35 Minutes to Grocery Shopping Greatness

Am I the only one who hates grocery shopping? It’s been SO cold up north that I really have no desire to leave the house when it’s 3 degrees. Especially to take my 3 poor littles out in it. But if we want to eat well, I must. Here is how to prep for your grocery shopping trip in 35 minutes.

35 Minutes to Grocery Shopping Greatness

0:00-5:00 Make a list

Now. I am not a meal planner. I find I save more money without a meal plan. If you are a meal planner, have that done. I’m not listing it here because it used to take me hours to do.

If you don’t have an ongoing list, you should start one. I keep mine on my phone so I never forget it at the store, but on the fridge works well, too. Even so, check the fridge and pantry. Then check the calendar–any special meals, holidays, or dinner guests?

05:00-10:00 Check the sales flier

If you have a price book, you are ahead of the game. If not, just scan the weekly ad for items you keep on hand or favorite treats on sale and add them to your list.

With super stores like Target or Meijer, I add things to check, too. Perhaps a sale on shirts or kitchen stuff or storage will catch my eye. Add those to your list

10:00-15:00 Check for online coupons

Check online for ways to save. Many times the store will have their own coupon programs or apps–like Target’s cartwheel app or Meijer’s mPerks program. I always check these as well as shopkick to earn points at Target. Ibotta & Checkout 51 are two apps that give you cash back for purchasing certain items. Frequently they have milk, OJ and other basics eligible for cash back. And since they are rebates, you can combine sales, coupons and rebates for some awesome deals like this one!

15:00-20:00  Check for print/printable coupons

If you use print coupons, check The coupon database at Hot Coupon World to see if there are any for things on your list. I also check for printable coupons on Swagbucks since I earn points for redeeming coupons though them. MyPoints does this, too, as do many other sites. Or you can just go to coupons.com. Keep an eye out for coupons matching sale items. I sometimes add things I wouldn’t normally buy because they are pretty cheap when combined with coupons.

20:00 – 25:00  List coupons to use w/items on list

Once I have my coupons & rebates picked & printed, I add the coupons to my grocery list. Many times I want to buy something based on coupons I find & forget because its not on my list.

25:00-30:00   Reorder shopping list

If you keep a list on your phone, it’s is easy to reorder your list by section on the fly. If its on paper, take the time to rewrite your grocery list by section. It helps grocery shopping go so much quicker to have everything together.  It helps reduce backtracking or forgetting items entirely, too.

30:00-35:00 Grab it & go!

I have a plastic envelope I use to shop with when I have a huge paper list & many coupons. Make sure you have your list, coupons, reusable grocery bags and go. Just make sure you have a snack or meal & plenty of water first so you don’t buy everything that looks yummy :).

How do you prepare for your grocery shopping trips?