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Featured · Groceries

The $75-a-Week Grocery Plan for a Family of Four (With the Actual Shopping List)

The exact list, the seven dinners it cooks, and the trade-offs I'd want someone to tell me about up front.

Read the plan →
Proteins & eggs$23Produce (fresh + frozen)$20Grains & bread$17Dairy$13Pantry & oil$7
Where the $75 goes: the midpoint of each category's range on our list.
Groceries

The $75-a-Week Grocery Plan for a Family of Four (With the Actual Shopping List)

The exact list, the seven dinners it cooks, and the trade-offs I'd want someone to tell me about up front.

August 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Groceries

Aldi vs. Walmart vs. Costco: I Priced the Same 30 Items at All Three

The full 30-item table, who wins each category, and the bulk-buying math nobody does at the register.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Groceries

Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand: The 25 Swaps Nobody Notices (and 5 Everyone Does)

Years of quiet pantry experiments, condensed - the swaps my family never detected, the five that got caught immediately, and why.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Bills & Utilities

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Bills & Utilities

How to Actually Lower Your Car Insurance in 2026 (Scripts Included)

The exact phone scripts, the levers ranked by real savings, and the one move that beats all the others combined.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Bills & Utilities

The Phone Bill Most Families Overpay: MVNOs Explained in Plain English

Same towers, third of the price. What an MVNO actually is, who shouldn't switch, and the real math for a family of four.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Bills & Utilities

How We Cut Our Electric Bill 22% Without Touching the Thermostat

One borrowed watt meter, one weekend, six changes — and the itemized math behind every kilowatt-hour we stopped paying for.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Kids & Family

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Kids & Family

12 Free Things at Your Local Library That Replace Paid Subscriptions

Audiobooks, streaming, tutoring, museum passes, even a Wi-Fi hotspot — the card in your junk drawer replaces three figures of monthly subscriptions.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Kids & Family

Birthday Parties Under $100 That Kids Actually Remember

Three complete party blueprints with line-item budgets, and the uncomfortable truth about what kids actually remember from the $400 version.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Everyday Hacks

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Everyday Hacks

The "48-Hour Rule" and 6 Other Impulse-Spending Tricks That Hold Up

Seven anti-impulse tricks that survived contact with a real household — with a verdict on each, including where they break.

August 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Everyday Hacks

Meal Prep for People Who Hate Meal Prep: A Realistic Sunday Hour

Components, not meals. The minute-by-minute Sunday hour that kills weeknight takeout without sentencing you to sad identical lunches.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
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The person behind the price book

Penny Team is written by Dana Whitfield — a budgeting-obsessed Midwest parent of two who tracks every household dollar and publishes what actually works: real store prices, real phone scripts, real trade-offs. No credentials to hide behind, just receipts.

Meet Dana →  ·  About the site →

Latest from the whiteboard

Groceries

The $75-a-Week Grocery Plan for a Family of Four (With the Actual Shopping List)

The exact list, the seven dinners it cooks, and the trade-offs I'd want someone to tell me about up front.

August 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Groceries

Aldi vs. Walmart vs. Costco: I Priced the Same 30 Items at All Three

The full 30-item table, who wins each category, and the bulk-buying math nobody does at the register.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Bills & Utilities

How to Actually Lower Your Car Insurance in 2026 (Scripts Included)

The exact phone scripts, the levers ranked by real savings, and the one move that beats all the others combined.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Bills & Utilities

The Phone Bill Most Families Overpay: MVNOs Explained in Plain English

Same towers, third of the price. What an MVNO actually is, who shouldn't switch, and the real math for a family of four.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Kids & Family

12 Free Things at Your Local Library That Replace Paid Subscriptions

Audiobooks, streaming, tutoring, museum passes, even a Wi-Fi hotspot — the card in your junk drawer replaces three figures of monthly subscriptions.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Bills & Utilities

How We Cut Our Electric Bill 22% Without Touching the Thermostat

One borrowed watt meter, one weekend, six changes — and the itemized math behind every kilowatt-hour we stopped paying for.

August 22, 2026 · 6 min read