Do You Shop With A List?

This is a two-parter. Do you shop w/ a list (& stick to it), & do you use coupons?

Recently I've seen shows where folks shop in large quantities (using coupons), and their bill come to practically nothing.
 

Jim_S

Resident Curmudgeon
Gold Site Supporter
We use a list. Both my wife and I add to the list so whoever goes shopping can get everything. We generally stay pretty close to it but there are times that you can get too close to the shelves and something will jump into the cart! :whistling:

We use coupons but only for items that we already planned to purchase.

Jim
 

Leni

New member
We use a list and Tom clips the coupons. I usually end up with something not on the list, usually something that I forgot to put on it. He'll buy anything on sale or at a very good price. We have three refrigerators and a stand up freezer. Guess why although one of them is my daughters who lives with us.
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I've seen those shows also CC and simply cannot believe that you can get 300 dollars worth of groceries for 25 dollars plus coupons. Something just ain't right there.

We use a list. We only go to the grocery store once every two weeks and so a list is definitely required. DW has it down now where she makes the list up the evening before shopping and then types it putting it in aisle order. :eek: Then they remodeled the grocery story. It took a couple months before she could get things in correct aisle order but she did it. Yes, we use coupons also. On a $300 bill coupons might save us 10% or 30 dollars. We do stick pretty much to the list. I'm usually the one who while waiting on her to find exactly what she wants I'll spy something that looks to good to leave behind. I'm bad that way.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
We use a list but it's for things that I don't want to forget because we are either low, completely out or I need it for a particular recipe I want to make. We never stick to just the list...if something is on sale and I use it, I put it in the pantry for future use. I do use coupons too.
 
I've seen those shows also CC and simply cannot believe that you can get 300 dollars worth of groceries for 25 dollars plus coupons. Something just ain't right there.

We use a list. We only go to the grocery store once every two weeks and so a list is definitely required. DW has it down now where she makes the list up the evening before shopping and then types it putting it in aisle order. :eek: Then they remodeled the grocery story. It took a couple months before she could get things in correct aisle order but she did it. Yes, we use coupons also. On a $300 bill coupons might save us 10% or 30 dollars. We do stick pretty much to the list. I'm usually the one who while waiting on her to find exactly what she wants I'll spy something that looks to good to leave behind. I'm bad that way.

Blows my mind, Doc. Saw one show where a guy had several helpers rolling the carts to the checkout line. The grocery bill came to maybe $1000, but he only paid a few dollars. Another lady put her kids through college & bought a new car with the savings. Maybe the trick is double coupons - makes an item free.
 
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Kimchee

Guest
I do use a list and am fairly good at sticking to it, but if I find markdowns or good deals on things we use or eat I will snap them up!

As for coupons.... I have found that generally I can get a store brand for even less than the coupon price for most items. Since I am not brand conscious and believe that for most items no-name is just as good, I count my coupon savings in the time and effort saved not having to bother with the things.
 

mhend

New member
I usually make a list but somehow extra stuff always ends up in the cart. :)

I actually took a couponing class with my aunt a few months ago. It was interesting, but I just don't have the time or the patience for it. The instructor of the class has actually made money buying groceries. She uses store and mfg. coupons and shops the BOGO sales. She doubles the coupons when possible (Publix automatically doubles coupons up to 50 cents, I think) and also shops in places that honor competitor coupons. She had a display of items that she got for free using the all the combinations of coupons. Pretty good deal if you have time for it.
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
When I shop for the restaurant I always use a list. When I shop for the house (not that I do much of that any longer....) I rarely use a list.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Like Mama, we keep a list on the fridge door for things we are low on or out of. But it's more of a list of 'not to forget' stuff. I don't even attempt to stick to it.

I very rarely coupon. I buy few boxed, canned & packaged items, and they rarely have coupons for meat, seafood, produce & dairy. Most coupons are for stuff I would never buy. We buy most of our paper & cleaning products at Costco, so I do use coupons there.
 

