- Don't take your kids grocery shopping with you. My older children don't like to go anyway, so that's no problem. But Hazel loves it. However, I hear a lot of "I want" and "can we get?" Although I must say, that Hazel is good at making choices if I say you may choose this or that and if she sees something else she wants and I tell her she must but this back if she wants the something else, she chooses just one, and even reminds me if I accidentally let her get more than the one item. (it's usually a treat: ice cream, smoothie, cookie, etc.)
- Go shopping later in the evening at a store that actually has a closing time (not open 24 hours). When I walk into Super Target at 9:35 pm (I go then because finally the kids are in bed, and I know the store will not be crowded; I really dislike crowded stores) and the nice lady comes on the intercom every 5 minutes to let me know that the store is closing at 10:00 pm, I know that a) I have to hurry to be able to get everything I need and b) I will be leaving the store at 10 pm. Sometimes I end up wandering the store for way too long and waste a lot of time when I am at a store that is always open.
- Don't go shopping when you're hungry, stressed, depressed, rushed, or bored. First of all, I always end up buying all the junk that I don't need and shouldn't buy. When I do my big shopping, I am usually good about not buying lots of junk food or fun food/stuff because I've just eaten. My problem is later going to the store just to satisfy a craving for Newman-O's ( seriously really good and way better than Oreos), or when I am stressed. I end up with 3 bags of Junk, instead of just the cookies, my wallet is lighter and I am heavier. Not good. So this rule helps you save money and lose weight (theoretically - I'm still working on this).
- Use reusable shopping bags. I love bags anyway. And shopping bags is another way to feed this small obsession. The great thing about my green bags, besides all the "green" reasons for using them, is that I can put a whole cart's worth of food into 4 bags, instead of the 20 plastic bags. And they don't roll around in the back of my car. It only takes me 1 or 2 trips to carry everything back into the house rather than either cutting off the circulation in my arms from trying to carry 18 bags at once, or making 10 trips from the car to the kitchen to get all the food into the house.
- Carry cash - leave the plastic at home. When I only have cash to pay for my food, I am a lot more careful about my shopping choices. Helps to keep on budget, and minimizes the junk that finds it's way into my cart.
What have you learned about grocery shopping?
