This Is Why You’re Spending an Extra $26 at the Grocery Store…

We’ve all been there: you walk into the grocery store with a short list and a budget in mind, but somehow you walk out $26 lighter and with a family-sized bag of chips, three kinds of cheese, and a rotisserie chicken that wasn’t on sale but “looked lonely.”

Turns out, there’s a reason. A new survey of 2,000 shoppers found that going to the store on an empty stomach is one of the biggest budget busters.

RELATED: The Best Ways to Save Money on Grocery Shopping

The Hungry Cart Problem

If you shop while hungry, you’ll spend about $26 more than you planned. That’s not just an extra block of cheddar—it’s basically your Starbucks budget for the week.

The most dangerous time to grocery shop? Between 4:00 and 5:59 p.m.—aka, the “hangry hours,” when everyone’s just off work, dreaming of dinner, and has the self-control of a toddler at a birthday party.

Almost 76% of people admitted they totally ignore their budget when they’re hungry. Six in ten say healthy eating goes out the window, too. Suddenly, kale looks like cardboard, and the cookie aisle feels like a warm hug.

💡 Sidebar Caption:
“Never trust a stomach to stick to your budget.”

Impulse Buys: Not Just Junk Food

It’s not always chips and cookies that sneak into the cart. Sometimes the cravings pretend to be healthy:

• Bananas (33%)
• Grapes (30%)
• Apples (22%)

So yes, your “impulse buy” might actually be fruit… but you still didn’t plan on needing a fruit bowl that big.

💡 Sidebar Caption:
“Impulse shopping = meal prep you didn’t ask for.”

Other Grocery Store Mistakes That Cost You

Hunger isn’t the only culprit. Other slip-ups can quietly sabotage your wallet:

• No shopping list → Suddenly you’re buying dill pickles and a new brand of cereal while forgetting the milk you actually came for.
• Perishable overload → Grabbing five avocados with the optimism of a Food Network star, only to toss four in the compost.
• Expiry date roulette → Choosing the yogurt that expires tomorrow because it was on the front of the shelf. Rookie mistake.
• Ignoring digital deals → Skipping coupons and online offers is basically handing over free money.

The Bottom Line

If you want to stop blowing $26 every time you hit the store, the fix is simple: eat a snack before you go, write a list, and channel the inner discipline of someone who isn’t weak in the face of bakery samples.

Because let’s be honest—your budget didn’t fall apart on aisle 7… your blood sugar did.