Grocery shopping – what’s your “style”?

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Location
Ohio USA
Maybe MO (modus operandi) would be a better term.

I admit I’m ……anal, as in “excessive attention to detail”. Well, by that I mean super, excruciatingly organized. Maybe some OCD at play. And I really don't like to grocery shop.

A always take a list. Forget something? Never. (Well, only when I left the list at home....but I usually have my list in my phone). My list is organized according to the arrangement of items/shelves in the store. I don’t just walk around aimlessly. I never allow my cart to block the aisle, I push it to the side. I but both brand name and store generic. I only deviate if there is a SUPER deal/sale.

I only take paper coupons that I know I’ll use – others are loaded onto my card online.

Rarely do I buy anything not on the list – including bakery and deli. Chewing gum? It’s on the list. That blur you saw whizzing by....that was ME! That neatly organized cart...that was MINE! I see people standing, looking at items rubbing their chins trying to decide what to buy......(how sad,:( how do people live like that?).

I waste no time in the grocery store. I also have someone who sometimes does my heavy grocery shopping. She is well-trained (and well paid)! :D
 

I use a list, occasionally impulse buy if things are on offer. Generally a bit of a whizzer, except when choosing fruit and veg. Also do take the time to check use by dates, but in and out quickly, no aimless wandering through the aisles. I tend to order my shopping list according to the lay out of the shop, so hate it when they move things around. Sometimes the sheer choice baffles me, why so many different types of bog rolls, toothpaste, yoghurts, washing powders?
 
Wow, AC, you are organized.....me, not so much....I usually have 2 shopping list, mine and my mother's...when I first started shopping for her groceries she had me making 2 or 3 stops to pickup the different sales, I put a stop to that, sometimes I think she still thinks I'm 16 years old....anyway, this can get to be a real mess, keeping them separated in the cart, at the checkout, paying, in the car and unloading. I usually have to have a nap after shopping to recover.
 

AC...we don't use coupons here in the same way or anything near how you do in the USA...however...I am not anal about shopping at all..I universally hate grocery shopping so I am in and out like a speedskater addicted to fizzy energy drinks!!

I don't take a list, I know in which aisle everything is laid out and I go there and get the stuff quickly..the only time I do write something down is if it's something I must NOT forget,,then I will just have it as an Aide memoire....but a grocery list?.. nope, very rarely!!

I never block the aisles with the trolley..grrr I hate when people just stop and chat in the middle or stand looking in the fridges and freezers with their trolleys at 90 degrees blocking the aisles.

I always , always have my money or card out ready when I'm waiting in the queue at the till...whatsup with these people who pack their groceries away and then look stunned when they're asked to pay as if it's come as a shock that they're not getting it for free , then they start scrabbling around in the bottom of their bags to find their money...**god give me strength** .. :rolleyes:
 
My favorite neighborhood supermarket did a massive renovation last year and re-arranged things. I was a MESS!!! :( Took me several weeks to get used to the new arrangement.

I do have a backup - another store I like but I don't go there as much.
 
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They do it on purpose for the very reason we've all just stated ..going in getting what we need from the aisles we all know and avoiding all the others..so they're missing out on potential sales of stuff we wouldn't otherwise see..
 
Jackie22 said:
Wow, AC, you are organized.....me, not so much....I usually have 2 shopping list, mine and my mother's...when I first started shopping for her groceries she had me making 2 or 3 stops to pickup the different sales, I put a stop to that, sometimes I think she still thinks I'm 16 years old....anyway, this can get to be a real mess, keeping them separated in the cart, at the checkout, paying, in the car and unloading. I usually have to have a nap after shopping to recover.
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:laugh:

A close friend says the EXACT same thing abut her mother! But her mom is a sweetie. :)
 
Only take a list of things I absolutely have to get or else would have to come back later and get. Then I systematically (but fast:)) go through all the food aisles. When I see things, it triggers my memory. Things I would never have thought to put on a list.

