notebook—it isn’t a budget. It’s a hope. Hope doesn’t balance a checkbook.
Sale Items You Don’t Need
See a sale on brand name cereal. Do you need cereal? Maybe not. But it’s 40% off. So you buy it.
Don’t fight the urge by willpower alone. Change the system.
Plan meals around the weekly ad. Check the markdown sections near the meat counter. Items nearing expiration in 24 hours often get slashed in price. Use digital coupons. They’re confusing, yes. Ask a clerk at the service counter. They want to help, mostly because it speeds up line movement.
Bulk Buys That Hurt
Costco and Sam’s Club are cults for a reason. Volume implies value.
Sometimes.
Mid-size packages often beat bulk on price-per-unit. Stores post unit prices, but they’re tiny. Pull out your phone calculator. Check the math.
Kilgore suggests splitting large purchases with friends or neighbors. Or family. Why buy a 10-pound bag of rice alone if you can share?
Too Many Perishables
Bulk buying fails fast when food spoils.
Aaron Cirksena, founder of MDRN Capital, sees retirees burn money here every day. Buying 20 apples when two rot by Friday. Meats that go bad before you find the recipe.
It’s especially rough for singles or couples. A single pineapple is one serving. A sliced bag from the deli? That’s $5 minimum. Buy the whole fruit. $3 max. You cut it. You save two bucks. It’s that simple.
Also: name brands are a tax on laziness. The off-brand version in the aisle next to it tastes the same. The ingredients are often identical. Check. You’ll find it.
Off-Season Produce
Winter strawberries? Pay a premium.
Spring? Local orchards open. Farmers markets buzz. Prices drop.
Kilgore’s advice: learn your local seasons. Build your menu around what grows nearby now. Not what looks pretty in January.
“You can generally save at least 15%.”
That adds up. Over a year. Over a retirement.
It’s not about deprivation. It’s about noticing. What are you carrying into your house?
Who’s really eating that bulk cheese?
The cart waits. It’s always there, full of things you think you want, empty of things you actually need. You have to decide. Every trip.
