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matt1215

Do you make a list to go grocery shopping?

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Having reached almost zero-food in the apartment, I hit the commissary after work. It occurred to me today that I really don't plan when I go to buy food, let alone what I'm going to buy. I just go when I'm hungry, pick up what looks tasty, and slide my credit card for whatever it costs. Today I spent about $85 (high side of average), and that food should last me about 2 weeks.

Do you hit the supermarket prepared?

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Just wrote my list out..it helps me avoid impulse buying (you know, those end cap displays) as well as makes sure I get all I need to make the dish. It's a bummer when I have to make a dish that is missing a key ingredient.





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I just go and buy stuff. I don't care how much it is at the end... I just suck it up and pay for it.

I have in the past made a list out, but I don't follow it... Why bother?

"I had a dude tip his black cowboy hat to me after I provided him with a condom outside my hotel room at 3-something in the morning." -myself

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I make a list of exactly what meal we are going to have every night for the week, complete with the side dishes so we have balanced, nutritional meals. I check recipes to make sure I get everything.

Next, I check the cabinets to see what we might be running low on because I don't like to run out of anything and have to make special trips to the store and I write those items down.

I list everything in order the same way they occur in the grocery store so I can get through the store quickly.

Before going to the store, I cut coupons and check the sale flyers for specials and buy one get one free offers.

Everything is stored on certain shelves in the pantry in an orderly manner. Don't even try to put a canned item where the snack foods go.

Yes, I am serious about all of this, just ask Normiss. :P
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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Dammm will you be the mother of my children?



No way in hell, but thank-you for inquiring. ;)
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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Yup, but Im a bit anal with it , I make my list by aisle for the stores I use, buy things according to coupons and whats on sale that week at each perticular store. Recently I have been feeding 4 on about 130 every two weeks and that includes making school lunches, Nathans lunch and snacks.

Thats down 40 bucks a month which adds up pretty fast. Granted most our meals besides sunday are rather plain and most the junk food is made as well besides the key lime cookies and chocolate I have hidden in my nightstand.
Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

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Everything is stored on certain shelves in the pantry in an orderly manner. Don't even try to put a canned item where the snack f



Guilty of this as well. Although my systems by food group, then type then size:|

Also I bag my groceries myself because I will flip if chemicals are bagged with food :|
Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

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I make a list just because if I didn't, I'd forget what it was I needed, get home, and have to go back to the store. I don't want to be in the store any longer than absolutely necessary.
Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

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Wow, some of you people are really organized. Mama, LMW, you remind me of my sister. She got all my getting-organized skills, including alphabetizing her spices and organizing her sheets and towels by size and color :S:D.

If I didn't do any impulse buying, I wouldn't have any food, and would only buy a couple days worth if I didn't shop hungry.

One of my purchases was about a dozen cans of Dinty-Moore Beef Stew and Chicken with Dumplings. I'm eating a can of C&D for dinner tonight, with some saltine crackers :)

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Here's my normal list:

1. Check out the scenery

2. Grab whatever looks good to eat.

3. Alcohol

4. Get cash back @ check out.

Keep it simple ;)



I'm with you, except I don't always get cash back. These other people are freaking me out. :S:D I couldn't possibly plan out meals like skymama, cuz I don't know what I'm going to be hungry for in 2 hours, much less in 2 days. :S I hit the store every single night on my way home from work. Dinner, a bottle of wine, and whatever I'm running low on is usually $20-$40. If I'm going to be in the field or lab in the next couple days, add $13ish for a packable lunch and some drinks. The only time I ever write a list is if I'm cooking a complex meal, especially if it includes recipes I haven't made before.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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I make a list if I am cooking anything special...

Otherwise I tend to get the same stuff each week.

I don't need a list to remember I need ground beef, lunch meat, chiabata bread, etc.

Then I add all the buy one get one, or 1/2 off impulse buys. I try to only buy chips and snacks when they are on sale.

75+ each week. :S
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

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shut up!

you even have me doing this now!:o
well ... not so anal as you are ... but I am making a list, my weekly menu is in my head-including side dishes, I go online to publix.com and view the weekly sale paper and print any coupons....and I don't get anything not on the list! My kitchen is currently waaayyyyy full!
oh...and NEVER cash back! If I have cash, it's like water in my hands.[:/]

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4. Get cash back @ check out.



Doing the Dave Ramsey approach to finances for the past 3 months or so, and now I only use cash. Spend so much less that way. On pay days pay myself first ie groceries, fun money, cab fares etc etc... And that has to last two weeks, if it doesn't and as long as my kids wouldn't suffer then no need to pull out the debit card. The more you go to the store the more you spend and the more things you buy that aren't needed. When it started my food money went way over budget and we ate ramen noodles on the last weekend... now I have money left over.

Should have done this approach when I jumped, that way I could have more air time :D
Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

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Where is the option for "sometimes"
We'll make a list sometimes since I tend to forget what we need. I can usually get most of it, but I usually forget what I wanted to get in the first place.
Can we say.... "Hey look.... something shiney!!!"
Goggles and Teeth

"You fall like a greased safe!!!"

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We make our list well before going shopping, on Wednesday, when the grocery ads come out. Then we go to the one or two stores that have the best sales on what we need. Since we have a chest freezer and a walk-in pantry, we stock up on sales and save BIG. I'd say 80-90% of our groceries are on sale when we buy them.

And since we buy just the basics and cook from scratch for ourselves, we eat very well for dirt cheap. This week prime rib is on sale for under $3 a pound. Looks like a nice roast is in my future. B|

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