25 Things You Should Never Buy at the Grocery Store

As the price of groceries becomes more and more unaffordable, these are the 25 things that you should never buy at the grocery store. Number one, pre-cut fruit. At my grocery store, ladies and gentlemen, a pineapple costs $2.69, but a pre-cut pineapple costs $5. A cantaloupe costs $3.29, but a pre-cut cantaloupe costs $6. Fruit is two times more expensive when it is pre-cut, so just take the time to cut your own fruit. Two, spices in jars. When you go to the spice section in the grocery store, most of the time spices are sold in these small jars, which are often very expensive. However, if you walk around the grocery store, you can often find spices in these little bags, which is usually much cheaper. So get a spice rack with refillable jars and buy these bags instead. Three, brand name single ingredient items. Single ingredient items are items like spices, rice, nuts, and beans. Items that are just one ingredient, in my opinion, these single ingredient items are all the same. The only difference is the packaging it comes in and the price. Don't pay two times more for these single ingredient items because most of the time the only difference is the packaging. Four, processed foods claiming to be healthy. Most people want to eat healthy foods, and companies take advantage of this by tricking us into thinking that their food is healthy by clever marketing. For example, this highly processed product says Weight Watchers, 5ers, 70 calories, 2 grams of sugar, as if it's healthy. But in reality, it's not a healthy product. Don't buy items that are claiming to be healthy because most of the time they are just junk food. Five, cereal. A huge processed food that often claims to be healthy is cereal, but cereal is actually extremely unhealthy because it's often high in sugar, has no nutrition, doesn't make you feel full, and is extremely expensive. Starting your day with cereal is basically like starting your day with nothing, so don't buy it and instead choose to have eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. Next, sugary yogurt. Another processed food that often claims to be healthy is yogurt, however yogurt is often extremely high in sugar. This yogurt, for example, has 22 grams or 5 teaspoons of sugar. So just don't buy these processed foods that are claiming to be more healthy than they actually are. Seven, air fresheners. People love buying these air fresheners that make their house smell cleaner. However the truth about these air fresheners is that they often contain toxic chemicals that worsen air quality, affect respiratory function, and even cause cancer. You shouldn't buy air fresheners, one, to save money, but also just to avoid all the toxic chemicals in them. Eight, non-organic milk. Now I do not buy too many organic items, but one organic item I do buy is milk because it lasts much, much longer. For example, regular milk may last up to a week or two, but organic milk could last up to a month or two. And the interesting thing about organic milk is that the reason it lasts longer is not because it's organic, but because of the pasteurization process. If you're like me and don't drink tons of milk, buying organic milk can save you money because it lasts much longer and you won't end up wasting a bunch of milk. Nine, dishwasher pods. For some reason, everyone has decided that spending three seconds putting soap in your dishwasher is too much effort, and we need pre-measured pods that only take one second. But for that convenience, to get two seconds of your day back costs you about nine times more. Dishwasher pods are one of the biggest wasters at the grocery store. Ten, laundry pods. Just like dishwasher pods, laundry pods don't save you any time, but that small convenience you get costs three times more. Long story short, don't buy cleaning pods. Eleven, coffee pods. The final pod that you should never buy at the grocery store are coffee pods because that convenience costs you about three times more. And who wants to have their morning coffee brewed in a plastic cup that ends up in the coffee? People with no class, that's who. Just buy bagged coffee. Next, fancy bag coffee. I am a huge fan of coffee, but as a coffee connoisseur, I am not blinded by all the bullshit that is going on in the coffee industry. And by that I mean that the only difference between most coffee is simply the design of the packaging. Most of the time, especially at grocery stores, the only difference between coffee brands is the packaging, and so don't fall for nice packaging because it often costs three or four times more. Next, chips. Probably the biggest thing that got hit with our recent inflation is the price of a bag of chips. I mean, a bag of chips nowadays is gonna cost you $6, which is expensive for something that brings you no nutritional value. It's okay to buy chips every now and then, but just be aware of how expensive they have gotten. Next, single-serving snacks. Chips and everything become a lot more expensive when they are in smaller packages. For example, single-serving chip bags cost three times more than the party-sized bags. Don't pay three times more for the convenience of single-serving bags. 15. Bulk condiments. So as I just explained, things are generally cheaper when you buy larger quantities. For example, a 14-ounce ketchup bottle is almost three times more expensive than a 32-ounce ketchup bottle. However, just because something is a better deal doesn't mean it is the best option. Oftentimes when it comes to bulk condiments, you just use a third of it by the time it expires and throw away the money you saved in the trash, which ultimately costs you more. Never buy bulk items that you know you will never finish, because the money you end up saving often ends up in the trash. 16. Sodas. Coke, soda, or pap is one of the things that you should never buy at the grocery store. One, because it's extremely expensive. A 12-pack of Coke is going to cost you about $8, and a single bottle is going to cost you about $3. But more importantly, you should never buy it because it is extremely bad for you. One single Coke contains 7 teaspoons of sugar. So avoid diabetes and don't buy pap. 17. Sports drinks. Another sugary drink that you should never buy are sports drinks. I mean, a 12-pack of Gatorade is $8 nowadays, and a single bottle is about $3. And let's just be real. Most people that are drinking sports drinks are far from athletes. If you are an athlete, then drink sports drinks. If not, don't waste your money on them. 18. Lottery tickets. There's a saying that goes, you can't win if you don't play. But let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, you're not going to win. And even if you do win, it's going to ruin your life. Don't believe me? Watch the TLC show, The Lottery Changed My Life. They never get the happy ending that they dream up. Instead of buying lottery tickets, use that money and invest in an S&P 500 index fund that will eventually grow to more money. That's how you win in this world. Don't play the lottery. 19. Bottled water. Let me tell you a crazy fact. Bottled water is 2,000 times more expensive than tap water. And it's not only more expensive, but bottled water often contains microplastics, creates a bunch of waste, and supports unethical business practices. We all want to drink good quality water. But instead of spending so much money on bottled water, just get a home filter. 20. Junk food. Oftentimes when it comes to eating healthy, many people say that they cannot afford healthy food. But at the same time have tons of junk food that provide no nutritional value in their shopping cart, which drastically increases their grocery bill. Don't buy junk food, save the money, and use that money you save to buy healthier foods. 21. Pre-cut meat. At my grocery store, the current price of a pound of chicken breast is $2.29, but to have it thinly sliced is $4.69 a pound, or two times more. Cutting chicken doesn't take that much effort, so don't waste your money on these pre-cut meats. 22. Things you had no intention of buying. The grocery store can be a very stimulating environment, and oftentimes when we go grocery shopping, we buy things that we had no intention of buying, which drastically increases our grocery bill. When you go to the grocery store, have a list in stick to it, so you don't end up spending all this money buying things that you had no intention of buying. 23. Kid-bottled drinks with cartoon characters. I do not have any kids, ladies and gentlemen, but I do have a niece and nephew. And one thing that I've noticed that's popular amongst the children are these fancy drink bottles with famous television cartoon characters. Believe it or not, these fancy bottles that you use one time and then throw away end up costing you nine times more than just buying the juice. Tell your kids that they ain't paying for the grocery bill, and don't waste your money on these fancy bottled drinks. 24. On-sale items. One marketing strategy that grocery stores do to get you to spend more money is putting items on sale. Because when people see sales, they are tempted to buy things they had no intention of buying. Don't buy things just because they are on sale. Because if you don't buy the item, you save 100%. 25. Paper towels. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever buy paper towels and just use rags instead. And those are the 25 things that you should never buy at the grocery store. And with that, muchas gracias, que tenga un buen dia, nos vemos chicos.