The Pulse: Frugal Roots to Bougie UGO Wins

On my little IG and TikTok posts, I briefly mentioned that I’ve been using these grocery hack strategies for about 20 years, but I didn’t really get into the why of it.

At baseline, I grew up pretty frugally. All of our needs were met—we got to go on vacations, lived in a nice home, and drove good cars—but we weren’t ones to seek out brand-name clothing or accessories, and we were shopping at Aldi back when it didn’t really have a big mainstream presence. My parents did what a lot of parents strive to do: do as well as their own parents did, and then try to do even better. They definitely exceeded that. They were able to do it entirely on their own through wise money management and living strictly within their means. Now, they’re living a great life in retirement at the ripe ages of 65 and 62. They have done exceptionally well.

So, I had big footsteps to fill, and I followed them in my own way. My parents helped with college but did not foot the entire bill; we had to budget hard to make the apartment rent and groceries work. That mindset carried right over when I got married and went on to grad school with a whopping annual salary of $18,000. It was small, but the benefits were rich: fantastic health insurance AND all of my grad school tuition and fees were fully paid for through the OSU Nutritional Sciences program.

Being in grad school and newly married, you still want to have fun, go on what vacations you can when you have free time, and go out with friends for happy hours. All of that was accomplished, but it was done mindfully. It was right then that my relationship with cashback apps started, and I maximized what we could get for basic needs so we could eat well.

Practicing What I Preached

Lastly—and I feel most importantly—I practiced what I preached. In grad school, I worked with very low-income, low-socioeconomic status families, and nutrition was a massive barrier to their health. The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition and their staff were absolute godsends. The dietitians there were superior; they knew how to meet families exactly where they were and with whatever means they had.

I realized: if we could coach families to get quality nutrition using SNAP, WIC, shopping sales, and strategically using canned, frozen, and fresh fruits and vegetables to provide quality sustenance—why couldn't I do that as well?

I did it then, and I do it now. It's just a little more bougie these days since I have additional resources: some extra money, a growing skillset in the kitchen coupled with a genuine love for cooking and baking, and assets like a stocked pantry, a deep freezer, and an equipped kitchen that allows me to create in so many ways. There is a lot of privilege in my life now, but the roots of how I approach food purchases and nutrition remain exactly the same.

This approach properly fuels my body and those of my boys. I think it tastes pretty damn good, too (I may be biased and like to pat myself on the back every now and then). It provides quality nutrition, and it has allowed my body to grow stronger than it was 20 years ago. Yes, I lift a lot more and lift much heavier shit now—but you have to fuel the body if you want it to meet those performance goals.

Food Shouldn't Be a Privilege

Cashback apps, coupons, rebates, and weekly ads are all just a means to an end: to be a good steward of my money, feed our bodies for basic health, and support our favorite activities. I could give you all the peer-reviewed research on fresh, frozen, and canned foods, or organic versus non-organic, GMOs, and additives—but we’re not going to get bogged down in the textbook content of it all today. For many people, the touted "best" ways to feed your body are a privilege they simply cannot afford. Food shouldn't be that way. I'm not above shopping for a deal, either.

All of this brings me to how my recent trip to UGO was a massive win. One of the absolute highlights of that haul was the protein items I managed to pick up.

The Protein Breakdown: Intake vs. Budget

Hitting protein goals shouldn't destroy your budget. When it’s a chaotic client, kid, orsports-filled day, having something on the go that is filling and cost-effective is a must. That’s where protein supplements come into play for me—that, and satisfying my massive sweet tooth.

If you look at most individual, ready-to-drink protein shakes in a standard store, they run about $4.00 a piece for roughly 26 to 30 grams of protein. Convenience is a factor you can choose to pay for, but if I can score individual ones for $2.00 or less, that's a massive win for a grab-and-go item.

However, the absolute best bang for your buck will always be the "mix-it-yourself" route. The tubs of protein powder I scored came in well under the $2.00 mark, costing a razor-thin $0.70 per serving. That same logic applies to protein bars; the Built Puff Bars I found were only $0.83 a bar, which is a steal for something that satisfies a mid-day craving.

Here is what the math looked like on my favorite finds:

Item Name	Size	Amt	Price Paid	Retailer	Price Retail
Built Puff Brownie Batter Protein Bars	12 ct	1	9.99	Walmart	29.99
Six Star Whey Protein (Frosted Flakes)	1.8 lbs	1	12.49	Walmart	30.88
Six Star Whey Protein (Froot Loops)	1.8 lbs	1	12.49	Walmart	30.88
			$34.97		$91.75

Overall, my total purchases that day (before tax) came out to $125.09. If I had bought those exact same items at standard retail price in a regular store, it would have run me $304.25—well over double the cost.

The rest of the grocery score wins are logged in my tracking spreadsheet so you can see the full breakdown!

UGO Price Points.xlsx

Download XLSX • 13KB

Real Life Update: Surviving the Weekly Grind

The rest of the week absolutely flew by. I feel like I accomplished next to nothing with the house besides keeping it from burning down, but maybe that productivity will actually happen this week.

I did manage to knock out a massive meal prep session for round two of piloting my weekly meals. That setup was a little more hairy this go-around, but lessons were learned, adjustments were made, and all the meals for the week are officially done!

The plan for this week is to tackle the house project list and prep for the boys to get back for a week without summer camps. I have several more client sessions to crush this Monday, and then I get to see my mom and coach my spin class at the gym - theme of Vinyl and Vibes. The weather out there is gorgeous, so hopefully that good energy helps with tackling an absolute shit ton of things.

We shall see!