Grocery Lists to save time and money

Call me anal. Call me organized. Call me someone who wants to get in and out of the grocery store in the shortest possible time…

Several years ago I spent 20 minutes in my grocery store writing down which aisle all my “regular” items were contained. Later I went through my receipts and listed their normal selling prices.

Here is a screen shot of my list:


Since I know that my store has the lowest regular prices of any other major grocery store in the region (yeah Winco!), this system makes it extremely easy to price compare to the other store’s weekly sale fliers that arrive in the paper. I go to other stores for their loss leaders, and my store for everything else. I can also guesstimate what my total grocery bill will be before even stepping foot into the store (although usually Professor X does the shopping– happy dance! happy dance! )
Here is a magnification of part of the list:


Yes, it takes a small amount of time to organize up front, but my super grocery list has saved us many hours and even more cash.

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17 Comments

  1. I love to make lists.

    But when I get to the store I realize that I left my list at home. SON OF A!!!!

    I wish I had your discipline. *sigh*

  2. I am so going to do this. Call me anal. Call me cheap. Call me a Super Hero Follower. I am still so going to do this.

  3. I always write my grocery list in the order the store is laid out and I am very strict at sticking to the list. It really does save money.

    Your list still blows mine out of the water. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Oh wow! You are my hero!

  5. You rock! You don’t know how much time this little idea is gonna save me! Thanks!

  6. Now this is organization after my dear husband’s heart. He will love this!

  7. I do this too–but not the prices. I stick to one grocery store since my time is extremely valuable (I half homeschool and only have a few hours a week to myself.) I like to plan my menu, go through all ingredients and then plan out the list.

    I still tend to spend too long at the grocery store but that could be due to chatting ๐Ÿ˜‰

  8. LOL, I am awful I go in and grab what I *think* we need. When i go to Walmart I am usually much more organized though. I know exactly what I want and I’m out. I recently started using coupons and that’s helped a lot! I get a lot at CVS too (major deals there) I blogged about it last week and even showed the receipt to prove how my $60 order came to under $10 and still made more then I spent in extra bucks!

  9. I envy you so much. . .if only I were organized. I aspire to have a typed grocery list. . .who am I kidding? I aspire to a list of any kind that makes it to the store at the same time I do!

  10. I too shop WinCo faithfully! Love that grocery store. I’d love a copy of your list if you’d be willing to share. tbodily@gmail.com

  11. That is awesome! I did that one time… I should do it again. My husband often runs to the store for me too. I love it, but since I don’t go often, I’m getting really clueless about prices.

  12. Whoa. That is a great idea ๐Ÿ™‚

    Your eggs are so much cheaper there!

  13. Super organized Batman! I suppose I would do better to get a bit of that going myself;)

  14. Whoa! You do have super powers!
    I’ve always planned to do this, but have never gotten around to it.
    You inspire me!

  15. I have this list too!!!

    Except mine does not have the prices….that part, I will be stealing from a certain super hero!

    Lisa

  16. I am a list maker and despite the fact that hubby makes fun of me, it has saved me a lot of time, trips, and heartache in the past.

    But I have to give you a standing ovation…by grocery aisle? That’s BRILLIANT! I usually categorize my list (dairy in one place, frozen in another), but this is taking it to a whole new level.

    I hear you upping the ante and I will accept the challenge! Awesomeness! =)

  17. You’re brilliant, that’s all there is to it.

    Please come to my Kroger and then to my house and do this for me too?

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