When I am trying to stick to my budget...whatever exactly that is LOL...one of the areas that I have to be extremely careful about is grocery shopping. I love going to the grocery store. I get that from Mom. She loved it and I tagged along with her all the time. She taught me how to shop for food, no doubt. I may not enjoy the drive to the grocery store. I may not enjoy the parking lot if it's hard to get in and out of. But once I'm in the store, I have a great time. It relaxes me. Strange, I know.
Anyway, I am so bad about impulse buying at the grocery store, especially if I go shopping without having had breakfast. I tend to do my shopping as soon as the store opens, so breakfast is the closest meal to that. I don't eat it often anyway, but shopping on an empty stomach is never a good idea. Hmmmm. Something I need to work on this year. But I digress. I am trying to change up how I grocery shop. Not the physical act of going to the store, though there is nothing wrong with ordering online as many people do right now because of the pandemic, but having a set game plan when I go in. So far, so good. I don't buy nearly as much as I use to do. And I also don't overspend like I use to as well. Win win!
Also, not bulk shopping or panic shopping means more frequent trips to the grocery store, which as I said before I do enjoy. Another win for me! So, when I go in now I have a definite list that I stick to. Or at least do my best to stick to. Before I go in, though, I do give myself a few "ok to buy this if it's there" ideas. For example, if there are some good prices on meat, I will definitely pick that up. Food Lion has some fantastic sales on meats if you can find them. Or if I decide that I want to make a salad, I'll pick all of that up. Or if there's a great sale on frozen vegetables. You get the idea. But other than that I will stick to my list. And more often than not these days, I will end up with less than 12 items and I can go through the express lane. I don't ever use the self check out but that's another story for another time.
Still, I love going to the grocery store. Coupons, sales, it's all good to me. And it helps me to plan meals out a little further, which is something I haven't been great at before but am realizing exactly how much it cuts down on waste...food and money wise. I love that one of these little tasks of adult life can bring me such pleasure. Now, I need to finish my coffee and start my next grocery list.
That is all.
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