Do you make a shopping list of every time you go to the grocery store?
Is it a detailed list of everything you need to purchase on your trip? Or do you write down the most important things so you won’t forget them?
How To Dominate Your Grocery Shopping Trip
While most people make some sort of list for their grocery trips, most people tend to divert from the list and pick up extra items, or they forget the list in the car. In today’s age, where there is quite literally an app for everything, keeping up with your shopping list is easier than ever.
But there are some steps and a bit of planning involved on your part to make sure that you have a quick and easy shopping experience.
Check Your Kitchen
The first and most important step is figuring out what you need from the grocery store. Go through your fridge and pantry every week and see what you already have on hand. This is also a great time to get rid of any food items that are past their expiration date. If you follow a meal plan every week, make sure you choose your meals before you check your items.
Knowing what you have in your fridge and pantry can help you keep staple items in stock at all times, which means you won’t be running to the store multiple times a week for bread and condiments. Once you have your list of the items currently in your pantry, you are ready to begin expanding the list for your upcoming shopping trip.
This is where things can get a little tricky for some people. Do you write it all down, or do you shop on the fly and hope you’ve got everything?
Go Digital
This is where technology can be your friend. There are several different options for you to choose from when it comes to creating your shopping list. By doing a simple internet search, you will pull up hundreds of websites that give you pre-made lists for shopping or send you to different apps to try.
The most important thing to remember is that you need to have a list or app that you can customize to your needs and not the needs of the person who created the list. For those of you who shop at smaller grocery chains, check their website for helpful apps. Some may have their own shopping list that you can create and then send to your smartphone.
This allows you to go on their website and not only see what’s on sale that week but also choose to make your shopping list right there. By sending it to your phone, you won’t have to worry about leaving your paper list in the car, because you will more than likely have your phone on you.
Mobile Apps
Most companies want to help you and make sure you have an easy shopping trip. Places like Walmart offer a mobile app where you can key in your receipt number and save money on certain items purchased.
They also have a space on the app that will let you choose your items for a virtual shopping list, giving you the option of name brand or Walmart brand, and showing you the current price of each item. This is a great help to those who shop on a budget and need to know about how much their groceries will cost them.
You can check with your local grocery stores to see if they offer a mobile app, as well. Some stores may offer an app that has coupons on it. With these, you are able to match coupons to your already loaded shopping list, saving you extra time if you coupon clip before you shop. Using your store’s app can also get you higher discounts for next time.
Printable Shopping Lists
If a paper shopping list is more your style, don’t worry. There are plenty of websites for that, as well. While shopping list apps have only been around for a little while, websites for printable shopping lists have been around for a good length of time. Don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed if you can’t find the right one for you immediately.
You want your shopping list to work for you, so don’t settle for the first one your search engine pulls up. There are literally thousands of templates for shopping lists out there.
Before you do any internet search, make sure that you know what you want from your list. Do you want your list to be super organized and list each individual product along with what aisle it can be found on? Do you want something that is less organized for smaller shopping trips? Making sure you know what you want your list to do for you is very important.
You will probably shop differently from the person that created the initial template that you are considering using. They may purchase meat, but you may be vegan. So you want to make sure that the template you use is completely customizable and you can tailor it to your needs. By searching for customizable templates you can also choose how detailed you want your list to be.
You can save it for big trips where you are stocking up on everything in your kitchen or save it for smaller trips when all you need is milk and bread.
Double Team
Even if you are not a super organized person, you may find that using a detailed shopping list can actually help you to have an easier shopping experience. Try finding a template for your bigger trips that has every section of the grocery store separated out on the page. This could also help you in determining what you actually need from the store. This works well when combined with a shopping list app to help you double check yourself and your list.
Try using a printable template and customizing it to your needs. Once you have done this, move on to choosing the items that you will purchase on your shopping trip, making sure to put each one in the correct category. Once you have completed your list, move the items into a shopping list app to use once you are at the store. Now you have a paper list and an app for your trip, so if you forget your list at home, it’s right there on your phone for easy use.
No matter what you choose, an app or a printable template, make sure you know what you want from your shopping list. If you don’t know what you want from your list, nothing out there can help you to make your shopping trip easier. Go online and do some research before making your decision. Most apps will have customer reviews on them, so see what other people are saying about how helpful it is. Do the same with printable templates.
Check out how many people downloaded it and see if there are any comments under the article from people who have used it. Ultimately the choice is yours on whether you choose app or template, but the most important thing is to make sure that whatever you choose helps to make sure you have an enjoyable shopping experience.
