Today we are giving up eight items from our shopping lists. It is that easy.
Write your grocery list, just like always. Then go through the list and cross off eight items that you are not going to buy this week.
What should you cross off of your list? According to CreditDonkey, on average 25% of our purchases are on processed foods. Beer, soda, and salty snacks show up on almost all of the “most heavily purchased items” lists that I reviewed in preparation for this blog. These are easy items to do without until your next grocery trip.
Also think of items that can be replaced with something you already have at home. Do you have lunchmeat on your grocery list, but could easily use the peanut butter and jelly you already have at home? Could you make a loaf of bread instead of buying one? Could you dig through your freezer and use something hidden in the back to make a meal that will get you by for another day?
To step it up a notch, think of other items that you typically buy that are not necessary to make the meal. Do you really NEED sour cream for tacos? It is still a taco without it? Spaghetti is still spaghetti even without the meat or cheese. Soup can be made without broth. You get the idea. Sacrifice is the key here, not starvation.
Catalina marketing group has found that although there are over 35,000 items available at most grocery stores the average consumer buys only 260 in an entire year. We are given so many choices that it is easy to suffer from decision fatigue within a few minutes of entering a grocery store. As we face decision fatigue we do one of two things. We either shut down (ever come home from the grocery store and not have something you can make for supper?) or the more common, make really BAD decisions (the what was I thinking or I can’t believe I spent that much money effect). Having a well thought out list and sticking to the list is necessary to fight these impulses.
Really, I bet most of us could SURVIVE even if we skipped the grocery trip altogether. Give up eight (or more) grocery list items, get a little creative and let me know how it goes! Please consider donating the money you saved to an organization that helps feed people.
The AMAZINGLY SIMPLE way to streamline your grocery list.
simply,
bridgette
AMAZINGLY SIMPLE 