How to create a grocery list!

Do you create a grocery list when doing your weekly/bi-weekly/monthly shopping?  Do you look at an ad to see what the sales are for the week?  If not, you definitely should!  Once you start to read the ads weekly you will start to see trends on what items are on sale, what are good sale prices, and what you should stock up on. 

How to create a grocery list!

To create your weekly grocery list (depending on how many stores you shop at, create one per store).  Start with one store at a time.   Making lists for multiple stores can become confusing quickly and you may miss out on a deal when dividing your attention between multiple stores. 

1.        Review your coupons (that way when you see which products are on sale, you can recall what coupons you have).

2.       Create one list per store.  If you see an item that you will use, it is on sale, and you have a coupon for it; write it down. 

Example:             Ragu      2/$3 © 2

So, with that you can see what you need to get, the price of the item, a circled C for there is a coupon, and the quantity.

If there is a Mega Sale (as they happen often around here; you need to  buy any 10 of the participating items to get $5 off) I put a star next to the item so I know that when I count up how many items I have they need to equal 10.  So, let’s pretend that Ragu is one of the 10 participating items.

Example:             * Ragu $1.50 ©   5

                                * Rice Snacks .89 © 4

                                * Mac & Cheese .59 © 1

There is a limit of how many groups of 10 participating items you can purchase in a transaction, although, my stores do not know how many that is.  I would recommend not doing any more than 40 of the Mega sale items in a transaction.  If you have more than 40, just create a separate transaction.

3.       Pull out your coupons as you are creating your list.  You may want to have a pencil case to store your coupons or a paperclip to keep them together to clip to your list once it is finalized.

4.       Once you are done creating your list for your first store, move on to the second store and create a second list.  If there is an item from the first store that is cheaper than the second store, simply move it from the first list to the second. 

5.       Stick to your list.  With the exception of items on sale not listed in the ad, stick to your shopping list.  Stores will advertise specific products on sale to get you in the store and then you may walk out with a substantial amount more than planned due to in-store advertising.  Unless it is something that you absolutely need, it is on sale, or you have a coupon for it, go ahead and get it.  If not, leave it behind.  It takes great will to stick with your list and not add any ‘extras’.

6.       Before checking out make sure you do a quick check on your coupons, make sure you have a coupon for the items you are purchasing and you are not forgetting any, especially for those items you picked up that are on sale and not on your list!

7.       If possible, leave your kids at home.  Having additional ‘distractions’ allows room for missed sales, more items purchased that were not on your list, or coupons not being used.  Chaos always tends to break out at the checkout, especially, if coupons are being difficult.

Some additional tips in saving money:

·          When your store is having a large sale, know when their trucks come in.  I have learned at my local grocery store that I shop at (Marsh) I need to go the first night of a large sale (Thursday evenings) or on Monday evenings due to those that shop only on the weekends.  Usually if I try to go on a Saturday, they are often out of many of the items that are on my list.  So, if I go either of those two nights I have a better chance in being able to purchase everything I need on my list.

·         Know what your local stores coupons policies are.  This can tend to be quite a challenge as most stores do not know their own coupon policy and it may even differ between stores within the same chain.  I have stopped shopping at one of my local stores due to their coupon policy being different each time I go in to shop and it varies with cashier. 

o   Some of our coupon policies are:

§  You can use a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on the same item.

·         Other than this rule, you can only use one coupon per item.

§  Only the first two coupons double, each additional like coupon of the same product will be redeemed at face value.

§  One of our stores actually has a limit to how many coupons you can use whether they double or not.

·         When you are having your coupons scanned watch the screen.  Make sure the coupon does come off.  Sometimes cashiers need to override specific coupons even though you have purchased the correct product, size, quantity, etc.

·         With that being said, when using coupons make sure you are purchasing the correct product,   size, quantity, etc. 

·         Only buy, stock up on what you need and will use.  There is no point in spending money or getting products that will sit on a shelf. 

Once you get a system down, get a coupon collection started; couponing is definitely easier, faster, more efficient, and you will definitely see the savings!

If you have any questions or would like help in creating a shopping list please feel free to let me know!

Happy shopping & happy savings!

Hugs!