90 Day Budget Buster Challenge #2

Here is the challenge for this week:
Impulse shopping will always put you over your budget and retailers know that and position things in the store so that you’ll have to walk past the “goodies” to get to what you really need. A savvy shopper knows this and is prepared.

First off with a list. A list is a way to cut down on huge amounts of impulse buying. Recent research showed that 20% of what we buy is unplanned but that number is decreased if you write it down and stick to the plan.
Unless I’m going in to look, I make a list and then put the blinkers on, moving quickly past all the week’s sale items, past the candy and snacks and to the food we really need. Research shows that my $50/week grocery bill would be increased by $11.50 if I didn’t consciously make a list and only buy things on the list.

There is 25% less unplanned buying by shoppers who use a weekly flyer to get their information and then compile a list from that which also takes planning but is a good idea and can easily be done each week to plan your meals around the sales items.

One last thing I thought was interesting in the study is that impulse buying goes up by 23% if the shopping trip itself was unplanned but goes down 13% if the trip is part of a weekly or major regular shop.

Your mom always told you never to go to the grocery store hungry and you dismissed it as an old wive’s tale but it really makes sense that when we go starving we buy things to satisfy the hunger and not things we need.

Finally, avoid browsing the aisles. Sometimes I get distracted and wander up and down and during those moments I’m more likely to get off task and buy things I didn’t come for and we don’t need. If it’s not on my list from home then I mustn’t have thought we needed it and we probably don’t. Keep focused on the store layout and know what you need.

So this week's challenge is a follow-up from last week (yup, we're nice like that!) Last week we talked about how to meal plan and that you should do it BEFORE a grocery store trip. Part of the Budget Boot Camp HAS to entail some planning. It does take a little time but after reading the statistics above, I hope you're convinced. It is vital to make a shopping list and stick to it. There are various ways to do it but here's how I make mine:



Now how I make my lists:
I get my grocery ads and then I get online! I go to couponmom.com and download the latest rock bottom pricing lists. I never purchase anything that is under a 40% savings unless I absolutely have to have it! I even purchase my meat at these savings. I always match up my coupons with my rock bottom pricing items. If I really need something that is not at rock bottom pricing then I purchase it at either my local Walmart or Aldis store. And I purchase generic.
I make lists every week for every store I go to.
I need to make my lists for this week, and I will post my lists along with my coupon matchups as soon as I get them done.
So this challenge again, should be quite easy for me! :D So far....so good!




Have a Blessed day/night,