How I Grocery Shop

In order to save BIG on our groceries, shopping takes a lot of planning. Here is how it’s done =)..

Step 1: What’s on sale?
Most of our family favorite recipes include ground beef or chicken. The first thing I do is glance over the produce deals. If ground beef is on sale I will plan my menu with ground beef recipes.

Step 2: Menu Plan
Next I plan out what we will eat for the next week (or two weeks) for supper . Here is a sample of what I might make using ground beef:
Monday: Sweedish meatballs & noodles served with bread.
Tuesday: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and peas.
Wednesday: Spaghetti & meatballs served with bread.
Thursday: Sweet & sour meatballs with rice.
Friday: Noodle casserole served with bread (vegetarian)
Saturday: Taco’s
Sunday: Taco macaroni served with bread.

Lunches are pretty casual, we usually have leftovers from supper, sandwiches, pizza toast or salads. I do up a mini menu plan for lunch just to make sure I have enough groceries. Breakfast is unplanned menu wise as we usually eat one of two things – eggs or cereal.

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Step 3a: Making a Grocery List
I have a print out of my grocery list template for couponers . I keep it in a page protector in my coupon binder and write out my lists with an erasable marker. I write down all the ingredients needed to make the items on my menu plan.

Step 4: Saving Big
Now is where I dig deep into the flyers. I do step a & b for each item that I want:

4a: Which store has the best price for the item I am buying? I have Tomato soup on my list so I look through the flyers to find out which store is offering the best price. I do this for as many items as I want. Any flyers I am going to use, I set aside.
4b: Do I have a coupon? Next I ask myself if I have a coupon as well. If I do, I take the coupon out of my binder and set it aside.

Meanwhile, I record all of these things down on my grocery list .

There are columns included in the grocery list template to record the price before and after. It’s fun to go home at the end of your trip and see how you did =). Sometimes before I head out the door I know exactly what I will save on items because the flyer says “$1.67 save $1.50!” and so I do the math and deduct any coupons I have as well.

Step 5: Make Labels & Bring Scotch Tape
We do two week grocery trips so it can get pretty messy in the cart. It can be very hectic when it comes time to check out your items. I find myself scrambling as I put items on the conveyer.. “Tomato soup..okay, where was this price matched from??” So I go back and glance again at my list, meanwhile the lady behind me is getting impatient so I rush and then miss items. This is not what I want. Make labels that have the store names on them where you are price matching. Take some scotch tape with you and while you are going through the store, if you have a price matched item in your cart, stick your label on there. Also use the scotch tape to stick coupons to the corresponding item.

Step 6: Pack Up and Go
My coupon binder holds all I need for a grocery trip. In one of the pockets I put all of the flyers I am using. In another pocket I put my labels. The coupons that I had set aside I put in the front zipper pouch. I keep them there for organization purposes so I am not scurrying at the till to find them. My other coupons are along for the trip as well as they reside in my binder. If while shopping I find a good deal I didn’t catch at home, I can still get it =).

Step 7: Start at Produce
I open my binder and read the items I need in produce. I gather them one by one and cross them off my list. I then work my way forward aisle by aisle so that I am in the last aisle at the end of my grocery trip. It ensures I don’t miss anything and it saves time instead of running around the store several times. During the time I am picking up items I am sticking any applicable labels and coupons (see step 5) and also recording how much they retail for originally. When you pricematch something the original price is overridden so you cannot depend on the receipt to tell you how much it cost before. I do not calculate the savings ($ After) at this time, I do it later at home.

Step 8: Lineup
The lineup is probably the most hectic part of my trip but being organized really helps. Start by placing all of the items on the conveyer that are have no labels/coupons on them. Now that you can see clearly, place all of the items labeled “Metro” on the conveyer and place the flyer on top of the items. Next do the same for all of the items labelled “Superstore” and so on..