Tried a no-spend month for climate reasons and accidentally cut my grocery bill by $143
I figured buying less stuff would shrink my footprint, but the real change came from meal planning around what was already in my pantry, and now I want to know if anyone else has tracked the money side of a lower-waste month.
How did you handle the first week when you still had to buy stuff you actually needed? I always figured a no-spend month was just a gimmick for people with full freezers, but your $143 number made me stop and look at my own cart. I used to roll my eyes at meal planning, felt like too much work for one person, but shopping my pantry first is basically free money sitting in my kitchen. Last month I did a loose version of this and found three bags of rice and a pile of canned beans I forgot about, which turned into like six dinners. The money part surprised me more than the waste part honestly. Guess I was wrong that being green has to cost extra.