Frugal Friends Podcast: "Why Groceries Are So Expensive Now (& How You Can Save Money on Groceries in 2026)"
Episode Date: January 13, 2026
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Producer: Backyard Ventures
Episode Overview
In this episode, Jen and Jill dive deep into the increasing cost of groceries, exploring the complex reasons behind the persistent hikes in food prices and, more importantly, sharing practical, actionable strategies for saving money at the grocery store in 2026. Throughout, they maintain their signature blend of relatability, encouragement, and humor—emphasizing creative, manageable approaches over extreme frugality or food snobbery.
Key Discussion Points
1. Why Are Groceries So Expensive?
[02:00–09:14]
- It's Not You—It's the System
- Jill opens with, "You're not doing groceries wrong. Groceries are doing you wrong." [01:56]
- Jen affirms, "Nobody gaslighting you here. Nobody telling you you're insane." [03:21]
- Historical Cost Increases
- Groceries are ~30% more expensive than five years ago (BLS stat, late 2025). [03:58]
- Contributing Factors:
- COVID supply chain breakdowns (2020–2022): Labor shortages in meatpacking, trucking, warehousing, causing wage increases that flowed into retail food prices.
- Geopolitical events (2022–2023): The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the global supply of wheat, corn, barley, and sunflower oil, key ingredients in much of our food.
- Jill: "Turns out that both are major exporters... This is in nearly everything that we eat." [05:16]
- Extreme Avian Flu Outbreak:
- Culled 58.8 million birds, causing egg prices to spike 70% year-over-year.
- Jill: "That caused. Here's a word for you. The culling of 58.8 million birds." [05:50]
- Jen: "Was it a misprint? No, it's culling. It's so close to the real world. So just so of what killing the culling of. They made it sound nice." [05:57]
- Eggs remain a nutritional bargain despite surging prices.
- Greedflation and Corporate Concentration:
- USDA 2021: Top 4 meat packers control 85% of beef processing, leading to price-setting power.
- Federal Reserve: In some food sectors, over 50% of inflation was attributed to increased profits (2021–2022).
- Looking Ahead:
- USDA projects food inflation will persist, but at a slower rate (1–2% annually), with prices not expected to decrease—just rise more slowly.
- Jen: "Prices will not go down. They will not go down." [08:40]
- Jill: "This is just the world we're living in." [08:54]
- USDA projects food inflation will persist, but at a slower rate (1–2% annually), with prices not expected to decrease—just rise more slowly.
2. Three Essential Money-Saving Strategies for 2026
[09:14–29:12]
"These are your 80%. You can find videos with like 40 tips... those are going to be the 20% tips. These are your three. These are your 80%." – Jen [10:14]
1. Reverse Meal Planning
[10:22–17:22]
- Concept: Shop your pantry, fridge, and freezer first; plan meals around what you already own instead of shopping solely for new recipes or cravings.
- How To:
- Jen's practice: On Sundays, list 5 fridge items about to go, 3–5 freezer items, and 3–5 pantry goods. Build the week’s meals around these.
- Jen: "You don't need a full inventory... On Sundays, I will typically go into my kitchen and I will make a list of five things in the fridge that need to go. That's my top priority." [12:22]
- Use AI tools (like ChatGPT) to create meal plans from available ingredients.
- Regularly date and rotate pantry items to use older foods first.
- Benefits: Less food waste, smaller/faster shopping trips, and less stress.
- Jill: "It saves me a ton of time at the grocery store because I do already know what I have on hand... I am finding I need to buy less." [13:40]
- Jen's practice: On Sundays, list 5 fridge items about to go, 3–5 freezer items, and 3–5 pantry goods. Build the week’s meals around these.
- Bonus Tip: Rely more on frozen fruits and vegetables—less waste, and sometimes even less work (pre-chopped, longer shelf-life).
- Jen: "Do I pay a little more? Yes. Do I ever waste fruits and vegetables anymore? ...Not ever." [17:21]
2. The Four Meal Rotation
[19:51–23:35]
- Concept: Instead of chasing variety every night, repeat four core meal “templates” every week. Change up sauces and flavors for variety.
- Jen: "We are conditioned, I think, in our age of social media to think that every meal has to be different... The people who are successful with eating at home are repeating the same meals every single month." [19:57]
- How It Works:
- Identify four meal types your household enjoys and put them in regular rotation.
- Examples: Soup night, rice + protein + veg, pasta night, wrap night, etc.
- Use themes (e.g., "Meatless Monday," "Turkey Tuesday") so ingredient overlap is optimized.
- Jill: "Something adjacent to this that I have done is having a theme every night of the week." [22:48]
- Benefits: Less decision fatigue, less waste/inventory, more shopping efficiency, and meals everyone loves become easier to prep and more enjoyable.
3. The "Buy Once, Use Thrice" Rule
[23:35–29:12]
- Concept: Every ingredient should appear in at least three different meals that week.
