Nov 24 2008
Keep a close eye on your grocery shopping
My most recent grocery shopping foray was done on a specific budget. I had to keep my spending under a certain amount because that was all I had to spend - no room for fudging.
I made my list and marked items according to which store they were cheapest.
In my area, my three favorite grocery stores are located within about one mile of each other in an almost-triangular pattern. The largest store is the farthest from my home and I usually start there then hit the other two on the way back toward home.
I went into the first store and start selecting from my list. I forgot to bring my calculator and since I knew there was no budge in the budget, I kept track in my head of every item we put into the cart.
When we got to the checkout counter my husband asked me how much I had come up with. I told him that according to my estimates, our grocery bill for everything at this store should come up to $117.
When it finished ringing up it was $117.20! I was gloating!
On to the next store - where I noticed that canned tomato sauce had went up to 49 cents per 15 ounce can from 39 cents a month ago.
I finally went to the last store and knew that I had only $20 left to spend on groceries and when the total was rang up there it was $19.96.
And the moral of the story is: Make a list, check it twice; decide on a spending budget ahead of time; keep track of every item that goes into your cart (either with a calculator or in your head); use cash if possible - it helps keep you from exceeding your budget; keep a close eye on prices at the various stores you shop so you know where the best buy is located.
