Do you have a grocery shopping methodology?

Cafe Society
41

Years ago, I created a shopping list arranged by aisle of the supermarket I use. I spend about ten minutes filling out “Yes” and “No” by each item. It saves time in the long run, because now instead of forgetting things and going every other day, I shop twice a week. (One “big shop” and one “just to pick up a few things”.) Of course, I’ve had to edit the list extensively over the years whenever the store decides to rearrange things. (On the plus side, if I overhear someone wondering where the flour is, I can just check my list.)

Yes, I coupon, although usually only one or two per week.

I normally shop/cook for three people. I don’t mind it much.

I live in the USA.

42

I have an Excel list with our most purchased items on it, sorted by aisle, so making the list and then getting the items goes pretty quickly. There are also plenty of blanks interspersed so I can write in stuff for special meals, outings, etc.

I use coupons, but not as much as I should. We always “Big Shop”, and there are 3 of us. I don’t have a problem with grocery shopping, and we rarely use C-stores for anything but milk.

USA

43

I eat almost no processed foods or pre-made meals, so I shop from the periphery of the store. I use my local Safeway because it’s closest, the prices are good, and most importantly, I know their inventory and I know where everything is. I detest looking all over up and down aisles for what I want. I enjoy grocery shopping, but I hate wasting time looking for things. I start on the left and work right - deli, bakery, dairy, meats, vegetables, fruits. Of course I buy pastas and cold cereal and what not off the aisles.
**Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there? **
More or less. I always have the basics for a meal base: cream of mushroom soup, etc.
Do you always/never use a grocery list?
Almost always, because I hate getting home from the store without something I intended to buy.
**Do you “coupon” (the verb)? **
Almost never.
How often do you Big-Shop?
Never.
**How often "just grab a couple of things’? **
I’m not sure what this means. Sometimes I buy only a few items, but it’s stuff that I need. I never go the the grocery store without specific products to buy.
How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Mostly just me, unless my son is home from college.
Do you enjoy grocery shopping?
Yes.
**Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between? **
Safeway, a moderately large grocery store about a mile from my house. They also have a pharmacy and a Starbucks in the same store.
What country do you live in?
U. S. of A.

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Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there?
Pretty much, although a meal for me could be a can of soup over rice. I keep enough stuff around that I can throw something together. My son is picky so I try to keep stuff around that he likes.

Do you always/never use a grocery list?
Yes, or I will forget something. I usually buy more than is on the list, if I see something on sale or it looks good I’ll buy it. I keep a master list of what we commonly buy and use it to make my list for the month.

Do you “coupon” (the verb)?
Not very often. One store I shop will give a coupon for $5 off if you spend more than $25. It’s only for Saturdays though and I hate to shop on the weekends.

How often do you Big-Shop? How often "just grab a couple of things’?
Big shop about once a month, grab a couple of things maybe once a week.

How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Usually just me and my son. Sometimes my mother and her bf eat with us. Depends on what I make. I cooked more when it was just the four of us. Now that my sister and bil moved in I don’t cook as much. She hogs the kitchen and I can’t stand the bitch.

Do you enjoy grocery shopping?
No. I hate any kind of shopping.

Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between?
I shop first at Dollar General and get everything I can there. Then I go down the other end of the lot to Box n Save (or is it Sav a Lot?) to get whatever else is on my list. I make my son go with me because the neighborhood sucks, once when I went to get my car somebody started going through my bags in the cart. A while after that a woman got mugged.
My mother and her bf go to Costco all the time and they will pick up stuff for me there. For the small trip (soda, milk, bread) I go to the convenience store down the road.

