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Has anyone tracked how much groceries cost per adu...
# budgeting
c
Has anyone tracked how much groceries cost per adult per month...I'm in Lakewood.
m
Post this question in 2 weeks, iyh I'll have all the data ready by then to present. Working hard on it!
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b
There are so many different variables that go into grocery shopping that's its almost impossible to compare yourself and use an average. I find it much better to track your own spending and challenge yourself to see if you can bring it down.
c
I think this is the biggest weakness in my budgeting...and the Jewish stores don't help I try to buy from Trader Joe's ect.
m
@brief-night-11169 the whole point is people want to know what could they be spending. like is it possible to live on X, which they will never figure out by looking at their own data.
c
Also, if we can find the top preformers we can ask them for how they do it and learn ways to implement things for our personal shopping
b
@mysterious-tomato-10057 I respectfully disagree, looking at how someone else spends $1,000 a month by only eating chicken on the bone and not buying anything made while you have no time to make supper is a moot point. Or while a person has time to go shop the sales and you don't etc etc.
c
This is a valid variable...so that just requires more data pool and fine tuning
b
@clean-father-30172 For sure to try to learn ways to save is you challenging yourself to save on your bills but not to compare.
t
@brief-night-11169 knowing what others are spending definitely helps gain perspective on whats possible, and then you can tweak those numbers for your own needs. Like if someone is spending 1/3 of what I am on groceries with a family the same size in the same place, I know there must be places I can cut back, even if there are some non-negotiables that are going to keep me from getting all the way to the same point
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b
@thankful-angle-58448 On point
m
> Also, if we can find the top preformers we can ask them for how they do it and learn ways to implement things for our personal shopping @clean-father-30172 This is excatly the point!! This is my top requested feature and while i do it by hand until now its not scalable, so I am building out an automated way to be able to perform this optimization and share the data. Hopefully it works out and @brief-night-11169 will retract his disagreement, but as of now its just a theory
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if you want to play around with the prototype -> https://app.frum.finance/budget
all the data is fake right now on this version, feedback appreciated
c
It looks cool. Definitely speak with statician and mathematician before rolling out as you want to ensure you account for all the variables
m
do you have one to recommend? Right now I am making it rather clear what variables we are and are not account for, and I hope to add more over time to increase accuracy
right now we are doing location + number of children + age of each child
hope to add more dimensions over time
c
Not sure if you can mirror the secular cost of living index for a frum version: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100214/how-cost-living-index-calculated.asp
m
I think once we have all the data in the system, with enough users, we can build that index
c
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Btw. The Jewish store knows this really well they have all the numbers figured out....but no way they will help us.
m
exactly
c
People don't realize the cost it cost consumers when stores need to operate late hrs, and carry random stuff ect...it all goes back to the consumer who has to pay 3x. For bananas ..we have grown accustomed to expect convenience without realizing the cost it comes with
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t
and frum stores can't operate on the margins that massive chains like walmart or aldis or whatever can operate... they have the volume to make tons of profit on really tiny margins, and its not doable for small businesses
m
fun fact, the gemara says a jewish market can’t have any markup on eggs
t
any at all?
c
Like the concept of having overseas fruits and vegetables is totally new..and we now expect it for ourselves, Dubai chocolate is normal and tuscanini olives as well (they are better I have to admit) but it all comes with a cost
m
none whatsoever
idk what the heter is today
but its clearly assur in the gemara
c
Our modern eggs don't qualify as food 😆
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m
wait, dubai choclate made it into the lakewood community?
c
I thought I saw it in bingo...could be mistaken
m
i hope you are, the meat boards are already bad enough
c
Oh, and cut fruit... (Thou honestly I am lazy to cut it myself)
m
if you like buying cut fruit, you can just send the donation to frum finance instead of letting yourself get robbed 😛
c
Maybe you can start offering cut fruit 😁
m
i’d like to think what we offer is even better 😉
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c
I check it out The cost of almonds,bananas and sourdough (pas Yisroel) bread where all x3 more expensive in the frum store over trader joes
And I don't think they are pocketing all that...I just believe their overhead is much more because the model of convenience cost a lot more
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b
This is a perfect example of why in my experience comparing hasn't worked. The couple that goes to trader joes, aldi etc is spending way less and when the couple that goes across the street to their local store has a budget that is 3 times the amount. My past has shown that they will discount the family going store to store as nuts and say we cant do anything more.. But I would love to see it work.
m
right, and now once the family sees they are spend 500$ more than could be they can make an informed decision to keep doing it! even in your example it works
or they can change
t
what. that's exactly what its good for. They can say " I can make one extra stop to aldis, get half of my stuff there, and cut my grocery bill by 30%"
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m
Your problem is exactly the vision lol
t
obviously if they are not concerned about their spending habits, they won't change. in which case they are probably not the audience
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b
When people think of others as nuts they wont change. We are trying to help them and get them to change as much as they will allow.
c
Also, if people realize how much of a markup the different stores use, they can make information decisions of it's the convenience actually pays off. If I make x per hr and it just takes me half hr extra to save x+ y than we have the answer
t
I'm not sure the goal is to "get people to change" as much as "give people who are looking to change the tools to do so"
b
Correct but if you show them something that is not in their toolbox they will discount that as a tool at all.
t
Isn't the point of of this channel about giving people awareness of how they themselves are spending / allocating money so they make better choices? Someone who thinks reconsidering habits is nuts obviously isn't going to be helped...
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Why is it not in their toolbox?
m
@brief-night-11169 I think that is true for many people, but not usually for the kind of people that come to frum.finance
b
@mysterious-tomato-10057 100% I wish the people I am meeting would be on here. It would make my life a lot easier 😁
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m
We are an organization for people that have reached the point where they are ready to help themselves, until you get there, you probably are better off with any organization.
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that's one of the reasons you have to read a book before I'm willing to get on a call with you. Since we don't charge, I need your intellectual buy-in.
b
I don't either charge and therefore I am turning white to quickly 🤣
m
right but you don’t have big barriers up to prevent everyone from coming in
b
True
m
this is why we need many organizations though with different approaches
l
if you want to play around with the prototype -> https://app.frum.finance/budget
Where's a good place to provide feedback?
m
#C093EMUUC68
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