The Best Grocery Shopping List of All Time!
Image sourced by Arthur V.
Ok, I admit it. . .
I’m a checklist freak!
In fact, my checklists have checklists.
Perhaps it’s the accountant in me. But either way. . .
Checklists help us stay organized, save money, and save time. A checklist is really a tool that helps you accomplish your goal.
If you’ve been following Budget and Grow Rich®, you know that Trader Joe’s is my go-to supermarket.
To stick to my knitting, stay true to my accounting roots, and save money, I created my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list.
If you happened to miss our blog post that explains the list and how to save bank and includes the link to download your Free copy of my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list, you can grab them here.
Your grocery shopping list is likely to differ from mine, but the fundamentals are the same.
Use these 14 steps to customize your grocery shopping list and save bank:
If you’d like a starting point, download one of my free grocery checklists.
Excel. I prefer to use a spreadsheet (Excel) for my grocery shopping list and actually all my other checklists. In part because I tend to update and change my checklists over time as my shopping habits, tastes and preferences and product offerings change. With Excel, you can manipulate the data and sort the groceries in alphabetical order easily. Alphabetizing helps you scan your list quickly.
To sort data, highlight the cells – the data range – that contain the items you want to alphabetize. Make sure you highlight only the items (cells) that you want to sort. Click ‘Sort’ on the horizontal navbar.
One sheet – 8½ x 11” paper wins. My grocery shopping list fills one sheet of paper. That’s handy and easy to use.
Keep in mind that I live alone most of the time and when I cook, the fare is relatively simple meals. And with most galley kitchens, the refrigerator is small – roughly 5½ cubic feet. So my list contains only so many items. Your list may differ.
The Date. On the upper right, you’ll notice a line where I write the date when I plan to go to the grocery store or supermarket.
As I mentioned, Trader Joe’s is my primary food place.
But I also go to Stop ‘n Shop periodically to purchase toilet paper and paper towels. And if they’re on sale, Planters® peanuts, lightly salted. And every so often, Gulden’s® Spicy Brown Mustard.
I left the Weber barbecue grill at the marital residence. . . Oh well.
Yeah, I have a Stop ‘n Shop grocery shopping list too. Click on the ‘Stop ‘n Shop’ tab in the downloadable Excel spreadsheet, and you’ll find my Stop ‘n Shop grocery shopping list.
Craft your grocery shopping list to include only the items you’re likely to buy every week. This approach will help you largely narrow your food purchases to only those items on your list – the items you really have to buy or want to buy. This tactic alone can save you $1,000s, even if you grab a few extra food items and treats here and there.
Organize your groceries and food items into sections, for example, quadrants, on your grocery shopping list. Group the food and groceries by food category – canned goods, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and so on. Organize the items into sections that reflect the store layout. This is how you can keep your grocery shopping organized and save time and money.
Order the sections of your grocery shopping list to match the store layout.
Although it’s not all that important, my upper left quadrant contains the items that are in the aisle closest to the front door of the store.
Blank rows. If space allows, include blank rows to separate the sections. This makes it easier to see the food categories as you stroll the aisles.
Food items. I would like to insert more blank rows to separate the food categories and sections. But there are too many items on the page, so there’s no available space to insert rows between the food categories/sections.
◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊
How to beat the high cost of groceries, hands down!
The Secret is to create your own customized ‘Triple Play Grocery Savings System.
This simple yet powerful money-saving technique will pour money into your pockets.
Click here!
◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊<§>◊◊◊
Boldface text calls attention to the key groceries and food items you typically want to purchase.
Notice the boldfaced text: Fancy Mixed Nuts; Apples – Granny Smith; and Blueberries.
The boldfaced items helps make sure I buy the items I want to purchase every week and don’t overlook them.
Color coding.
The colors make that text stand out, which calls my attention to those items and reminds me to buy the items.
On my grocery shopping list, I don’t highlight text with yellow or green on my grocery shopping list but could.
On other checklists, I do use colors from time to time..
Circles. Although the template grocery shopping list doesn’t have any circled items, when I’m taking the food inventory, I circle items on my shopping list.
Numbering. Take a look on the upper left. Take note of Almonds Indiv. Bags and Fancy Mixed Nuts. ‘Indiv.’ Is an abbreviation for ‘Individual’. Notice the numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’. Sometimes I purchase one package and other times two. If I want to purchase that item, I’ll circle ‘1’ or ‘2’, depending on whether I want to purchase one or two packages. If I don’t want to purchase that item this week, I’ll cross out the item altogether with a horizontal line.
Occasional purchases. Take a look at the lower left section at the very bottom of the sheet.
You’ll notice birthday cards, coconut oil, flowers and 3-in-one liquid soap.
A few months ago, I was dating a very nice woman Andi. She invited me to her house to watch the Super Bowl. I wanted to remember to buy her flowers so I circled ‘flowers’ on my grocery shopping list. Since Andi broke up with me, I’m considering deleting ‘Flowers’ from my grocery shopping list until I meet my ‘next true love’. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic. . . ☺
Blank space is helpful when you want to make a note or write down the item or two that you want to purchase on occasion. Notice some blank space between the columns.
Before I head out to the supermarket or grocery store, I print out my grocery shopping list and inventory the food and groceries and dry goods I have at home.
Then I update my grocery shopping list by crossing out the food and groceries I Don’t need or don’t want to buy that week.
And as I mentioned above, when there are too many lines – cross-outs – on my grocery shopping list, I circle the remaining food items or some of them so I notice them as I cruise the aisles.
The cross-outs eliminate the groceries that I don’t want to purchase that week and leaves the items I want to purchase during that trip to the supermarket or grocery store in plain sight.
I often write a capital letter “I” vertically to connect the items I have crossed out. From top to bottom. This makes the items that I want to buy that week stand out.
Remember to bring your updated grocery shopping list to the store.
Don’t rely on your memory.
I have an excellent memory but find that I don’t always remember everything I need to remember exactly when I need to remember it. ☺
Oh and remember to bring a Pen or two. And while you’re at it, keep a pen or two in your car. I do.
To save time, I walk down the aisle closest to the entrance first. And I typically follow the same path (route) through the grocery store.
When you go to the store, stick to your list!
Resist the temptation to buy extra items.
Or when human nature prevails, buy Only one or two treats and extra items. Leave the rest behind.
In closing, the ‘Best’ grocery shopping list of all time is the One that helps YOU organize your grocery shopping and food shopping, save time, stick to your shopping list And Save Money!
In other words the grocery shopping list that works Best for You!
My grocery shopping list system works for me.
Another format might work better for you and your family.
But the message is that systems take the guesswork out of grocery shopping and help you control your spending and achieve your personal budget.
And help You save money on food and groceries.
Put the money you save to good use!
See you next week.
Arthur VanDam, CPA MBA
How to beat the high cost of groceries, once and for all! Click here!
Budget and Grow Rich® – ISSN: 2992-9296 – USA International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
Disclaimer: OH and Please Remember, we are Not financial advisors, financial planners, attorneys or accountants and are Not providing any specific financial, tax, accounting or legal advice here. Be sure to conduct your own due diligence and consult your own professional advisors to get sound professional advice that’s specific to your financial and personal circumstances, risk tolerance, time horizon and investment goals and objectives among other key factors!
How to Succeed and Achieve Your Dreams!
Tired of the rat race?
To Succeed even bigger, greater and stronger, 10X your success – click here.
Take your Business, Career & Life to a New Level with this Experiential, Immersive Live Event FREE!
How to Make Money in your Spare Time Writing Letters.