GotGarlic

New member
I started using a list when grocery prices started going up a couple of years ago; I was surprised at how much I ended up saving by not buying things I already had. I keep a list of items we run out of during the week, and then I look at the Sunday sales in the newspaper and shop for meats based on that.

DH sometimes uses coupons, but I don't have the patience or want to spend the time.
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
I always have a list, but like everyone else, I usually grab a number of items that are not on the list. In the grocery stores here, restocking is not automatic. If I see chocolate chips, for example, I grab 'em, because it may be six months before I see them again. As for coupons, so such thing here.
 

FooD

New member
My list is usually very short......no more than 5 items. I need a list for even one item because otherwise by the time I get to the store there's a good chance I'll forget what I came for.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
My list is usually very short......no more than 5 items. I need a list for even one item because otherwise by the time I get to the store there's a good chance I'll forget what I came for.

How often do you go shopping, FooD?

Lee
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
We use a list but it's for things that I don't want to forget because we are either low, completely out or I need it for a particular recipe I want to make. We never stick to just the list...if something is on sale and I use it, I put it in the pantry for future use. I do use coupons too.

A+ Same here.
 

chocolate moose

New member
Super Site Supporter
Not only do I shop with a list, the list is made up with the columns of the grocery store, with headings, so I'm in and out quickly !!!

I wrote it manually, scanned it into my computer, and print a few at a time. On the back, I have the days of the week listed, so I can match up what I'm buying to upcoming dinners.
 

chocolate moose

New member
Super Site Supporter
It's so great. You can even take ruler and a plain piece of paper, and just draw lines for the aisles, and the headings - freezer, cereal, etc.
 

FooD

New member
How often do you go shopping, FooD?

Lee
Often, especially for produce. With an Asian market just around the corner from where I live I often go there for just what I need for the night. For bulk items, I go to Costco, perhaps once or twice and month to load up and that list could be huge.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
I so miss ethnic markets.
They were plentiful when I lived across the pond.
Around here you are hard pressed to find much of anything, unless it's the run of the mill imported grocery store fare.
 

AllenOK

New member
Shortly after I got my first apartment, I created the perfect grocery list. I bought a really small clipboard, some junior legal pads, and a package of strip magnets. I put the magnets on the back side of the clipboard, and slipped a junior legal pad into the clip (they fit perfectly). Add a pencil (most pens will not write in a horizontal or slightly point-up position) and slap that sucker on the fridge. Whenever I'm low or out of something, write it down. I would shop for groceries on Fridays. Just grab the list and go.

I don't normally shop with coupons. One thing I've noticed is that the folks that do the coupon clipping generally end up shopping at many different markets, and run all over town. I wonder if what they save with the coupons actually offsets the cost of the gas they burn doing all that driving?
 

buckytom

Grill Master
my answer is yes to a list, yes and no about sticking to it, and i rarely remember to use coupons - but i'll say sometimes.

i get a list, my marching orders, from dw.

i do my best to fulfill that list, but as i'm picking up the ordinance, i'll grab stuff on sale, stuff i want to make or have seen a good recipe for, and just other stuff to fill my pantry and fridge. (just to 'splain again, we have a 2 family house that we live throughout, so dw has her own kitchen, and i have mine).

i use a shopper's saver's card in all of the supermarkets that i frequent, so it's like having a coupon for whatever's on sale. occasionally, i'll remember to bring extra coupons received in the mail or by email, or from a previous checkout, but i usually forget that i had them until i've gotten back in the car. :mellow:
 

Leni

New member
Sass, a lot depends upon where you live. Here in the Valley I can find just about every ethnic that there is.
 

Guts

New member
I use a list and try to stick to it, but sometimes you walk by something as just calling out buy me, I'm on sale. I also use coupons now and then, I find with coupons that if I'm going to use that product in the next year. I'll use a coupon and buy it, and put it in the pantry.

As far as making a list that's easy I sit down at the PC look with the ads dictate what I want to a Word document hit print done just that easy. This ensures that I can read the list when I get to the store rather than try to figure out my chicken scratch on a piece of paper. I have laser printers that don't cost much to print and are very fast. Not a big deal using paper and ink.
 
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