What country do you live in?
USA Maryland

45

Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there?
Yes, I always have rice, beans, pasta available
Do you always/never use a grocery list?
I have a Kroger and wal-Mart on the way home. I usually buy what’s on clearance, and design a meal from there. I shop “Chopped” style.
Do you “coupon” (the verb)?
No
How often do you Big-Shop? How often "just grab a couple of things’?
Big shop? Once a moth. Grab 5-6 times a week
How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Do you enjoy grocery shopping?
Yes, I do.
Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between?
Regular grocery stores only
What country do you live in?
USA

46

[quote=“brainstall, post:29, topic:634039”]

**Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there? **

Less than I’d like to since I’m “single” 8.5 months of the year. When we’re together, I’m a lot better.

**Do you always/never use a grocery list? **

Always. If I don’t write it down, I forget it.

**Do you “coupon” (the verb)? ** I always flip through them on the paper and flip through the weekly ads but I rarely cut them. They’ve gotten bad the last few years. I enjoy mega ones (John Frieda products $5 off, I’m lookin’ at you!)

**How often do you Big-Shop? How often "just grab a couple of things’? **

Big shop once every 7-10 days when single, every 4-6 days when coupled. Grab a couple things every third day or so. I can never run out of deli meat, eggs, at least two different salad or raw veggies, coffee, milk or half n half.

How many people do you routinely cook/shop for? One or two.

**Do you enjoy grocery shopping? ** I love it because I love food and shop at off-peak times.

**Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between? **

Weekly: Target, Whole Foods, asian grocery for veggies.
Bi-weekly: Trader Joe’s.
Odds & ends & deli meat & “forgotten” things: little Italian grocery.
Monthly: Penzey’s, Wholeys (fish / meat market), Marty’s Market (well curated yuppie / organic store), local coffee roaster

What country do you live in?

The US, though my shopping habits are defined by living in an urban neighborhood with amazing proximity to literally everything. My habits are radically different than living in a small town while growing up.

47

I plan the week’s dinners, make sure there’s breakfast, lunch and snack stuff enough for all and “big shop,” for food only, every Sunday morning. On Saturday night I get input from Mrs. W and Miss W, to make sure their needs are covered. I also consult the supermarket flier and often plan the dinners to include sale items.

I make a list of the needed ingredients and products in order of their location in the store, with the meats and frozen stuff at the end of the list. When shopping I move through the store getting the things on the list. I skip any aisles that don’t have items I need.

Later that morning I make a separate trip to Walmart for paper products, cleaning supplies and other non-food items that are cheaper there. (Our Walmart does not have a full grocery section.)

Sometimes mid-week there is a quick stop to pick up an item or two or something like milk that we ran out of before the weekend.

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49

My goal is to pretty much use everything we buy, so I don’t stock up, but I’m sure I could scrape together a meal out of the pantry if we didn’t make it to the store.

I always shop by a list. First, we post things on the list during the week as we run out. Second, I get online and check out the store flyer for what’s on sale. Then I get out my notebook, which contains a list of all the meals we usually cook, recipes, a list of staples, coupons, and our store’s layout. I write up a shopping list, organized by how we’ll encounter it in the store.

We don’t actually coupon much, except for coffee. Whenever it goes on sale we buy like twenty bags.

We only shop once a week for a five-person household, plus two cats. (And a dog, but we get her food elsewhere).

My husband is a very type-A person, so of course I don’t enjoy grocery shopping! It’s a race.

50

I’ve been amusing myself lately with using the Walmart app on the phone. You can scan stuff at home when you run out and keep a running list. This works well for me; when I’m cooking and run out of something, I grab the phone and either scan it or speak it into the list (using siri). It’s Big Fun to scan items, and of course the app recognizes all the Walmart-brand items I buy.

You can organize your list into the order you go through the store as welll, which I like doing. It cuts down on unnecessary grocery-store workouts, running back and forth grabbing stuff you missed (especially handy if I don’t have a kid or two along to perform go-back duty). It also tells you what aisle something is in at your very own store when you go into “in store mode.” Also what’s on sale where you are.

51

Mod Mode: Moving this to Cafe Society, from IMHO.

52

I do all (well, most) the American grocery shopping and my wife does all the Korean grocery shopping.

