Using a Shopping List and Saving Money

Going shopping without a plan could be deadly to your financial picture. Hard to believe? Any experienced grocery shopper can tell you that with no shopping list, they will walk out of the store with much more than they really intended.

A shopping list is designed to help get the plan of your meals focused and keep within a budget. When you walk into the store with the list in hand, you are ready for action. You are prepared to fight off the temptation of impulse buying. You know what you want. A list guides you down the aisle and helps you zero in on the needed item.

What happens when you do not have a shopping list? You walk in knowing that you need food for the week. Oh, that looks good. We will take that. A few feet away that item looks good. You do not even know if the foods go together for a meal. You do not know if you have what you need or what just looks good in the displays. The marketers have you at their mercy which translates into spend, spend, spend. You cannot stand strong against good advertising when you do not know what you even went into the store for.

Before going to the store, sit down and plan out what you need for the week. Lay out the meals that you need to buy for. This also gives you the opportunity to make sure that you have the right amount of meals. You might have a function to attend and will not need a meal that night, or maybe there is a potluck that you need something special bought for that you forgot about. When you list the items that you need to buy, double check that you do not already have them. Too much money has been wasted on items that were purchased only to find that they were already there behind a bigger can hiding from you. You will be surprised how many items you can mark off you list and not need to buy which saves you money also. Do not forget to note quantities especially if you are using recipes. You do not want to buy an overabundance of an item or to buy too little and have to go back to the store later.

Once the list has been compiled, make your way to the store. If this is new to you or you are not sure that you have the willpower to be flexible, stick to your list. Be strict about it. It might take practice. Once you have the hang of using a shopping list, you can be flexible as you see a special on a product and can substitute something on your list with it. You can begin to add items that you need if you see them in the store and suddenly remember them. This should not be attempted if there is the chance that you will revert back to your old ways and just load up the cart.

Use this on any shopping trip. It does not have to be just groceries. Going to the local hardware store? Tools a weakness? Make a list and stick to it. How about the gardening center? If you give in on every pretty plant or cool gadget, make a list. Shopping lists could save you a ton of money.