OK, I Admit It! I Hate Grocery Shopping!
Yes, let’s just face some facts.
Maybe you just love the hassle of making lists and cleaning up the kids, gathering coupons, and trying to figure out what will please everyone. I hate eating the same thing every week, but it is so hard to find something we all like.
Most of us hate grocery shopping. It is such a chore, trying to think of something different to get this week and not have the same old thing. There are so many objectives to fulfill. It has to be something that:
- everyone will like.
- that is easy to come home and fix after a long day at work
- nutritious
- and did I say easy!
It is always so tempting to just go to a restaurant, but that’s for Friday night OutBack, right!
That Bloomin’ Onion is Wicked! And hey, get it free on Monday while they are having NASCAR promotion. Saving money is great.
Who doesn’t hate grocery shopping?
My daughter is one of those strange creatures. But Jennifer, my daughter, is a master at organizing and plotting her Master Plan. She is very organized with her lists and coupons, and she shops where she gets the best deal for the best foods. Jacob is not a really fussy eater, but he is one of those kids who gets an idea of what he wants and will eat it day after day. Such as grilled chicken.
He can eat grilled chicken until you’d think he would vomit the next time it is put in front of him. But no, he wants it for breakfast and dinner. And Jennifer allows him to eat a non-traditional breakfast if he wants. A chicken sandwich is fine if that’s what gets protein in his brain for the day at school. Food is what you eat and doesn’t mean that pancakes cannot be dinner and sandwiches can’t be breakfast.
But back to buying groceries:
When you head for the grocery, go with a plan.
Make a list of what you need to buy. The easiest thing is to make a menu for the week, perhaps on index cards, and choose what you will be having each night.
Check the cupboard and pantry for what you already have, and buy what ever else is needed.
Plan menus around a casserole or a crock pot recipe which can have dinner nearly ready when you get home, or easy to throw together and pop in the oven and be ready after you relax for a while.
Set a budget for what you will need to spend and stick to it. The easiest way to do this is with CASH.
Yes, cash makes you stick to your plan.
If you take $150 to the store with you for groceries, spend only the cash you have. If something has to go back on the shelf, then so be it. Put the beef roast back and plan for a chicken dish.
In fact, work with what is on sale and be sure and use coupons which are available in the newspaper, magazines, and all over the internet, right? Use them.
And most groceries stores offer an incentive to purchase there, such as a 10 items for $10 sale. But be sure the items are something you will use.
Ten cans of shaving cream for $10 is no use to you, since you use generic hair conditioner to shave, right? And it feels so good on your skin. Skip the shaving cream.
And here is something really important!
Pay attention at the checkout…..It doesn’t do any good for you to have bought those 10 boxes of elbow macaroni for $1 each. But the computer scans them for the usual $1.49……..Big No No!
Watch the scanner and be ready to correct it. Remember, it is only as accurate as the last person who entered the sale information into the store’s computer system.
I have had many errors happen as I am checking out. It is so much easier to correct it right as you checking out. Otherwise, you have to wait in line at the No-Service Desk. And if you don’t see it until you get home, it is a pain to go back to the store later to get that corrected.
Get your sale price!
Now, go make a list of what to get on your next shopping trip!
- Check cupboards!
- Take cash only!
- Coupons!
- Watch as the items are scanned. Get the sale price.