I can shop at four or five stores with a small toddler in two hours (or less). Some weeks, this turns into a workout as I’m speeding through the stores knowing that I have to be somewhere shortly after my shopping trip. But, honestly, shopping at one or even five stores can be done efficiently and productively if you plan your trip.
Just as with preparation in meal planning, a little prep with your shopping plan helps your budget go a long way! You will never find me in a store without a list of some sort. It’s partly because sometimes I just can’t remember, but also because it helps me stay focused on what items need.
Here are a few steps to plan your shopping trip to save your time, sanity and hard-earned cash.
- Make a list! Or, as I refer to it: List It. This may seem like an obvious thing, but I walk through the grocery seeing so many people without a list. Creating a list before you step your feet into the grocery helps with your efficiency and your money-savings. You may resist urge to pick up temptation items if they aren’t on the list.
- Clip your coupons. Or, as I say: Clip It. When you shop for items, you will inevitably have to have those non-negotiables (milk, eggs, produce, etc) but then your list will probably also include necessary meal plan items and sale items that match up with coupons. When your list is created, you can clip or pull the coupons (for binder organizers) and paperclip them together to make check-out a breeze!
- Shop! Which is very simply taking your list, clipped coupons, and go conquer the sales one store at a time. I have a mini-binder I keep in my purse at all times. The binder has several dividers inside that I use to keep each store’s clipped set of coupons. This makes it efficient at the check-out because I can simply pull out the coupons for that store and hand them over organized.
And, as I stated above, meal planning takes preparation. When you plan your meals, you have an idea of what you have to work with and what you need to purchase to prepare each meal. Ensuring those missing ingredients make your grocery list will help avoid rushing to the store to get something that was forgotten.
I hope you find the list it, clip it, and shop approach helping you save time and money.
Originally published on MommySnacks
