A Practical Walkthrough: Beating Shrinkflation on a $75 Weekly Budget
Let’s put these principles into practice. We’ll simulate a weekly grocery trip for a two-person household with a firm budget of $75. The mission is not just to stay under budget, but to maximize the amount and quality of food by actively identifying and sidestepping shrinkflation.
Our first stop is the breakfast aisle. The goal is simple: oats and eggs. We see the familiar canister of name-brand quick oats. It’s $5.49 for an 18-ounce container. The unit price is 30.5 cents per ounce. Right next to it is the large store-brand bag of old-fashioned rolled oats. It’s $4.99 for a 42-ounce bag. The unit price is just 11.9 cents per ounce. It’s not just cheaper; it’s almost a third of the cost per ounce. We grab the store-brand bag. A dozen store-brand eggs are a straightforward purchase.
For lunches, we’re planning salads and sandwiches. We need bread, cheese, and produce. In the bread aisle, the name-brand loaf is $4.29 for 20 ounces. The store-brand whole wheat loaf is $2.79 for 24 ounces. Another easy win based on unit price. For cheese, the pre-shredded bags are tempting for their convenience, but a quick check reveals a high unit price. An 8-ounce bag of shredded cheddar is $3.99 (50 cents/ounce). A store-brand 16-ounce block of the same cheese is $4.49 (28 cents/ounce). We choose the block; shredding it at home takes two minutes and saves nearly half the cost.
Now for the three main dinners. First up, pasta with marinara. Here’s a classic shrinkflation trap. The prominent name-brand pasta is on sale, 2 for $4. But looking closely at the box, we see it’s only 12 ounces. The unit price is 16.7 cents per ounce. The store-brand spaghetti, not on sale, is $1.29 for a full 16-ounce pound. Its unit price is just over 8 cents per ounce. The “sale” is a ilusion. We buy the store-brand pasta and a large can of store-brand crushed tomatoes to make a simple sauce.
Dinner two will be chicken and roasted vegetables. We head to the meat counter and compare the unit prices on chicken. A family pack of chicken thighs has the best price per pound, significantly cheaper than boneless, skinless breasts. For vegetables, we stick to seasonal, hardy options like broccoli, carrots, and onions, which offer better value than out-of-season produce.
Dinner three is black bean tacos. In the canned goods aisle, we compare two brands of black beans. Both are priced at $0.99, but one can is 15.5 ounces while the other is 15 ounces. A tiny difference, but we pick the larger one on principle. We grab a package of corn tortillas, comparing the cost per tortilla between brands, and a jar of salsa. We spot a name-brand salsa where the jar has a new, deeper dimple in the bottom, reducing its volume by 1.5 ounces compared to the store brand for the same price. We choose the store brand.
By focusing relentlessly on net weight and unit price instead of brand loyalty and flashy “sale” signs, we leave the store with a full cart of food for our two-person household, well within our $75 budget. We didn’t just save money; we reclaimed the value that shrinkflation tries to take away.
