Time spent planning your shopping pays off at checkout!
I strive to do a better job of planning my shopping trips to keep my spending in line with our finances. I share my planning process with you to illustrate that planning pays off in the end and it can be simple. The reality is that these steps may not always go in order and sometimes I skip a step or two. However I am in the SAVINGS zone when I do them all in pretty much in this order.
- Glance at my calendar and determine how many meals will be consumed at home together as a family, at home but not all together or out. When we are all together I cook real recipes and when we are not I usually throw together frozen stuff.
- Take a visual tour of what is in the refrigerator and pantry. This helps me to remember things I bought but never used thus preventing a pregnant pantry and chemistry experiments in the produce drawer!
- Grab coupons from website and Sunday newspaper, select and cut coupons, then store in my Couponizer and then look over store deals online.
- Build a shopping list or add to one I already started and match coupons to the list and/or look at coupons first and then start my list.
- Finally, shop from my Couponizer and shopping list and maybe add 1-2 impulse purchases for fun.
- Review receipt as I walk to my car. Now I know where I stand. If I feel out of control, I write down my total until I get back on track.
Then the whole process starts over next week. The goal being that my receipt total is on or close to my spending target. Over time if you add up your savings, you will be amazed and motivated to keep up a planning process to ensure future success.
NEED HELP?
Creating a spending target? Click Here
A new Calendar?Click here
Organizing solutions for your pantry?Click Here
Coupons?Click Here
Want to see store deals?Click Here
A system for keeping it all together?Click Here
See savings success?Click Here
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The Couponizer Cook
