Whether it's jotted on a napkin, neatly typed or written on an attractive, categorized printable list found online, a grocery list can be the key to shopping smart and saving money.
Following is a list of 10 ways consumers can save money (and often time) with the help of grocery lists.
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1. Make a list before leaving for a shopping trip. Obviously, this will help you remember the things you need to buy. But it can also be useful in ensuring you don't buy things you're not planning to purchase. If you make a list before you leave home, you'll have a clear guide to get you in and out of the store with just the items you need.
2. Take some time to make your shopping list. If you rush the list-making process, you might overlook items you need to purchase, or buy a food product you already have at home, which could lead to storage or spoilable problems. Glance in your pantry and refrigerator as you make your list, or keep a detailed "master list" or "pantry list" in your kitchen so you can check off staple foods and other items as you run out of them.
3. Menu planning, in conjunction with a grocery list, is a great way to save money and also limit return trips to the store for forgotten times. By planning out a week's worth of meals in advance, you'll see how you can make ingredients pull double-duty and stretch leftovers. Some printable lists include room for menu planning, and printable menu planners are also available online.
4. At the store, purchase only items that are on your list. If you "stick to the list," you won't bust your budget (Or, for that matter, your diet.) Of course, you could leave yourself some flexibility and include items such as "crunchy snacks" or "family dessert," and then choose your favorite at the market.
5. You could decide to use a shopping list that's separated by aisle or category. An organized list help you "shop the perimeter," which means healthier foods, fewer packaged foods and less impulse-buying. If you have a list that's organized by category, you won't even go down the aisle (i.e. chips, soda), in which you know you don't "need" anything. Consider a printable list you can customize in a word processing program, because then you can type over the aisles or categories so they match the layout of your supermarket, which is very efficient -- saving time and money.
6. Planning ahead by making a good list saves time, and time is money! With an organized list, you won't be roaming willy-nilly all over the grocery store because you'll know exactly what you need and where to find it so you can get in and out before you get hungry or distracted.
7. If you have children who tend to ask for their favorite foods at the grocery store, decide ahead of time how you will handle this. Some parents find it helpful to "blame the list." If a child asks for something, the parent can ask, "Is it on the list?" If not, the answer is, "Not this time!"
8. Use lists to avoid wasting money on unplanned meals out. A good grocery list, combined with menu-planning, is at strategy that will save you money by making it less likely that you'll decide to grab takeout or go to a restaurant because there's "nothing in the house to eat."
9. Keep coupons where you keep your list. If you have a list, it reminds you what coupons you've clipped so you don't forget to use them and miss out on saving money.
Try making your shopping list based on the weekly ads. Match the items on your ad-based list with coupons you have, and vice-versa, so you know to use coupons when items are on sale, thus maximizing the savings.
10. Print out a master grocery list. With one large list that includes dozens of food items, you can simply check off what you need, and the list will also jog your memory on commonly used but often-forgotten items. A master list is great for big shopping trips. Larger, infrequent trips save gas, and also save money if you're at a warehouse store, discount supermarket or using coupons.
Copyright 2009 by Kevin Savetz
Printable Grocery Lists Save Money - 10 Strategies For Savvy Shopping PRINTABLE COUPONS
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