I inherited this method from my mother. I had to go with her grocery shopping once a week when I was a kid, then drive her when I got my license. It was torturous to follow her through the aisles. Maybe why I hate the smell of celery to this day (all grocery stores smell like celery). But I do just like she did, anyway. It turns out not such a bad system for me, because I hate grocery shopping, and it cuts down on the number of trips.
 
I bring a list of things I MUST remember, like when I'm making a new recipe or for things I don't buy very often but otherwise I pretty much know what I need or want.

I kind of enjoy grocery shopping actually. I like looking at new products or displays.

Moonflight's comments on the many choices made me smile; my supermarket has a HUGE display of just yoghurt! Most of them little piddley containers of mostly fruit jam.... way overpriced.

I don't use coupons, refusing to buy into that game. Now and then I will use a store coupon for produce, eggs or dairy.
 
Yep we do have that too Rose...the HUGE varieties of Yoghurts or different types and flavours of Milk..or the gi-----normous variety of breads and cereals etc...
 
I never pay for:

Bacon
Eggs
Haagen Das ice cream
Bagged salad
V-8 juice

That's about $20.


I get them FREE with coupons sent to me by Kroger. (Not buy 1, get 1 free....I mean completely FREE)
 
applecruncher said:
I never pay for:

Bacon
Eggs
Haagen Das ice cream
Bagged salad
V-8 juice

That's about $20.


I get them FREE with coupons sent to me by Kroger. (Not buy 1, get 1 free....I mean completely FREE)
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Hey AC, that's pretty good!
My store doesn't give coupons for those things free :mad: No Kroger here.
But they do have coupons for deep discounts. I never buy bagged salad; its mostly just lettuce anyway, but I would pick it up for free!


 
Also timing is important. I never go on Saturday morning - usually weekday mid morning. I used to have a Kroger in my backyard where I used to live. VERY convenient. I often shopped in the late/wee hours then. Sometimes went after work (5:30 - 6PM) but that got hectic.
 
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Jackie22 said:
Wow, AC, you are organized.....me, not so much....I usually have 2 shopping list, mine and my mother's...when I first started shopping for her groceries she had me making 2 or 3 stops to pickup the different sales, I put a stop to that, sometimes I think she still thinks I'm 16 years old....anyway, this can get to be a real mess, keeping them separated in the cart, at the checkout, paying, in the car and unloading. I usually have to have a nap after shopping to recover.
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Such a good daughter you are Jackie! I know my day will come when I'm taking my mom grocery shopping as I don't think she'd trust me to 'squeeze that nickel hard enough' if you know what I mean ;). I can certainly understand the need for a nap after an afternoon like yours.
 
Jackie22 said:
Wow, AC, you are organized.....me, not so much....I usually have 2 shopping list, mine and my mother's...when I first started shopping for her groceries she had me making 2 or 3 stops to pickup the different sales, I put a stop to that, sometimes I think she still thinks I'm 16 years old....anyway, this can get to be a real mess, keeping them separated in the cart, at the checkout, paying, in the car and unloading. I usually have to have a nap after shopping to recover.
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I feel your pain. I sometimes shop for my sister if she is not feeling up to coming along, and it is a huge pain to keep everything separate and push two carts around. Then taking them in to her -- she lives in an apartment community that is gated and then there is a long walk to her apartment. But recently I figured out an easier way... I call when I'm getting near and she opens the front window (she lives on the ground floor) and I park in front and pass the groceries through the window. Saves a lot of awkward toting of bags the whole way to her and making several trips. If the management catches me at it, they'll probably have a fit, but oh, well . . . .
 
NancyNGA said:
Only take a list of things I absolutely have to get or else would have to come back later and get. Then I systematically (but fast:)) go through all the food aisles. When I see things, it triggers my memory. Things I would never have thought to put on a list.