It’s pretty easy for me, as my range of food item shopping is very narrow. I eat the same things all the time. Let’s see, there’s:
milk
eggs
tuna
mayo/mustard
lettuce and salad stuff (dressing, olives, sunflower seeds, etc.)
nuts for snacking
hot sauce
protein bars
beef jerky
cheese
yogurt
can soups and green beans
can sodas

Actually, that’s all I come up with off the top of my head. Fresh produce and meats are much cheaper at the Korean supermarket, so my wife usually gets that.

For household products–Target. And soon, Wal-Mart, as one is opening very near our house in about 2 weeks.

I use coupons for just about everything. I don’t think there is anything I buy at Target that doesn’t have a coupon. And most of the groceries as well. When matched with the store savings card, I can chop 40-50% off the bill.

I don’t do warehouse clubs.

53

There’s a loose organization to it, but nothing terribly systematic.

Very rarely. I generally shop ever day or two and just pick out what looks fresh, on sale, etc., and decide on what to cook from there.

Rarely, but it does happen.

Almost never “big shop.” I can’t remember the last time I used a shopping cart at the grocery store instead of a basket. As I said above, I generally shop for a day or two at a time. I live about a quarter mile from a good grocery store, so that helps.

Usually, just for my wife and me.

Very much so.

Just the local supermarket. I’ll occasionally stock up on something at Costco, but I usually can find items cheaper at the local markets. The main thing I go to Costco for is a decent steak that’s not going to break the budget. Unfortunately, I don’t eat a whole lot of steak.

USA.

54

**Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there? **
Yes. I have a chest freezer, too, to keep meat stocked up when it’s on sale.

**Do you always/never use a grocery list? **
Always. I have a spreadsheet that I have printed out that is arranged by aisle, with lots of blanks for each area of the store.

**Do you “coupon” (the verb)? **
I used to, but I’ve slacked off. Coupons are getting to be “buy three and get 50 cents off.” That’s not a great deal in my book.

How often do you Big-Shop?
Once a week, every Sunday morning. I menu plan and make out the list all week, adding things as I run out. I like to look in the marked down bins and buy stuff, too, especially meat. It goes in the freezer immediately.

How often "just grab a couple of things’?
My husband will stop on his way home and get anything I forgot. I HATE to stop on my way home. My commute sucks as it is.

How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Three adults.

**Do you enjoy grocery shopping? **
Yes.

Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between?
I go to Kroger, mostly. Convenience stores for the occasional emergency bread or milk, warehouse stores for paper goods. (My husband goes to them.)

What country do you live in?
USA - Texas.

55

Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there?
Yes. We have a lot of protein and vegetables in the freezer and lots of dry grains and legumes in the pantry, so we can always pull something together. Garlic, onions, lemons, potatoes, milk, and yogurt are always around, too.

Do you always/never use a grocery list?
Like you I didn’t when i was single. Now that we’re a family and try to have dinner together every night, I do make a list.

Do you “coupon” (the verb)?
No. I tried and it just wasn’t worth the effort.

How often do you Big-Shop? How often "just grab a couple of things’?
Big-shop once a week. Usually have to buy milk and bananas again halfway through the week. I also go to Sams club almost every week for beer, a rotisserie chicken, and whatever else we use in bulk and need.

How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Two adults and a toddler

Do you enjoy grocery shopping?
Yes… though I enjoy it more when I’m not toting a one-year-old. She doesn’t have a ton of patience for leisurely examination in stores.

Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between?
Like I said, Sams once a week for a few select items, otherwise I shop at Meijer, which is a big store that sells everything but has a very good grocery store in it.

What country do you live in?
United States

Since you asked for other observations, we hardly ever eat in restaurants. We always have a couple of frozen pizzas around, and I also tend to cook in bulk so I can freeze extras. I probably actually cook only 3-4 times a week, the rest of the time I’m defrosting something previously prepared. I will probably return to more on-the-spot cooking once I don’t have anklebiters bugging me.

