Shopping with a grocery list is one of the most effective ways to slash your grocery bill. Not only does a list help you avoid costly impulse purchases but it also prevents expensive repeat trips to the supermarket.
Unfortunately, most shopping lists are flawed, making them much less effective as money saving devices.
Below I list three common grocery list flaws and how you can correct them to save more money.
Flaw 1: We make our list right before we go shopping.
This is the most common mistake in making an effective shopping list. You jot down a list right before you step foot in the store. Unfortunately, this almost always results in items being left off the list, necessitating the return trip to the supermarket you’re trying to avoid in the first place.
You can easily create a more effective list simply by posting a pad of paper (with an attached pen) or a wipe board directly to your fridge door. This way you can easily write down items as you run out of them ensuring that you don’t forget anything.
Flaw 2: Not everyone is involved in making the shopping list.
The person responsible for the shopping may leave off things other family members need. A husband may forget that his wife has run out of her favorite coffee beans. A mother may not realize that the kids have run out of their favorite after school snack.
Again, posting a pad of paper or wipe board on the refrigerator door provides everyone in the family with the opportunity to contribute to the grocery list.
Flaw 3: We think in terms of consumables, not in terms of needed ingredients.
Its easy to notice when we’ve run out of milk or the kid’s favorite cereals. These are things that we consume without much preparation and are thus easily noticeable.
Less noticeable are the individual ingredients we frequently need to make many of our meals. These include items like sugar, salt, olive oil, margarine, seasoning salt, herbs, and spices – the very items that frequently send us back on repeat trips to the grocery store, sometimes right in the middle of cooking!
One way to prevent this oversight is to take a moment to think about the meals you might prepare for the week. Then check to make sure you have all the necessary ingredients.
Some people take it a step further and completely plan all of their meals for the upcoming week. This allows them the additional benefit of planning their meals around the items that are on sale that week.
By creating a more effective grocery list you can avoid expensive impulse purchases and costly repeat trips to the supermarket. Do you have tips for creating a better shopping list? If so we’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment below.
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I plan my menus 2 weeks at a time which translates to 2 large shopping trips/mo. I’ve done this for 5+ years so I have a system figured out that works for me. I’ve found that it saves us $ (substantially) and it simplifies my life. I work full-time so I hated spending part of every weekend at the grocery store before I started doing it this way. I place an empty sticky note on the current menu plan that is hanging on the fridge and the family members know that when they use the last of an item they need to write it on the sticky note so it will get transferred to the new shopping list. Also, I start preparing my list and menu on the Thursday before my shopping day (Saturday) which allows me time to really think about what is included and reduces the risk of forgetting something.
I use this grocery list -
http://donnayoung.org/household/fullsize/ffiles09/kifiles/grocery.pdf
and this menu planner -
http://donnayoung.org/household/fullsize/ffiles09/kifiles/menu.pdf
Another interesting thing you can do with your shopping list is to arrange the items by aisle so that you can quickly find everything without spending all day in the store.
I used to do the running list on the refrigerator and paperclip coupons to it as I went along. It really helped me to stay on track and then when I got my smartphone I simply keep the list on the phone. I put an asterisk in front of any item that I have a coupon for and since I keep my coupon book in my purse it is easy to go through the list and pull out the coupons I need before I go shopping.
Lulu,
I think the smart phone is an excellent way to keep your list. That way you can ensure that you always have your list with you instead of leaving it on the kitchen counter. The same with keeping coupons in your purse. I can’t count how many times I’ve been shopping only to realize that I left the coupons at home on my desk shelf.
Nancy,
I’m impressed. Most people have trouble planning for one week not to mention two weeks! I betcha it saves you a lot of time AND money. I like the sticky note idea.