Ever feel like you're writing the same shopping list over and over? Well, you probably are. A lot of us are creatures of habit, and very busy, and so end up buying the same things every time we shop. Why not save time by making yourself a Master Grocery List?
First, you have to decide how often you want to go shopping. Some people shop every week. I used to do this, but my life has become so busy that I don't have time to do a proper grocery shop every week. Also, I have found that the more often I'm at the shops, the more money I end up spending on incidentals - coffee, lunch, something small from K-mart, or if I have children with me they inevitably want me to buy them something. So to save money, I decided to go less often.
Some shop once a month. I think this is a great idea, but I don't have the space to store that much food, or the patience to save up enough money.
So now I shop fortnightly, usually on pay-day. Now, I'm aware that many sites recommend not shopping on pay-day because it's usually very busy. They recommend shopping early in the week when shelves have been freshly replenished and the shops are quieter. But that doesn't work for me, so pay-day it is.
Once you have decided how often you want to shop, and therefore have in mind the quantities necessary - for example, since I shop fortnightly, some quantities need to be doubled.
The master grocery list contains all the items that you might want to buy, but you won't be buying every item every time. Some products last longer than others and don't need to be replenished as often.
What you put on your list depends on your budget, and the types of foods you like to eat or whether you follow a particular diet. I am on a tight budget, but I follow a diet set by my Chinese Doctor, so a few items on my list are a little more expensive.
How to set it out? I like to set it out according to the order in which I visit stores. So, for example, I first buy my meat from a local butcher (Mega Meats) and my fruit and veg from its associated green grocer next door, Mega Fresh. I find that they are a lot cheaper and fresher than what you find in the supermarkets. I go to their facebook/web pages to find out their specials before I go shopping, so I can decide which of the items on my list I'm actually going to buy.
Next is my Aldi list. I set this out according to the order that items are arranged in my local store. Not all Aldi stores are set out the same, I have occasionally visited other Aldis and found them arranged differently. Listing items in the order that you find them in the store helps you to not miss anything, so you save time not having to backtrack to find an item.
There are some items that I don't purchase from Aldi. For example, my youngest still wears nappies to bed and she can only wear Huggies because she has sensitive skin. Aldi doesn't sell Huggies. Also my second-youngest still wears sleep pants because she still wets at night. She doesn't like the ones Aldi sells, so I have to buy either Huggies Dri-Nites or Babylove Sleepy Nights (whichever is on special) from elsewhere. Aldi doesn't sell the coffee pods that go with our machine, so I can't buy them there.
So, below the Aldi list I have a Coles list. Out of Coles and Woolworths, I prefer to shop at Coles. I'm spoilt for choice at my local shopping centre! However, if certain items that I normally buy at Aldi are on special at Coles or Woolies and are cheaper than Aldi, then I'll purchase those items at the cheaper place. I'll talk more about this in a future post, but in order to know whether or not the special makes the item cheaper than Aldi, you have to know the Aldi price. To do this, I begun to track the prices at Aldi and put these prices on my Aldi list. If you look at my list below, you'll see that I haven't got all the prices listed, because I've only recently started to do this.
You can print out your list and attach it to the fridge. Keep a highlighter on top of the fridge and highlight items as you run out of them, if you see that there is not enough left to last until the next shopping day. Print out a few at a time and keep them somewhere handy in the kitchen to save you having to print one every time. Other option is to laminate it and wash off the highlighter after shopping. Whatever works for you.
Or if you prefer to keep things digital, you can save the list to Google drive and highlight the items on there, and then take your device to the shops with you. I prefer this option.
So, here is my Fortnightly Master Grocery List:
Next week I'll share how I save money by finding out the specials before I go shopping.
First, you have to decide how often you want to go shopping. Some people shop every week. I used to do this, but my life has become so busy that I don't have time to do a proper grocery shop every week. Also, I have found that the more often I'm at the shops, the more money I end up spending on incidentals - coffee, lunch, something small from K-mart, or if I have children with me they inevitably want me to buy them something. So to save money, I decided to go less often.
Some shop once a month. I think this is a great idea, but I don't have the space to store that much food, or the patience to save up enough money.
So now I shop fortnightly, usually on pay-day. Now, I'm aware that many sites recommend not shopping on pay-day because it's usually very busy. They recommend shopping early in the week when shelves have been freshly replenished and the shops are quieter. But that doesn't work for me, so pay-day it is.
Once you have decided how often you want to shop, and therefore have in mind the quantities necessary - for example, since I shop fortnightly, some quantities need to be doubled.
The master grocery list contains all the items that you might want to buy, but you won't be buying every item every time. Some products last longer than others and don't need to be replenished as often.
What you put on your list depends on your budget, and the types of foods you like to eat or whether you follow a particular diet. I am on a tight budget, but I follow a diet set by my Chinese Doctor, so a few items on my list are a little more expensive.
How to set it out? I like to set it out according to the order in which I visit stores. So, for example, I first buy my meat from a local butcher (Mega Meats) and my fruit and veg from its associated green grocer next door, Mega Fresh. I find that they are a lot cheaper and fresher than what you find in the supermarkets. I go to their facebook/web pages to find out their specials before I go shopping, so I can decide which of the items on my list I'm actually going to buy.
Next is my Aldi list. I set this out according to the order that items are arranged in my local store. Not all Aldi stores are set out the same, I have occasionally visited other Aldis and found them arranged differently. Listing items in the order that you find them in the store helps you to not miss anything, so you save time not having to backtrack to find an item.
There are some items that I don't purchase from Aldi. For example, my youngest still wears nappies to bed and she can only wear Huggies because she has sensitive skin. Aldi doesn't sell Huggies. Also my second-youngest still wears sleep pants because she still wets at night. She doesn't like the ones Aldi sells, so I have to buy either Huggies Dri-Nites or Babylove Sleepy Nights (whichever is on special) from elsewhere. Aldi doesn't sell the coffee pods that go with our machine, so I can't buy them there.
So, below the Aldi list I have a Coles list. Out of Coles and Woolworths, I prefer to shop at Coles. I'm spoilt for choice at my local shopping centre! However, if certain items that I normally buy at Aldi are on special at Coles or Woolies and are cheaper than Aldi, then I'll purchase those items at the cheaper place. I'll talk more about this in a future post, but in order to know whether or not the special makes the item cheaper than Aldi, you have to know the Aldi price. To do this, I begun to track the prices at Aldi and put these prices on my Aldi list. If you look at my list below, you'll see that I haven't got all the prices listed, because I've only recently started to do this.
You can print out your list and attach it to the fridge. Keep a highlighter on top of the fridge and highlight items as you run out of them, if you see that there is not enough left to last until the next shopping day. Print out a few at a time and keep them somewhere handy in the kitchen to save you having to print one every time. Other option is to laminate it and wash off the highlighter after shopping. Whatever works for you.
Or if you prefer to keep things digital, you can save the list to Google drive and highlight the items on there, and then take your device to the shops with you. I prefer this option.
So, here is my Fortnightly Master Grocery List:
Next week I'll share how I save money by finding out the specials before I go shopping.
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