56

Ha! My other half is type A as well and it’s always a race to the finish in the store. So I usually go it alone. I am type A but somehow when I enter the store I just breathe in deeply and enjoy the sensory overload.

Yes, I’d love to smell the flowers! Yes, I’d love to try some mongolian beef with horseradish from the Amish! Yes, I’d love to buy a pluot and a tangelo and a meyer lemon!

57

**Do you keep your pantry stocked systematically so you can always put together a meal from there? **

We always have things that we can put a few “no one feels like cooking” meals together from. We need to keep en eye on who needs lunches during the week, which stores have which proteins on sale, etc.

**Do you always/never use a grocery list? **

I always use a list, but don’t always stick to a list.

**Do you “coupon” (the verb)?
**
Sort of. If I have a coupon for something I’d be buying anyhow, that’s great. I don’t tend to go looking for coupons, though.

**How often do you Big-Shop?
**
My husband does the Big Shop every Saturday, and the Big BJs Wholesale run (milk, sometimes bread, case of seltzer) every Sunday. I do some of the intra-week grab a few things trips, as well as the Trader Joe’s shopping.

How often "just grab a couple of things’?
More than we should, probably. There’s always something the store was out of, or that’s cheaper at one store than the usual store, something we forgot, etc.

How many people do you routinely cook/shop for?
Two adults and two kids.

**Do you enjoy grocery shopping? **
Yes. There’s different types of grocery shopping, too. There’s dash in and grab something we need. There’s stop by when I have a few things to look for and maybe we’ll see what else is there. There’s bring the kids and see if they’ll pick out something new to try.

**Use convenience stores or warehouse stores or something in-between? **
Regular supermarket weekly with a few extra small trips. Warehouse club weekly. Trader Joe’s every couple of weeks—it’s further away and I don’t want to offset the savings with gas expenses, so I go less frequently and buy my TJ things in multiples.
What country do you live in?
USA

58

I do the shopping and most of the cooking for a family of four. I like to cook and my wife prefers it that way. :slight_smile: We have two teenagers who are not very picky except my daughter is not too big on fish. I am a good shopper but a terrible meal planner. My ideal would be to plan a week’s meals then get all the ingredients but I don’t have the discipline to plan that well. But I have a standard shopping list laid out like the store so I just circle what we need and make one smooth pass through the store.

I make one shopping trip a week, sometimes going to two different stores. I go to Giant (a regional chain in the Baltimore/Washington area) for basics and store brands, and Whole Foods for seafood, some semi-prepared meats (like chicken kabobs ready to cook), and some bulk foods like granola. Only in cooking emergencies do I run out for a little of this or two of those.

There are some things I always have on hand and can often whip up an impromptu meal if I have to. At the store I usually check out what’s on sale in the chicken and fish (I seldom buy beef) and the figure out what to do with it after I get home. Tonight I pulled out a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts I had bought on sale and grilled and diced them to make chicken tacos (I always have cheese, taco shells, salsa on hand).

Sometimes I use coupons but I don’t focus on it because I only use coupons for things I’m going to buy anyway and there just aren’t coupons for most of it.

About once a quarter I go to Costco but I don’t buy a lot of groceries there because the quantities are too big. I do get less perishable items, like pancake syrup. It’s 20 miles away so not worth going as part of my weekly trip.

59

When I go, I have a list of specific things that I’m looking for, plus possibly a few things that I know I’m running low on that I check the price on. If, while I’m at the store, I see there’s a good sale on a nonperishable or slow-perishable that I routinely use, I’ll pick that up too, but I don’t impulse-buy.

Most meals, I can put together from what I have around the kitchen, but every couple of weeks, I make a big batch of something that I eat on for a while, and those are generally a dedicated trip.

60

I’m curious what, if anything the OP is taking from this thread. To me, it seems like shopping habits are all over the map.