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Most adults say that they do not enjoy grocery shopping. It is time consuming and expensive. In addition, it is often an experience in frustration due mainly to the actions and behaviors of the other shoppers. What can be done? Aside from hiring a personal shopper, not much I’m afraid. However, if all shoppers could agree on some basic rules and codes of conduct, I believe that the trip to the grocery store would be much less frustrating and maybe even enjoyable. Here are my suggestions:

1. When moving through the store, use the basic rules of traffic that good drivers use. Stay on the right side of the aisle (in the United States). Pass on the left. Stop and look at intersections. If you are shopping with other people, you should either walk single file or spread out in the store. Three or more people walking abreast always seem to be the slowest moving individuals.

2. When not in motion, keep carts and humans together. If you are looking at an item, have your cart right next to you and up against the shelves so that other shoppers do not need to squeeze between your body and your diagonally parked cart.

3. Visit with your friends somewhere else. Most supermarkets have a deli with some chairs and tables. Using that area to catch not only gives the friendship the status that it deserves, it also shows respect to the other shoppers who might need an item that is behind the seven-foot wall that your bodies and carts have created.

4. If you change your mind about an item, you don’t have to walk all the way back to the section where you picked it up. You can give it to the clerk at checkout and one of the store employees will get it back to its appropriate spot. Leaving the package of pork chops on top of the toilet paper results in a loss for the store and higher prices we all pay in compensation.

5. Take unhappy or misbehaving children out of the store until they are calm. The clerk at the courtesy counter will keep an eye on your partially-filled buggy until you return.

6. Unruly children must be contained for safety sake.

7. Once you get in a line, you are done shopping. No fair leaving your cart to dash back after one more thing, or to send someone else to get it while you hold the place in line. If it is that important, you must leave the line and then rejoin after you have everything you need.

8. Speaking of lines, when using the express lanes an item is one bag, one box, or one package. A plastic produce bag containing four oranges is one item. Twenty-five boxes of frozen Salisbury steak dinners are twenty-five items.

9. If you are paying for your groceries with a check, please fill out the date and the name of the store while the person ahead of you is being served. Waiting for the clerk to give you the total before even taking the checkbook out of your purse or pocket is stealing time from the people waiting behind you. You don’t need to use your best handwriting on the check eitherit isn’t going to be framed and hung on a wall. Time-efficiency is the goal.

10. Smile at the other shoppers and the store employees. Pass along good will and a positive outlook.

There you have it. Ten common-sense rules that, if applied, could turn one of the major drudge-duties of the week into a much more enjoyable experience.

Jean Fisher - http://www.whatsfordinner.net

Jean Fisher is a former elementary school teacher. Her website >What’s For Dinner?< provides a dinner suggestion for each day of the week, a customizable grocery shopping list, table topics and quality time activities.

Tags: advice, article, etiquette, family, food, grocery, grocery store, rule, shopping, supermarket, wishadvice, article, etiquette, family, food, grocery, grocery store, rule, shopping, supermarket, wish

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Your food budget is the most flexible area of your household budget. Grocery savings will free up a significant amount of money if you need to balance the budget, or fund your savings accounts.

If you haven’t figured it out already, your kitchen is a Goldmine. There are numerous ways to reduce the grocery budget and free up funds to use in other areas.

How much should you be spending on groceries?

The USDA Food Plans at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion suggests that a family of four is currently spending about $100 to $116 per week based on the “Thrifty Plan”, depending on the age of children. Anyone trying to reduce the food budget should follow the guidelines for the “thrifty plan.”

This should give you at least some idea what the average family spends.
I recommend you shoot for something less than that figure if at all possible by implementing as many of these grocery saving tips as possible!

• Eliminate eating out! Period! - O.K. if you’re family is screaming mad at you then take them out at least once a month.
  Make it an occasion. Most of us get caught up in fast paced living and eat out at least one or two times per week. It’s just an insane waste of money.

  Your family will appreciate a dinner out much more when it’s not such a regular event. Consider it “quality time out”. And, remember to look for coupons good at local restaurants for additional savings.

• Minimize the use of convenience foods. - You can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost, try it! Many of us are so accustomed to convenience foods that we forget we can make it ourselves.

  If you already love to cook from scratch then congrats! For the rest, I know this is a scary thought. It’s hard to go back into the kitchen and actually get your hands dirty. However, I must insist you try this. There’s gold in them there hands! Use ‘em.

  If you don’t have a lot of time, don’t worry there are literally hundreds of recipe books for the busy lifestyle. There are many that promote frugal living as well.

  You’ll find substitute recipes for everything from baking mixes to shake and bake and salad dressing. All it takes is a little extra time. Even if you had to pay yourself for doing the cooking you would come out ahead.

• Do your homework! - Know what’s on sale and plan your menu around the weekly sales flyers. Investing a little extra time in planning will help maximize grocery savings and reduce the food budget!