- Jill: "Whoa, whoa, that sounds insane, Jill. I don't know. I don't know about this." [23:41]
- Examples:
- Rotisserie chicken: tacos, salad, sandwiches, soup.
- Rice: protein bowl, stir fry, side for another dish.
- Spinach: omelettes, pasta, smoothie.
- Tips:
- Follow food accounts with overlapping ingredients (for simplicity).
- Limit purchases to 2–3 proteins and 2–3 vegetables per week—don’t overbuy.
- Lower the Barrier to Entry: Make eating at home easier than eating out; start with meal kits if needed, then graduate to prepping and batching when comfortable.
- Jen: "We want to make sure at least four meals a week are meals that we are just repeating all the time that we can make in our sleep..." [28:28]
3. Mindset, Food Waste, and Having Fun
[29:25–31:58]
- Eating Out is Even Worse:
- Jen: "It's still more affordable to eat at home... the price of food away from home had not [slowed]... it's worse out there." [29:25]
- It Must Stay Fun:
- Jill: "If it's not fun, it's not Frugal Friends. So we are all about living the most full, fun life." [31:24]
- Get creative with sauces and spices.
- Jen: "Get yourself a good hot sauce." [29:12]
- Jill: "Make that fridge door fridge full so that you could just really enjoy yourself." [29:15]
4. Bill of the Week
[32:06–36:00]
- Listener Story (Maeve, Boston):
- Maeve bought $10 inline skates (plus pads) at a rummage sale, now regularly skating, building community, and being active—demonstrating the joyful side of frugality.
- Maeve: "[I] have loved zooming around, being in nature, being in different parts of the neighborhood that I normally wouldn't be in... every time I go out, without fail, someone will say hi to me, I'll strike up a conversation." [32:38]
- Jen and Jill reflect: buying secondhand, leaving the house, and forming unexpected connections are core frugal joys.
5. Wrong Answers Only: Grocery Saving ‘Fails’ & ‘Thrives’
[38:59–47:56]
Jill’s “Fail”
- Living within walking distance of multiple grocery stores has led to frequent trips and micro-hauls (e.g., for $2-$10 each time), causing unplanned extra spending.
- Jill: "I think what I'm realizing is not only have I gotten a little bit more lax on my planning because I'm like, if I forget something, it's right there." [41:00]
Jen’s “Thrive”
- Focusing on meal prep and pre-portioning meals. Admits she hates cooking, so prepping meals ahead of time removes daily stress and keeps eating out to a minimum.
- Jen: "Groceries have honestly been a thrive for me this year... I am not going to eat out, so I'm going to meal prep pre-portioned. So that is the hack I'm bringing with me." [43:39]
- Meal prep can be surprisingly fast: Jen: "I made four meals last night in an hour and a half." [44:50]
- Jill expresses awe at Jen's efficiency and wants to see it in action.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Food Prices:
- Jen: "Nobody telling you it’s just eggs." [03:27]
- On Changing Strategies:
- Jill: “We’re the everyday girl.” [30:33]
- On Fun and Food:
- Jen: “If it’s not fun, it’s not Frugal Friends.” [31:24]
- On the “Bill of the Week”:
- Jill: “You are doing a new hobby that you were able to get into at very low cost because you bought secondhand.” [34:26]
- On Joyful Frugality:
- Jen: “And you bought something and you used it. That’s a whole nother thing to be proud of.” [35:19]
- On Creativity and Cooking:
- Jen: “Your creativity is a muscle and you’ve got to exercise it in order to build it.” [15:00]
Timestamps for Major Segments
| Time | Segment/Topic | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 02:00 | Why groceries are so expensive | | 05:06 | Global disruptions: war, avian flu, supply issues | | 08:40 | Inflation projections for 2026 | | 09:14 | Transition to strategies for saving | | 10:22 | 1. Reverse meal planning (deep dive) | | 13:40 | Benefits: less waste, more time, less stress | | 16:17 | Frozen produce: Jen & Jill’s different approaches | | 19:51 | 2. Four meal rotation method | | 22:48 | Weekly theme ideas, ingredient overlap | | 23:35 | 3. Buy once, use thrice rule | | 26:49 | Shopping/simplicity tips | | 29:12 | Eat out costs vs. home cooking | | 32:06 | Listener "Bill of the Week" (Maeve, Boston) | | 38:59 | Wrong answers only: fails & thrives | | 43:39 | Jen’s meal prep “thrive” | | 44:50 | Meal prep time efficiency | | 47:56 | Wrapping up & community engagement |
Final Takeaways
- Grocery costs are not dropping—plan for continued high prices but slow growth.
- Saving money in 2026 is about embracing three core strategies: reverse meal planning, a manageable meal rotation, and maximizing ingredient use.
- The hosts emphasize practicality, enjoyment, and avoiding both overwhelm and deprivation.
- Community, creativity, and fun remain at the forefront of a joyful, sustainable approach to saving money on food.
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