Buzz
Trader Joe’s goes beyond being just a store; it's designed to be an entire experience. This makes it tough to leave without spending more than you anticipated.
Even flipping through Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer might trigger daydreams of lounging with a Pumpkin Spice Face Mask or diving into a tub of Baked Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta, which TJ’s offers at the irresistible price of $10.99 per pound. They suggest serving it on a cheese platter or, alternatively, enjoying it straight from the fridge with a fork.
Wait, hold on. I’m supposed to guide you to spend less at Trader Joe’s, not splurge. Let's pause the chocolate cheese fantasies and focus on strategies to keep your spending in check while shopping at Trader Joe’s.
Create a budget
As someone who writes about personal finance, it’s my duty to remind you that setting a specific spending limit before heading to Trader Joe’s can help you stick to buying only what fits within that budget.
But, let's be honest, I have a feeling you're reading this because sticking to that plan hasn’t always gone so smoothly for you.
Alright, let’s move on!
Give yourself permission to make one unplanned purchase
I’m not going to suggest you make a shopping list because you’ve probably already considered that. You may have even used the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer shopping list, which is full of tempting items like Everything But the Bagel Greek Yogurt Dip and seasonal finds like Plant-Filled Ceramic Skulls. (Perfect for Halloween, though you’ll probably end up repotting or discarding them once the season ends.)
The key takeaway is that for some people, shopping lists are just a starting point, not a limit. If you walk into Trader Joe’s with a list of 10 items and leave with a full cart, it's time for a new rule: allow yourself one impulse buy. This means you get to evaluate all your options and pick what you want most.
In theory, this approach makes shopping more enjoyable—or at least that’s what our parents used to say when they dragged us through the grocery store, promising we could pick one treat at the end.
Consider online ordering
Yes, I know Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer online shopping—and they discontinued their limited grocery delivery service earlier this year. As Jon Basalone, President of Stores (great title), shared on the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast:
People often ask, “Why isn’t Trader Joe’s selling products online? Why not just wholesale to China, since they want so many of your items? Why not ship truckloads to other countries and make tons of money?” The answer is simple: that’s not what Trader Joe’s is about. Our store is the brand, and our products are most effective when sold as part of the full in-store experience.
However, there are still ways to get your hands on Trader Joe’s products online. Amazon hosts a section for third-party Trader Joe’s sales. As The Takeout highlights, one family earned $30,000 reselling Trader Joe’s seasonings online—perhaps your answer to overspending could be turning those extra Trader Joe’s items into retail arbitrage.
You can also use delivery services like Postmates and Instacart to have your Trader Joe’s favorites brought to you. Just remember to tip your delivery person, and choose a service that treats your tip as a tip, not as part of the worker’s base pay. (Currently, both Postmates and Instacart pass the tip directly to their workers.)
When shopping online, you can track your spending as you add items to your cart (and remove them as needed to stay within your budget). Plus, you'll be less vulnerable to impulse buys from end-cap displays, eye-level products, and other in-store tricks retailers use to entice you.
Of course, you’ll still face recommended products, add-ons, and other online shopping tactics—but that’s just part of the deal. So, get ready to handle those too.
Quit shopping altogether
If you’ve tried some of the strategies on this list and still can’t curb your spending at Trader Joe’s, there’s one final tip: simply, stop shopping there.
At Money, Nina Semczuk shares why she made the decision to stop shopping at Marshall’s and Trader Joe’s:
These are my money traps. The moment I walk in, my modest “to-buy” list vanishes as I’m swept up by the irresistible prices on things I don’t even need. Piles of items appear in my cart, and I end up spending far more than I intended.
This happens because I’m what habits author
Gretchen Rubin refers to as an “abstainer.”
Her theory suggests that some people are more successful at quitting cold turkey rather than indulging occasionally. For abstainers, it’s easier to give something up entirely than to try to control the behavior, because we end up stuck in a cycle of “When can I do this again?”
If your trips to Trader Joe’s leave you feeling less “excited about all the delicious food you’re about to enjoy” and more like “I can’t believe I spent so much, I promised I wouldn’t do this again,” it might be time to consider another grocery store.
Additionally, some of the products come from the same suppliers or contain the same ingredients! As Eater points out:
For instance, the ingredients in Stacy’s Simply Naked pita chips are identical to those in Trader Joe’s sea-salt pita chips. Stacy’s is actually owned by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Similarly, PepsiCo’s Naked Juice’s Mighty Mango beverage has the exact same ingredients as Trader Joe’s version, while the Naked Juice Green Machine is almost identical to Trader Joe’s Very Green juice—just with less banana puree and no chlorella or kale.
If you find yourself continually overspending at Trader Joe’s despite your best efforts to create budgets, lists, and rules, it might be time to take a break from TJ’s. It’s okay. Unsubscribe from the online newsletter or the printed Fearless Flyer, stop imagining the joys of eating baked blood orange chocolate chip ricotta in front of your fridge with a fork, and start daydreaming about how much you’ll save instead.
If you have any other tips for avoiding overspending at Trader Joe’s—or want to share your biggest and most extravagant TJ’s haul—feel free to let us know!
