5 Ways I Save Money and Time at the Grocery Store

I HATE grocery shopping.  As a general rule, I don't even like any sort of shopping except maybe online shopping.  An additional general rule about me, is that I don't like online shopping that much either.

I'm not a couponer.  I don't really want to take the time and we don't get the Sunday paper so I guess I'm lazy in this respect.  We have 2 grocery stores that I shop at, in town.  Ingles and Walmart.  Ingles has a great selection but they seem to be a bit pricier than Walmart.  Walmart's produce is iffy so sometimes we have to hit Ingles up on the way home to get wanted produce items that were not fresh or not in stock at Walmart.  Also, if I'm wanting to buy stew beef,(or any meat other than chicken) I will get that at Ingles so we can actually chew the meat.  Just sayin'.

Anyway.. Here are 5 things that I do to help me save time and money at the grocery store.

1.  I keep a white board on the fridge: When I use the last of something or notice I am getting low, I write it on the list side of the board. (I divide the board in half. One side is my list, the other side is my menu)

2.  I create a menu for the week.  I try to be thoughtful to keep healthy meals in mind, what my work week looks like, and meals I can make that would work well for leftovers.  (I put my menu on my white board)

3.  I check the fridge, freezer, and pantry for items needed for my menu

4.  I create my grocery list as a rough draft.  I put the items needed for the menu, add our staples, and then double check misc. items like garbage bags, baggies, tp, etc.

5.  I organize my list by dairy, produce, meat, freezer, grocery, etc.  (basically how the store is laid out to save time at the store)

Bonus time saver and money saver... Put the list in your purse as soon as you finish it so you don't forget it!


So hopefully when we drive 15 miles to Walmart, I have not forgotten the list.  Additional bonus: Keep honey from the non-grocery side of the store and we'll save $150 instantly!  I must add though, that I am super spoiled because honey also hates grocery shopping, but always goes with me and unloads the car!


Happy shopping!

How do you save time and money?

side note:  This is what helps ME out at the grocery so I don't get so overwhelmed and stressed or overspend.  I tend to walk in and get suddenly overwhelmed by too much to choose from, too many people, and too much noise, so my steps save my sanity too!

5 Things I Do Before Bed on Work Nights

In an effort to save a portion of my sanity, I have created a routine on work nights, that helps save me time and stress in the mornings.

Since we've been married, I have always gotten up with honey and made his to-go coffee, packed his breakfast and lunch for the day, and made sure he gets a big kiss and an "I love you." as he walks out the door.

When we first got married, we were 7 miles from my work and about 15 miles from his work.  We complained then about how tired we were.  ha ha... We sure do miss those 15 and 30 minute commutes.  But we wouldn't trade our lovely foot hills home for the world right now.  Although we both drive about 70 miles each to our workplaces, my morning routine hasn't changed.  I still get up when he does to make his to-go coffee, pack his breakfast and lunch for the day and give him a big kiss and tell him that I love him as he walks out the door.

I think the drive makes getting up the hour earlier every day even more painful, so I've slowly gotten myself in a routine before we go to bed, that helps my morning stress and rush level immensely.  It's only a few things, but they help me considerably at 5:00 am.

1.  I prepare the coffee pot.  This saves a few minutes on filling the water filter pitcher, getting a coffee filter, scooping the filter and then hitting brew.  I simply come downstairs and push the button.  It would save me even more time if I could figure out how to use the timer on my coffee pot!  =)

2.  I get our to-go coffee cups ready by the Magic Bullet and set the collagen, butter, and coconut oil out so that I can quickly get our bulletproof coffee ready in a flash.

3.  I get our refrigerated lunch and snack items prepared.  Honey is so not picky and this helps me a lot.  So I can go ahead and put his cottage cheese in a container so it's ready for his dessert after lunch.  If we are having left overs or salads for lunch the next day, I go ahead and get those ready too.  I place all of honey's refrigerated items on one side of the shelf and mine goes on the other.  This way, I just have to scoop them out and put them in our bags in the morning and add the fridgy pack.

4.  I pack our 2 daily snacks and set them out on the counter if they don't need to be refrigerated, so I can jut put them in our lunch boxes in the morning.  (assembling snacks involves counting servings and measuring servings, so my patience level for that, in the morning, is low... plus it adds time to an already short time frame to get stuff ready).  I just need to assemble our sandwiches in the morning.  Since refrigerated bread is disgusting, I do not make sandwiches until the morning.

5.  I prepare our supplement packs.  We have very few prescription medications but I add some supplements to our daily routine, so I go ahead and get our supplement packs ready so I can also just toss that into our lunch boxes quickly, in the morning.

6.  Bonus Time Saver:  We used to be able to carpool at least once a week and that was the best time saver.  Now I do my makeup while my computer turns on at work.  I don't wear a ton of make up.  Just foundation, bronzer on my cheeks, eyeliner on my upper lid, mascara (one coat) and lipstick.  Make up is down to a 3 minute application.  But lipstick after breakfast.

Before:  I know this looks like chaos... but the refrigerator stuff won't be here in the morning and the rest of the counter is cleaned (in our lunch boxes) when we leave.  Organized Chaos... 

Well, maybe you'll find this helpful.  It's a discipline.  Sometimes I get busy reading, blogging, or working my home based business and forget to get everything prepared by our early bedtime and then I have to rush in the morning.  I usually regret that decision to not take the 5-10 minutes before bed to save me time and stress in the morning.

After!  =)

What have you found helpful to save time and stress in your morning routine?