I inherited this method from my mother. I had to go with her grocery shopping once a week when I was a kid, then drive her when I got my license. It was torturous to follow her through the aisles. Maybe why I hate the smell of celery to this day (all grocery stores smell like celery). But I do just like she did, anyway. It turns out not such a bad system for me, because I hate grocery shopping, and it cuts down on the number of trips.
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I use exactly the same method, which I guess I inherited from my mom, too. Never thought about it like that, but it's true. I kind of like going through the aisles and seeing what's new or what looks good. And as you say, seeing all the stuff jogs your memory that you need something .. "Oh, yeah, I need baking powder." I don't mind grocery shopping, but I HATE having to make little trips for one or two things, so I try to go only once a week, or two weeks if I can get away with it.

I'm not a basket organizer. I just chuck everything in there, except of course I'm careful with eggs and other squashables, but otherwise I just toss 'em in.
 
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Originally Posted by Jackie22
....I usually have 2 shopping list, mine and my mother's...when I first started shopping for her groceries she had me making 2 or 3 stops to pickup the different sales, I put a stop to that, sometimes I think she still thinks I'm 16 years old....anyway, this can get to be a real mess, keeping them separated in the cart, at the checkout, paying, in the car and unloading. I usually have to have a nap after shopping to recover.

I'd need a drink after that ordeal, never mind a nap!
 
Way to go Sifu, best deals evah!!!! But seriously me and hubby have our system. We go from a basic list. He has some issues moving around so he goes off the list plus random goodies. I pick up the heavier stuff and random goodies. By the time we get home...treats for the humans, for the dogs, the cats, the rats. We got everybody covered.
 
I take 'inventory' of goods in fridge and on shelves, make up a list, start shopping in the produce section and working my way through the store...ending up at the checkout.


applecruncher said:
My favorite neighborhood supermarket did a massive renovation last year and re-arranged things. I was a MESS!!! :( Took me several weeks to get used to the new arrangement.

I do have a backup - another store I like but I don't go there as much.
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It's really annoying when the market gets rearranged, the purpose being to force the customer to hunt for their purchases, thus increasing the likelihood that "impulse" purchases will occur.....:shrug:
 
We make shopping fun and we are not OCD about it for sure. We usually buy our food at the Super-Walmart cause it's only about 19 miles away from us. There they sell everything including cloths, car supplies, camping and sporting goods and much more. We go over there sometimes just to be able to walk around the building under air conditioning for exercise. When we go into a larger city 35 or 40 miles away we go to Winco or Foodmaxx and have our fun there. I do miss stores on the east coast and in Texas. Publix in FL and Tom Thumb and Kohols in TX and the east coast. I have a list of what we really need and then after that we just get whats on sale or what we want, giving a lot of attention to the deli.
 
I only write a list if it's something I really need and don't want to forget as for people blocking the isles that drive me mad as well , you'd think some were on a social outing stopping to talk in the isles, Like Holly mentioned regarding paying for items I always have my money out ready so I don't hold up people behind me. I do check use by dates, sugar/ fat content of some foods but I generally buy as much "fresh" foods as I can..
We don't have any such things as coupons for free food items , Costco emails me coupons for specials, and our local Foodland gives seniors 5% discount on Wednesdays..
We have Aldi opening in Adelaide soon so the big boys being Coles and Woolworth's who had most of the market share, before Costco opened last year are all matching prices to win back customers who mostly shopping elsewhere and with Aldi as an additional competition opening soon the big boys are finding their profits are dwindling and are putting off workers as a result.
 
We go to different stores for different items. We live in a rural area so the local grocer prices are extremely high. We go there only for meat and short life items. In order to stay afloat when Wal Mart built 30 miles away,they chose to source good meat as their hook. Their meat is of exceptional quality so they get most of our meat business. Once every six weeks or so we will go to a warehouse store and get long life goods. Wal Mart benefits from the balance of our needs.
We use a fairly standard baseline of food items and household products,some might say boring. We are not afraid to deviate as the mood strikes.
I am an in and out kind of a guy,and my wife tends to view all shopping,(even grocery) as an outing or entertainment event. This has lead to some heated discussions in the past. I am good for just about an hour, no more!
 

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