In my world, grocery shopping is a necessary evil. After all, the people in this house keep showing up wanting food three times a day (at least) and I have agreed to help meet that need. There’s no Mr. Belvedere to do the shopping, no Alice the Maid in our house. But if I’ve learned anything over the past 8 years, there is a right way and a wrong way to grocery shop. These common grocery store mistakes foil even the savviest of shoppers. Here’s what they are and how to avoid the sticky traps they set up.
1. You Spend Too Much Time in the Store
Mistake: This mistake might not be completely your fault. Your entire shopping experience has been architected before you ever begin pushing a cart. From where the most needed items are located to the beats per minute in the music on the intercom, the retailer began planning your trip before you even realized you were out of milk. In the end, the more time you spend in the store, the more money you spend there, too.
Best Practice: Set a timer for yourself before you begin your trip. Or if at all possible, choose to shop when you have a time specific to be somewhere else soon after.
2. You Forget to Use the Loyalty or Rewards Program
Mistake: Almost every store has one. For Target, it’s Cartwheel. For Meijer, mPerks has both coupons and rewards available. Meijer has its Kroger Plus Card. Walmart’s Savings Catcher App is used after you leave the store but pays you back all the same. The list goes on and on.
Best Practice: Check the app or online interface for the loyalty program as you’re building your grocery shopping list. Look for potential coupons and check your progress on current rewards. Open your store’s app as soon as you hit the door to the store. Scan items as you place them into the cart to check for any potential coupons you may have missed. Take note of the expiration dates of any offers.
3. You Spend Too Much Time in the Center Aisles
Mistake: It’s easy to get bogged down in the store. You wander from section to section, both seeing things you don’t need and you never knew you needed. It’s best to the shop the perimeter of your grocery store. It’s where the most affordable and nutritious foods call their home. Think – fruits, veggies, produce, and dairy.
Best Practice: You definitely can skip some aisles as you shop. Sure, you’ll find coffee and cereal in the center aisles so there may be one or two you need to travel down, but keep the blinders on and get straight to business. You’re on the clock after all.
4. You Shop Without a Plan
Mistake: Wandering to the store without a list just might be the unforgivable shopping mistake. But you need even more than that. You need a meal plan. I use this free printable meal planner to both chart out what our family is eating and build a functional grocery list.
Best Practice: While you’re building both your meal plan and list, open the fridge, freezer, cabinets, and pantry. Clean out expired items. Then, base your first meal for the week on what you could make without making a single purchase. After that, determine where you might be able to use what you already have on hand and perhaps buy only one item. For instance, you have pasta and sauce, but no source of protein to go with it. Add that item to your list. Don’t forget to think about breakfasts, snacks, and lunches, too.
5. You Get Caught Up in a Deal
Mistake: 5 for $5! Buy 10, get the 11th item free. Buy these cookies and get free milk. Sure, these offers sound great on paper. But, in action you may make purchases that you don’t really need or wouldn’t buy if there wasn’t an offer. Certainly, when you can pair them with coupons these deals might save you a few dollars. But maybe you wouldn’t be making that purchase at all?
Best Practice: Check your store’s weekly ad before you leave home. You’ll be more about your wits and able to investigate whether or not you really need the deal. In the store, the enticement of saving money can zap your willpower to stick to the list. Do your homework so you don’t overspend. It’s also good to know store policies. For instance, at Kroger Buy 1, Get 1 deals don’t ring up as one item free, one item full price. They ring up as half price. At Meijer, Buy 1, Get 1 is just that. One item will ring up for $0.00 and the other for the full price. Knowing these policies will sharpen your shopping skills.
6. You Shop Hungry
Mistake: Oh the cardinal sin of grocery shopping. You enter the store with eating on the brain. You’ll give into every whim, buy every bag of chips, and probably forget why you really came. It’s a very bad idea.
Best Practice: Eat a full meal (preferably at home) before you shop. If this isn’t an option, buy a nutritionally dense and healthy snack at the store and chow down before you shop – a banana, some raw nuts, an apple, or maybe a granola or protein bar.
7. You Put Things You Don’t Need in Your Cart
Mistake: No matter what kind of shopping ninja you are, you’re going to pick up something you don’t really need. It just happens. If you’re shopping with your kids, it might happen times three. Face the hard truth, there are items you either don’t need at all or things you can wait to purchase at a later date.
Best Practice: Follow the 3-5 Rule. Put back 3-5 items right before you check out. Don’t stick them on the end cap or drop them in the aisle. Simply tell the cashier you don’t need the items after all and hand them back with a polite smile. You’ll save $5-10 without any coupon clipping.
Listen, I still make grocery shopping mistakes on a regular basis. We can all improve and do better. Follow these simple practices and you’ll notice you’re using the foods you buy and you’re saving money at the same time!
I’d love to hear your most frequent grocery store mistakes in the comments. Maybe I can work on a strategy to help you work around them.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
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