The Money Saving Advantage to Making a Shopping List

If you read my last post about saving money on groceries, you’ll remember one tip was to create a shopping list. I thought I’d do a follow up about the five main advantages of making one.

They Help Keep You Focused

The main purpose of having is it keeps you focused.

Supermarkets (like everyone else are in business), exist to make money so your challenge is to keep to the basics. No thinking, that notice tells me it’s on sale so it must be a bargain. Or following the wonderful smell of baking bread and donuts making its way from the bakery, and you left the house without eating.

Stay focused, keep looking at your list and don’t be distracted.

You Can Stick to Your Budget

Make sure that your shopping list is aligned with your budget. For example, you have set $100 for the trip and you’ve made a list of all the items you can buy with that amount. Enter the store and only buy what’s in that budget.

They Cut Down on Trips

Make a list of items you need for a biweekly or if you can, monthly, trip to the store. Every time you’re in a supermarket there’s that temptation to buy more than you need.

Helps You Find a Bargain

Your shopping list helps you find bargains because you can check on items in flyers and maybe even what coupons you have on hand.

A List Helps Avoid Waste

Often, and this is especially true with grocery shopping, we pick up things that look good at that moment but that we just end up wasting and never eating.