shopping 101

do you find yourself having a shopping bill ten times more then what you thought it should have been?? yup that was me to.do you find yourself grabbing things off the selves that wasn't on your list?? me too. here is what i ave been doing....

before shopping prep:
-i try to sit with my family and make out a weeks worth of menus. all three meals and two snacks. some times we will even throw in a dessert.
-i then go through my cabinets and fridge to see what i already have and what needs to be restocked.
-i make a list of things that i need to get and list of three things i would like to get.
- i then compare my list to shoppers ads for my stores. i look into my price compare book(will be explained more in a later post) to see which store has a better price and if the sale price is any good.
-a gather any needed coupons and sale adds and head to one store ... walmart...
-i stick to my list and try to stay out of the middle lanes. i can manage going to just one store because walmart price matches.


while shopping: when i go shopping i ave many things i like to do for myself that may or may not work for you.

-i have a prepared snack in my bag to munch on when i am shopping because no matter how much i eat before i come i am still hungry while shopping.
-along with my snack i also bring and ice cold drink with me. i save my cups from fast food restaurants (usually mcds) and fill in the in store restaurant before i start my shopping.
-i stick to the out side lanes at the store then once i have gotten all that i can from there i go down the inner lanes that i need to and skip the ones that arent apart of my list.
-i make two different days of when i go shopping. one for food and one for house hold stuff.

when checking out: this is impotant.
- before the checker starts i let them know i have price match items. i when putting them up have already separated them from the regular items.
-most walmarts will not ask for ads but have them with you in case they do.
-watch the price scanner and make sure each items is being matched correctly.
-save coupons for last so you can see the sub total before and the total after.
-once done ask for a second copy of your receipt.(i will explain in a later post)

once you get every thing home put it all away and make sure to follow your menus as the week goes. when you run out of something note it down so when it comes menu day again its easier to make a list.