Grocery Shopping

It's been two weeks since my last post.  As a mom, life is unpredictable and can become a whirlwind in a matter of moments. 
I'll confess I was bit distracted for a good 8 hours of these past weeks glued to the PBS Masterpiece Series, Poldark.

 

 

I would say the pictures should explain enough, but if not, it's probably the best series EVER!!!!  I may waste another eight hours, to watch again, while I wait for the books to come in at the library.  LOVE it.

 

Oh, and then my other distraction--soccer.  I told myself I needed to finish these post before the season begun, but alas that obviously didn't happen.  Finding coaches, placing teams, doing evaluations...its sucks every minute of my time for about three weeks. 

 

Now here we are already well into a new month.  I hope you tried out your menu making and how to make your grocery list.  After all your hard work it's time to shop.  Give yourself a treat first, you deserve it!

 

SHOPPING

As I've mentioned before I have a love-hate relationship with shopping...with kids.  I kind of don't love always shopping for food either, but it's the role I play in the family. 

I am going to share some of my favorite tips that I've learned over my 16 years of marriage.  I hope you find some helpful.

1. Shop your pantry.  Have you ever got home only to find you bought something you already had?  I make this mistake often with spices.  Sometimes it's not so bad because they can be cheap.  But others can be pretty pricey.  I did this once before also with meat.  Talk about a budget killer.  Always shop your food cabinets first.  You will be surprised the money this will save you.
2. Have a detailed grocery list.  I have been amazed at the people that don't make a grocery shopping list.  Knowing myself, I would buy so much stuff off a whim, because it was on sale, or because it looked good.  Tisk, tisk, tisk.  Details are important.  Pretend you are making a list for someone else to do your shopping.  Over time you will have your basics/staples you always buy, but still make a not of them.
3. Add some "rainy day" items.  We are busy.  I get it.  Rainy days are like wild cards--use them wisely and sparingly!  We need to be realistic.  No matter how well we plan there will be a day or two where YOU ARE DONE or things come up and you need something fast.  That's a rainy day.  This is when you pull out the frozen pizza, hot dogs, microwave meals, or just eat cereal.  Save eating out ALWAYS for the last resort (remember the budget).  From personal experience, don't use your rainy days up the first week.  :)
4. Limit your visits to the store.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I shop for the month.  The less you go to the store the less you buy that you don't need.  I even gave up the weekly sales.  They were just pulling me in and killing my budget.  Yes, it's still possible for you to buy fresh produce.  I can't do ALL my shopping for the month but I can do 90%.  That way, I know real quick where I stand budget wise for the  rest of the month if I want to do anything extra.  If you do steps 1 and 2, this step is simple.
5. If you can freeze it--buy it.  I'll have more details on that in another segment about frozen foods and freezing food.  But if you have the ability to store another freezer, this will save you time and money.  One of the number one runs to the store in frequency is for milk.  I freeze my milk.  I buy 10-12 gallons all at once.  I save gas, my grocery budget, and time.
6. Don't go when you are hungry.  This isn't just a wives tale.  The research can prove it!  They say not only do you buy more but usually less-healthy food.  And actually, one study showed that hunger doesn't just effect food shopping but all shopping.  Wal-Mart obviously had this research when they decided to go Super.
7. Normally, the things you need should be on half or less than half the aisles that are in the store.  Now this does depend on where you shop.  But for a standard grocery store, this rule applies.  These are the middle aisles and drink aisles.  They are non-beneficial foods and money stealers.  The snack/cracker aisle, drink aisle, seasonal aisle, and a lot of the middle of most aisles.  I do buy snack puddings occasionally.  They are in the snack aisle but on the end.  For baking most things I need are at the ends (flour, spices, sugar).  Cereal, the more expensive ones are further in the aisle.  I buy the cheapest, which is right on the end.  Get where I'm going here?  If you are standing the middle of an aisle, you might need to question what you are buying.
8. Try not to shop "Driving Under the Influence"  Meaning with kids, of course.  The link above can best express my experience with having to shop with my kids.  It's often not an option for me, but sometimes not always buying the cheaper things, staying up until midnight, to shop in peace and quiet is worth those extra pennies.



 

There it is, my profound list of grocery shopping tips!