After spending far too many years spending way too much time on my weekly grocery list, I came up with this super simple way to make your grocery list in less than 5 minutes! Now I grab my list and use these helpful tips to cut my grocery spending in half…and I’ve saved lots of time AND money!
I don’t know about you but one of my most dreaded chores of the week is making out my grocery list! I couldn’t quite place my finger on why I hated it so much but then it hit me. Even after knowing my meal plan for the week, it was still taking me close to an hour to write out my list…more if you count the random things that would pop in my head over the course of a few days.
And WAY more if you count the things I would forget on my weekly shopping trip that then required me to run to the store to buy! Arghh!
I felt like I was doing great on the saving money end of things by using these 5 simple tips that literally cut my grocery spending half. So why was I wasting so much time on the list?
I tried jotting things down on my phone as I thought of them…or even making my list on my phone. But then that left me pushing the cart with my hips while trying to scroll on my tiny phone to see all the items on my list.
That’s when it hit me. A simple way to make your grocery list in less than 5 minutes!
Think about what you buy at the grocery store each week. A lot of the same staples over and over right? NOW, think about what you buy at the grocery store each month – likely A LOT of the same things from month to month.
Me too! So one lazy Sunday afternoon, I went to the computer and opened up Word. I made a simple header and 3 columns (because I shop at 3 places each week – Sam’s Club, Walmart and my favorite Aldi’s.) I jotted down the staples I buy from those 3 places at least once a month.
And then I hit save, printed a copy and added on the 10 or so items that weren’t already on there. So, for example, I was planning an Italian Chicken recipe and needed a salad dressing packet. That’s not something I buy even on a monthly basis so I just wrote it in by hand.
But all those things that I was buying weekly or monthly were already on the list. Now I simply mark off any items that we don’t need that week and write-in anything extra that’s out of the norm.
Aside from slashing my time spent on this chore, I no longer make multiple trips to the grocery store. Just seeing “paper towels” under the Sam’s Club column reminds me that oh yeah, I am down to one roll!
If you will give this tip a shot, you will be amazed at how much time EVERY week you are able to save! Simple, but effective!
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Ok, I searched your site for meal planning and this was the 3rd post to pop up. What a time saver! Thanks! I’ll be doing this for sure. I hate grocery shopping so I’m hoping this will make that task easier. Ha! Great idea!
I laugh that it took me SO LONG to even figure out that shortcut!