Trained shopping monkeys. I went grocery shopping last night. After reading the statistics about how Americans throw away almost half of the food they purchase, either by the food going bad before they cook it or plate leftovers, I was trying to be more conscious about my grocery shopping habits. I don’t like grocery shopping, and add two griping boys to it, and I really don’t like it. I was thinking I need to be more intentional about planning meals and making more frequent, smaller runs to the store. Kroger is almost walking distance from my house, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.
When I got home, I cleaned out the pantry, fridge and freezer. I did have to throw away some bad food. It really bothered me. I bought things I could freeze and fresh stuff in smaller quantities. We’ll see how that plays out.
I also realized that Kroger has been training me on how to shop. I like Kroger, but this made me a little sad. I always look for the little yellow sale tags. I like to get a deal and I don’t really want to pay full price. I shop by price instead of brands. 
Sometimes I look to see what my savings is over the full price and last night, I got a surprise. The yellow tags are now in more places, but not with sale prices, but instead showing their everyday low price. No sale here, just a highly visible price tag that looks like a sale price. Yes, I’m a trained shopping monkey. Yellow…
Helpful shopping tips I learned last night:
- Budget. Know how much you’re willing to spend on groceries and shop within your budget. If you bring cash instead of a debit card, you will have to stay within your budget.
- Read the fine print. Look to see what your savings are. I have seen items that say “on sale” and they have knocked off 1 penny. Seriously?
- You determine the deal. If you think it’s a good deal, then buy it. If not, don’t.
- Branch out. Be willing to try new brands or generic store brands. Sometimes the product is just as good, and sometimes even made by the same company.
- Duct tape. Put duct tape on your kids so they can’t complain, fight and run around like wild banshees. Okay, I’m kidding, but it does make you just throw stuff in the cart and hurry out when you have your restless kids with you. For some of us, it’s not an option to leave them at home. If you have that option, just do it.
Okay, I have another tip. When you are comparing prices, make sure to read the fine print on the price per unit. Within the same product line, the price per unit can be in ounces, lbs and then there is that whole metric thing. If you just glance at the price per units for say, toilet paper, make sure you are comparing ounces to ounces, lbs to lbs and unit to unit.
As far as shopping with your kids – take a page from your own book, play I spy or make a game fo shopping, I know your boys, they will compete and do MATH to figure out which item is the better buy!
One tip I can share…. about shopping with kids. Before you go to the store, break your list into parts, and give the parts to yourself and the kids. Give them a time limit, and make them find the item and put it in the basket for you. ( Of course, you might have them go in pairs for safety sake ) This kept them focused, and taught them that most of the crap in the store is in the middle isles. As my kid became a driver, she also became the shopper. She knows that the outside isles are the best place to shop.