Another trick that helps at the grocery store is keeping a mental running estimate of how much I’ve spent as I go through the store. It really cuts down on the impulse buys and splurges.

I like to use envelopes instead of a note pad for my grocery list. A magnet holds the envelope onto the fridge. Then I can store coupons in the envelope. You could also store a pencil inside the envelope, but I have an old notepad holder magneted to the fridge, and I leave my pencil in that.

I generally use envelopes from junk mail, although a lot of these are no good because they have writing all over both sides.

This has also helped in terms of lunch planning – most days we take leftovers for lunch.

I often deviate from my grocery list based on sales, or something giving me an idea or craving, especially if something like chicken is on sale and I know I can freeze it, or chicken broth or canned beans. But I’ve been trying to incorporate those sales/urges into next week’s meal planning so that I don’t wind up with overcrowded shelves/freezer. We have a small kitchen, so that can be a real problem.

i have a spiral notebook, 3 subject i’m going to use instead of little notepads. thanks for the tips!

Because of a couple of moves (moved across town, then moved in together when we got married), our cabinets were in complete disarray for a while. It became much easier to buy a jar of spice rather than hunt through foreign territory (a brand-new kitchen) looking for it.

Of course, when we took a couple of hours last month to create order from the chaos in our cabinets, we discovered we had 2 bottles of vegetable oil, 3 boxes of corn starch, and 2 cans of baking powder.

Hopefully now that our kitchen is easier to look through we won’t waste any more money buying stuff we already have.

Unfortunately, though, my wife loves trips to the grocery store. She’s a dietitian and wants to do research every time we go. However, she’s good about getting things on sale, but together, we’re not very good about meal planning.

It takes time, but even more, it takes effort.

However.

I do think there’s a value to perusing the aisles so long as one has some discipline. I keep a price comparison book for all the items I regularly purchase at grocery stores – both food and toiletries. This book includes the prices for those items at all the stores I shop at regularly. That means I can check the best prices available to me on whatever I buy with just a quick glance. So as I cruise through the aisles, I look for sales on any of my pantry items, and check them against my price comparison book. If the sale price is actually a bargain (and not a marketing gimmick), I stock up on a three- to six-month supply. It helps of course to have a sense of what I’ve already got on hand, and how quickly my household will go through stuff.

Granted, this only works for those who don’t have impulse control issues. And you do have to follow through by using all the stuff you stocked up on. Otherwise it’s just money down the drain.

All Out Of Pad and What To Eat Pad. They use magnets to hang on your fridge, and I’ve used them constantly for the last 2 months. When I get close to running out, I plan to just make photocopies and keep using them.

(I hope HTML works here.)