How I Approach Grocery Shopping

Hi, my name is Sarah Barry and I love to grocery shop.

Sure, sometimes it's a pain, but overall I really enjoy this necessary household task. Here's how I approach the process.....

And by no means am I an expert. By no means. I'm just sharing for the sake of sharing.



Typically, I like to buy enough groceries to last us for two whole weeks! Before I had {two} kids I could have never imagined going grocery shopping that infrequently. The thought of planning two weeks out reeeeaallllyy overwhelmed me. But once I did it a few times, I was hooked. I like being stocked up because I never know what will inhibit me from running to the store --- sleepless nights, moodiness, no room in my grocery cart b/c my kids are in it, etc.

I start by making a list and I write down a meal for each night FOR TWO WEEKS. For some nights, I write down -- LEFTOVERS -- because I usually plan on making enough food to have lots of leftovers. Once I have written out the meal plan, I make my grocery list. I write it all on the same sheet of paper {the meal plan and the list}. Occasionally, I get stuck and think there is no way I can think about meals two weeks out. And then I tell myself to just push through. My goal is to get something on that paper because hey, we have to eat. I've found that if the food is in the house it will get eaten.

 My mantra is THINK, PLAN {SHOP}, COOK.



I must note that the meal plan is not rigid whatsoever. It more or less serves to simply GET FOOD IN THE HOUSE that is conducive to meal making.

During the planning process I check up on sales {at Southern Savers dot com} and I try to plan my menus around them. I don't coupon. I tried once. It's not for me. Personally, I feel that couponing is boring and tedious work. And I choose not to do it. Occasionally Publix sends me good coupons and I try to use them. But you will never catch me in the check out with a file folder, buying 10 Glade scented candles for 50 cents a piece.

I mostly shop at Publix, one of the more expensive grocery stores in my area. The way I see it is I pay a little extra for the luxury of wider isles, customer service, shopping close to home, and assistance getting to the car. I have SO little time to get out of the house without children, and I do not want to spend that time in a store that irritates me. In my opinion, it's SO worth it. Can you put a price tag on sanity?! I think not.

As far as budgeting goes, I have a set amount that I budget for groceries, household goods, and toiletries. I group them together because of convenience. I know shampoo is cheaper at Wal-mart but not if it costs me $4 to drive there. I try to keep in mind that my TIME is so so so valuable and I don't want to use it driving all over town.

I've shared this before and it's worth sharing again, my cousin once said...

"If you can't get it at the Kroger {or in my case Publix}, you don't need it." - Bibba

SO TRUE.

Also in regards to budgeting, I fluff it up. As in, I assign extra money than is technically needed to the grocery-household goods-toiletry category, giving myself a little wiggle room. Most months, I have a little left over and I roll it over to the next month. This allows me to stock up on sale items and BUY ONE GET ONES.



The "fluff" also gives me the flexibility to buy and cook extra food to freeze or take a meal to a friend or have people over to cook out. For the longest I found that I was coming up short each month. In reality, I was under budgeting.

So after I've done all my thinking and planning, it's time to COOK! I don't cook every night. We eat LOTS of leftovers. Often I make double batches of food to freeze.

So that pretty much sums up the process. I'm still growing, changing, evolving, tweaking.

What are your thoughts on grocery shopping? Do you love it? Hate it?
****
Here's a few links I like about meal planning, grocery shopping, etc....

Family Finance: How to Save Money on Groceries
Creating a Food Calendar
MOVE Get Out the Way!! (funny)