Prices at the grocery store are going up. USA Today reported the average two income household spends between $476 to $868 per month. Grocery prices were up 13% in 2022, but price increases overall stabilized afterwards. Are your well-off clients complaining about rising grocery prices?

We can understand the plight of seniors on a fixed income or a young family with children, both working at entry level jobs. Your clients are different. They are paid well. They have assets. They live in a great home and have a wonderful lifestyle. Why are they complaining?

In my opinion, here is the reason. They have a certain logic. It sounds like this:

• I want what I want when I want it.

• I am unwilling to make substitutions.

• I will not shop around.

This is followed by: "I can’t understand why everything has gotten so expensive!" As a helpful financial advisor, perhaps they would benefit from some basic advice on how grocery shopping has worked for different generations.

1. Widen your shopping universe beyond one store. Different stores often charge different prices. Last Thanksgiving my wife sent me out for a loaf of bread. She needed it for turkey stuffing. I went to the local supermarket and bought a basic loaf of enriched bread. I think it cost $3.00. On the weekend, we visited a Lidl supermarket. I was surprised to see their house brand of enriched bread at 49 cents! Same size, same basic product. I heard if an Aldi supermarket is nearby, they charge about the same, since they are direct competitors. FYI: Lidl has increased its prices since Easter. I saw those loaves recently at 99 cents. Suggest your client visit more than one supermarket.

2. Basic commodities often have basic commodity pricing. We were on a leg of the 2023 World Cruise on the Cunard ship, Queen Victoria. A couple sitting at our table complained, back home, they recently paid $7.00 for a dozen eggs! As I recall at the time, Costco was getting about $5.00 for two dozen large eggs and the price had been pretty stable. FYI: Eggs in the supermarket are about $3.50/dozen and $5.69 for two dozen at Costco.) It’s “OK to shop at Costco.” They have a substantial upper middle-class clientele! If they are buying eggs from a farm market, they might cost more, but they are paying to support a local business. That is a good thing. This is another reason to shop around, especially if the warehouse stores are a regular weekly shopping stop.

3. Have an awareness of what is a good deal. Beef prices might be up, but sometimes pork and chicken prices are down. This runs counter to the “I want what I want when I want it” logic. If you are having a dinner party and intend to serve filet mignon regardless of price, you will be paying what the store is charging. If you say: “I am having a dinner party. What’s on sale?” you might find a good recipe for pork roast and go with that. You need to be flexible in your menu planning.

4. Shop with the seasons. Ever try growing your own tomatoes? It can be incredibly challenging. When they are fully ripe in summer you notice prices on tomatoes are down in the store. Why? Because everyone else’s tomatoes are ripe too. The existence of a global food supply chain means we can get almost any produce we desire all year round. Prices, ripeness and quality will vary. Our parents knew asparagus was in season during the spring. You ate fresh tomatoes during the summer. Cabbage has a long growing season extending into the winter. Produce should be fresh and prices lower.

5. Branded products are expensive. Advertising comes with a cost. It works great for cereals. People have favorites. They are often more expensive than store brands. The major stores you recognize have their own in-house brands. For example, Costco has “Kirkland.” The house brands are often made by a famous, yet unnamed manufacturer who does private label products. Give the house brands a try.

6. Stock up on non-perishables. Bananas go bad. You can’t buy more than you can eat. According to the USDA, frozen raw shellfish can be kept for three to 12 months in your freezer. Vacuum sealed ground coffee might last one to two years in unopened containers. Think beyond what you need for that week. Buy when items are on sale. Store them away.

From an investing perspective, your firm’s research department should have ideas about who is making money in the grocery sector. Grocery stores typically operate on low profit margins. The firms that produce branded, packaged foods tend to have much higher margins.

If your client puts more effort into grocery shopping, they should be able to bring their weekly costs down.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book Captivating the Wealthy Investor is available on Amazon.