Grocery Shopping 101

So what's the most annoying and expensive chore when running a household? Here at Pure Living it has to be grocery shopping. I hate it. Shane hates it. And we always try and do it as quickly and cheaply as possible. I recognize this is totally a first world problem and I try to keep a positive frame of mind while shopping. I tell myself it's a privilege to shop the way we do and that I should be thankful that we can afford to purchase food and stock our fridge.

But some days...Let's just say I find it hard to stop myself from playing bumper car(t)s with that lady taking up the entire aisle as she makes the life altering decision between chunked or flaked tuna. (It's tuna lady, pick! Or at least move your cart so other people can pass down the aisle!)

But I digress...

While shopping this week, I thought it might be helpful if we shared our method for efficient and budget friendly grocery shopping. For me, the key to efficiency and staying on budget is being organized (this can be applied elsewhere in your life). I think organization is a learned behaviour and to be honest, the main reason that I'm organized is because of my mom (woohoo for mom's everywhere!). My mom (like most) was a multitasking mama who worked full-time while taking care of most of the household chores. If she wasn't organized everything would fall apart.

Most of the tips that I am sharing with you are things I learned watching my mom over the years, but some are my own. All of these tips presuppose that you and your family have allocated a household budget for groceries. If you haven't, stay tuned for our "how to budget" post that will be coming in the future.

Without further ado, here is Pure Living's Grocery Shopping 101: Part 1 - The List

THE LIST

Making a list is the single most important tip that will keep your grocery bill on or under budget. If you do nothing else, make a list! And this tip carries over into other parts of your life. I find myself more inclined to complete tasks and chores if I can cross them off as I go. Not only does it make me feel more successful, but it keeps me on task.

Creating a List

Now there are a couple of ways you can create a list. What I find works best for us is I keep a whiteboard on our fridge and as we run out of things, we can mark them down while it's on our mind. At the end of the week we don't have to waste our time going through the fridge and pantry before every shopping trip.

Alternatively, you can create a master grocery checklist using a word processing program. You can list items you typically buy, print it out every week, stick it onto your fridge, and check them off as you need them. Just make sure you leave room on the page for those "extras" that are not weekly purchases.

Managing and Shopping With Your List

Now that you have your list, I recommend organizing it based on the areas in the store. This is why I like the white board method. While I search my flyers for bargains (more about this in my next post) I can cross reference my white board list and then organize it neatly into produce, meat, dairy, dry foods, and miscellaneous household items.

Why is it important to have such an organized list? Once you're shopping, you and your neatly organized list will efficiently navigate the grocery store. You will know what you need and where it's located.

Think about it, how many times are you in the dairy section and then realize that you forgot to pick up onions? Well now you have to back track through the store, which is a waste of time and invites frustrating encounters with the tuna fish lady.

Also knowing what you need and where it's located prevents mindlessly meandering up and down the aisles. This is not only a waste of time, but also invites impulse shopping. Impulse shopping leads to going above and beyond your budget.

Stick to the perimeter of the store where all of the fresh (read: not packaged) food is kept. This is not a revolutionary or new idea, but it bears repeating. And if you need non-perishables like canned tuna or beans your organized list will keep you aisle specific. This will also prevent you from buying things you don't need (i.e. junkfood) that will bump up your bill and your waistline.

So there you have it! Your first step into making your shopping trip easy and efficient. The next post will be about shopping based on flyers and why bargains aren't always what they seem.

Pura Vida!

Marisa