  I make it a rule to never buy meat over $2 a pound. Although I allow myself $2, I usually only spend on average 39 cents to $1.69. Occasionally, (rarely) I indulge in something special if it’s a good value.

• Eat meatless meals at least twice a week. - Beans and rice are a good example. Egg dishes are a nice change in routine for dinner. Try a vegetable stir fry or casserole.
• Don’t use packaged mixes. - Cake, breads, muffins, pastry, pizza dough, pancake, and waffles all come in a variety of pre-packaged mixes. Make your own for not much more effort and a lot less money!
• Know what your local stores offer. - Which ones have the lowest prices? Start carrying a little memo book to record prices of items you buy regularly. You can organize trips to save time and money when planning your grocery shopping.

  Who accepts coupons and do they double? Do they have a rebate program? Do they have a clearance or bargain area? Which grocery stores accept additional discount programs like ValuPage?

• Build your coupon file! - It seems coupons are available everywhere now. Your newspaper is a great starting point. Pay careful attention when looking through magazines. These are easy to miss. I often find coupons in home, ladies, or cooking magazines.

  Check out the free grocery coupons on-line. Be sure to do your research, many stores do not accept computer generated coupons due to the high incidence of fraud. Be sure not to waste your valuable time on this one if you don’t have a local store that accepts them.

Be an informed consumer. I can’t stress this enough!

Informed consumer = More grocery savings!

Once you know where to shop, use all your resources. Combine rebates, sales, and coupons whenever possible for maximum grocery savings. This takes a bit more dedication but, you can literally get paid to purchase items if you’re willing to invest the time.

Grocery savings aren’t just for the grocery store. many drugstores now have food sections where you can save on groceries.

Here’s a great tip:

Always check your cash register receipt. Many stores offer a refund of full price policy for items that do not register the correct sale price.
I have cashed in on this one many times. Remember, these price adjustments are usually entered by humans. Human error is always a possibility, so cash in on it!

Because of a simple mistake, you have increased your grocery savings!

If you….

Plan ahead - Use your sale flyers to plan weekly meals.

Use what you have on hand first - Plan meals based on foods you have in your fridge, freezer, and cabinets already

Utilize your savings tips - Get more for your money using a combination of resources listed above

Make it yourself whenever possible

….You will be able to tap into that Goldmine hiding in your very own kitchen!

Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four helping herself and others become and remain debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - A self-help plan, ideas, and resources for debt management, household budget planning, frugal and debt free living, and extra income opportunities. Money saving tips for groceries, clothing, home decorating, and much more, maximize savings everyday.

Tags: budget, budgeting, food, grocery savings, money management, money saving tips, personal finance, save moneybudget, budgeting, food, grocery savings, money management, money saving tips, personal finance, save money

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Coupons, used wisely and selectively, can be a great way to save money from your food budget. Here are some tips to start you on your way to becoming a coupon guru.

1. Don’t use coupons just because they are a “good deal”. Try to limit coupon use to products you would normally buy anyway. Coupons are most often offered to entice shoppers to buy high priced, highly processed convenience foods. In some cases it may be cheaper and healthier just to make your own home made version of the product from scratch.

2. Keep your coupons organized in a binder or special coupon holder and sorted by category. Go through your coupons every week or so and throw out any that have expired.

3. Look for coupons that come in packs in the mail, in magazines, or with in the inserts with the Sunday papers. Ask your coworkers, friends and neighbors to save their ad packs from the mail and Sunday newspaper for you.

4. Use your favorite search engine to find printable coupon sites online.

5. If your family has some favorite products that are pricey, then take the time to bookmark the manufacturers’ web sites and check weekly or so for any product coupons or specials.

6. If the coupons you have are for foods that are not healthy for your family, then they may not be a good deal, even if you get the products for free. Products like soda that are high in sugar and devoid of any nutrients may be best left at the store.

7. Watch out for people selling coupon books. It may be a scam. Generally it is not necessary to pay for something you can clip for free from the newspaper or download from manufacturers’ web sites.

8. Don’t forget to look for coupons when you are at the grocery store. Some stores have machines set up that dispense coupons near selected products.

9. Consider participating in online forums where people exchange their unused coupons for ones that they need.

10. Find out if your local stores offer double coupon days.

11. To save time at the check out line, have your coupons sorted, organized and ready to hand to the cashier.

12. Keep a price book of the best prices you’ve found for food and other products, so you will know if you are getting a good deal using a coupon. Sometimes generic store brands may offer cheaper alternatives to national brands that have high advertising costs already built into the price.

S. L. Simmons is the editor at http://www.alwaysfrugal.com

© Copyright 2006 Always Frugal

Visit our site for more tips on frugal living and saving money on groceries at http://www.alwaysfrugal.com/groceries.html

Tags: budget, coupons, food, grocery, save moneybudget, coupons, food, grocery, save money

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