Going grocery shopping has definitely changed through the years. In the last few years it has changed to where you can actually purchase prepared meals that you can take home, heat up, and eat. Wow – convenience.
Picking up a prepared meal every once in a while will most likely not break you financially. However, there is another way that you can use your grocery store that is equally as bad and one that could definitely impact your finances. Many do this and never really realize the impact to their monthly grocery money. Are you one of these people?
Do you ever go to the grocery without a buying plan? Most likely it is a quick stop on the way home from work – going grocery store can many times lead you to using the grocery store as a restaurant. Picking up something quick for dinner can prevent you from succssfully managing your alloted grocery money for the month.
Here is an example. You go to the store at the request of your spouse because you “have nothing in the pantry”. With nothing more to go on than, “get something easy and quick to fix”, you are now in a situation of trying to fulfill the request. Instead of shopping and buying things for your monthly grocery plan, you pick up two potatoes that cost $2.50 instead of the 10# bag for $4.99. Multiply that across your menu for the night and several times a month will most likely impact your grocery cash.
Without a grocery plan and the execution of that plan you can easily begin to use your local grocery store as a restaurant.
Build your grocery menu. From your menu, build your shopping list of what you actually need. When you go to the store limit your trips to 2-3 times for major grocery shopping. Supplement those trips with trips to only replace perishables.
Stick to a plan. Don’t use your grocery store as a restaurant and wind up paying more fore groceries than what you really need to.
