When it comes to getting things done, most productivity experts and motivational speakers will offer one foundational piece of advice: Begin with the end in mind.

No matter what you’re doing–whether it’s collating papers on your desk or planning a road trip, if you’re serious about getting the job done, you’re going to have to begin with the end in mind.  Grocery shopping isn’t any different.  In order to figure out where to begin, you need some idea of what you’re trying to accomplish.

The Goal is to Eat

To put it simply, the goal of grocery shopping isn’t to fill the pantry with food.  The goal is to eat.

We can qualify that goal a little by saying we want to eat cheaply or eat healthy food, but the ultimate goal is to eat.

Alright, so we know what our goal is in grocery shopping. We want to eat. Now we just have to figure out what we’re going to dish up.

What to Eat?

The next thing we want to do is make a list of the recipes we want to eat.  Decide what you want to serve, and make a list of the ingredients you’ll need to pick up in order to cook those things.  This is going to be your grocery list.

Be sure to check your pantry to see if you already have any of the required ingredients.  Doing so can save you a few dollars along the way.

Stick to the List

Once you get to the grocery store, stick to the list you just made.  Don’t fall for the temptation to pick up that box of brownies crying out to you from the shelf.  Doing stuff like that will nickel-and-dime you into busting your grocery budget.  We want to eat, but we also want to eat on a shoestring budget, so exercise a little discipline, and stick to the list.  It will pay off in the long run.

Actually Cook the Things You Said You Would

Grocery shopping is useless if you don’t cook the food you said you would.  Instead of hitting the drive-thru window because it’s “easier,” bite the bullet and cook a delicious meal right there at home using the ingredients you bought at the grocery store.  It’s worth it.

Some Closing Thoughts

1. Make a budget. A lot of people think of “budget” as a dirty word or an impairment.  Don’t be one of them.  Budgets help liberate you from financial irresponsibility.  There’s nothing in the rule book that says you can’t budget some money for having fun. Write enough cushion into your budget to let you pick up the occasional chocolate cake, if you want to. Bottom line: If you want to save money cooking at home, you need a sensible budget.
2. Don’t Be Stupid About Sales. Only buy items on sale if they’re things you would normally buy anyway and can afford.  Some sales are designed to get you to impulsive buy things you don’t need.  Others are the result of the store trying to clear out some inventory–those are the good ones.  Try to figure out which is which.  If you need to, check the sale papers ahead of time to figure out which stores are running the best sales on the food you buy, and go there first.
3. Look for the off-brand. Volumes of research have been done on people’s shopping habits–covering everything from what colors signify to shoppers to where a person’s eyes naturally go when walking down a grocery aisle.  Stores know this, and they use it to naturally draw your attention to name brand items.  Use your eyes. Look above or below the name brand item, because that’s where you’re almost sure to find a cheaper, off-brand version of the same item.
4. Shop the edges of the store. Refrigerated goods, fresh produce, and other staples are usually located along the edges of the store.  Skirt around the aisles, if you can, shopping along the edges in order to avoiding the temptation to pick up any extras that do not appear on your grocery list.  Stores typically put things like milk in the very back of the store in order to force you to walk past shelves full of food they want you to buy.  Don’t fall for it!  Skirt the edges, buy fresher food–if it’s in your budget–and save some money.

Have some grocery shopping tips you’d like to share?  Leave a comment below!  We’d love to hear from you.

Filed under: Saving Money

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