Creating Organized Shopping Lists

Creating organized and effective grocery shopping lists are essential for saving time and money at the grocery store and are quite easy to make.

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Why

You never want to go grocery shopping without having a shopping list with you.  Having a shopping list reduces the likelihood of impulse buying, which, as mentioned in Grocery Shopping Strategies, causes us to not live by a budget and cut into our savings.  Having an organized shopping list also limits the amount of time spent in the grocery store. 

How

To create an effective grocery shopping list, first determine the time period for which you are shopping, whether it is for a week, or a month, or some other time span.    Next think about the meals you will be making over that time period.  By reviewing your meal plan, you can determine what items you can buy in bulk.  Buying in bulk is an easy way increase savings while grocery shopping!  For example, if you know you will have vegetables 6 times, then it is more cost effective and a better value to buy a large bag of frozen vegetables then buying small individual servings.    

Once you have thought about the groceries you need to buy and in what areas where you can buy in bulk, the next step is to organize your list into categories.  A very easy way to create your list is to fold a piece of notebook paper into four or more columns.  Each column represents a shopping category.    An example list would have Meats, Produce, Vegetables and Carbs such as rice and pasta.  Also have a list for what I call “support items”.  This is the lists of non food items such as toiletries and cleaning supplies.    

As you categorize your list, you will find that the categories are in similar locations in the grocery store.  This will help you plan your grocery shopping route to easily get in and out of the store.  By following suggestions in Grocery Shopping Strategies, I complete my shopping for an entire month in less then 30-45 minutes. 

Finally, the next step is to review your shopping list and see where the savings are!  Review the items you can buy in bulk and then see what stores offer the best savings for each category. 

With a few minutes and an easily created plan, a shopping list is an essential tool to save money and time at the grocery store. 

Have any other ideas or suggestions about creating shopping lists?  We would love to hear them! 

Until then…

Happy Shopping!