My Grocery Shopping Must Haves

It's pretty much a given fact: most people have to go to the grocery store. And for many people, it is every week. As a kid, I would go to Ralphs, Vons or Pavilions all the time with my mom or dad. At the time, I never really paid attention to the prices, what was on sale, or what brand was better quality. But I did pay attention to the free samples, kid snacks, and the coupon dispenser that was in the aisles (it was just fun to pull the coupons out.)

Since my young childhood days until now, things have changed a lot when it comes to grocery shopping. Now that I am grocery shopping on my own, I've definitely paid attention to prices and what I bring home to our small dining room table. I could go on and tell you about grocery store tips, but I feel I'm not exactly a seasoned shopper (yet!). So here are just a few things that I would never EVER leave at home when I go to the grocery store.

1) My coupons
I don't get the newspaper at home, so I mostly just get them online and print them out. I use www.swagbucks.com and they have online coupons available. When I am going to my parents house, I'll ask them to save coupons for me. (I never ask them to save every insert every single week, they don't like that hanging around)

Top: What I carry my coupons in when I go to the grocery store.
Bottom: My coupons in my coupon binder.

Now, I used to bring my whole coupon binder (another post on that later) with me to the grocery store, but that was kind of a pain to carry around. It is big and it got inconvenient when I would unpack my groceries considering our parking spots are not right at our front door. I used to have a blue pencil holder with different pockets. It worked out great...till I lost it! Well, I used envelopes for a little while and finally I broke down and bought this little mini accordion folder that says coupons on it. It was $1 at Target (can't beat that Dollar section) and I thought I would try it out. So far, only used it once and it works out great!

I also have coupons on my iPod. I only have Target coupons so far. (Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how much is out there!) Target has a great app & website called Cartwheel. You choose items you plan or might get and you can get 5-25% off. And that is on top of your coupons and your 5% off if you have a Target card.

2) My Club Card
Trust me, it's the best thing to happen for me and my shopping. I'm glad these came out before I had to do my own shopping.

I mostly go to Vons, so I have my club card next to the cards I do use often. Many items that are on sale, you can only get for that price if you use your club card.  Not only that, more and more stores are adding coupons, free items, or items specially priced for you when you go on their website and add the deals straight to your card. Vons has the Just for U program, and I know for sure Ralphs and Stater Bros. do something similar. And most of my coupons are already added to my card.

Furthermore, many times, you get rewarded when you do use your card. At Vons, when you get 100 points, you get 10 cents off a gallon at Chevron or Texaco gas stations. It's like it was meant for me because Chevron gas stations are my preferred choice. Ralphs has something similar. And with pharmacy stores like CVS, Walgreens, etc. you can get extra bucks back. It's like getting a little gift card for that store.

3)My List
I usually don't want to make impulse buys, spend so much time at the grocery store, or forget things. So the list a must have. When I do go to Vons, we are able to make a list from their website and add the coupons/ special prices we have on our card, on our list. The Vons list shows what items you need to get, how much, what a coupon is worth, and when it will expire. I prefer to not use my iPod touch as a list and do it the old fashioned way and use paper. I don't really like putting my password in every time I need to check something off.


4) My Reusable Grocery Bags
When I think about how much plastic grocery bags are being used and how much it fills our landfills, it makes me feel guilty every time I have to use one. So, one less plastic bag that is used, the better I feel about using my bags. And I don't really care if the baggers like them or not. (I've heard complaints from them while my items were being put in them) They are also easier for me to carry when I unload my groceries from my car to our apartment.

Getting reusable grocery bags do not have to be expensive. They can be $1 usually, but I mostly get them for free. And they don't have to necessarily be the same shape or type of material. I've used a bag I got from a bachelorette party 4 years ago. I've gotten bags from work. I got a free bag from Vons using the Just for U program. And recently after attending a convention I've gotten several more bags that are perfect for groceries.

If reducing the amount of plastic bags in our landfills doesn't convince you, many stores are rewarding customers for using reusable bags and many cities/ counties are making you bring your own bags. Through my experience, Target and Sprouts takes off 5 cents per bag used. And some stores add extra points to your club rewards. Also, in Los Angeles County, it is pretty much a law now that you have to use reusable grocery bags. If you don't have them, grocery stores will charge an extra 10 cents or so for every bag used. (I predict it won't be long till Orange County puts that law into effect.)

So, I'm still learning the best way to save money while grocery shopping but hopefully for those of you who are just starting to grocery shop on your own, maybe these little tips will help you out.

See ya later!

Shay