I spend a lot of time thinking about, buying, preparing and cleaning up after meals. We rarely eat out, which leaves a lot of food to prepare at home for the five of us. But I don’t mind the work I put into meals. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to talk about food and drinks. It’s almost like a hobby.
That’s why grocery shopping is my favorite thing to do. I would rather spend an hour in the produce section than a mall. Feeling the heft of a glossy ruby red pepper, eying up briny jars of olives, imagining the creamy smell of a chunk of Havarti cheese…it all thrills me. Grocery shopping is a sensual experience for me, one inspires gourmet meals and fantastic dinner parties, if only in my head.
The method
Despite the emotional experience of buying and eating food, my planning is all business. I have a specific routine that helps me prepare my list and then execute my plan.
Starting today, I’ll spend the next week outlining each step of my plan. For now, here’s an overview of my process:
1. Access the Pick ‘n Save flier online
2. Build my grocery list from the weekly specials in the ad
3. Add any items to the list that might not be on sale but I need anyway
4. Find, cut and organize coupons for the items on my list
5. Shop!
I can spend up to 10 hours a week on this process. I know that sounds like a lot of time (and maybe more than you want to spend), but when it’s broken down each day, it isn’t much. And it pays off! I love to see the savings add up.
Stay tuned for more posts about the specifics of each step.
hi. perhaps this is a stupid question, no, i KNOW this is a stupid question but i’m going to ask anyway. where do you get coupons? i’ve always wanted to be a coupon clipper but i just don’t know where to find them. are they in the newspaper? we get all our news online. are the coupons on line?
i love this blog. keep it up. i’ll be reading.
Harmonie, thanks so much for the comment. Yours is NOT a stupid question at all! In fact, it’s a perfect segue into my next post about coupons (look for it later this morning–Sunday).
But I’ll give you a quick answer to your question:
1. Sunday newspaper. I got a subscription a few months ago and it easily paid for itself with the coupons I get in it.
2. Online. Coupons.com is my favorite site, but there are some other sites/blogs that I’ll mention in my next post.
3. Coupon swapping/trains or coupon clipping services. Some are free (like the swaps) and some are pay-per-clip (like the services). I’m not as familiar with these, but I’ll be posting some info on where to find them and how to start your own swap.
4. Catalinas. These are the coupons that you receive at the checkout with your receipt. LOVE these.
Hope that helps! Thanks so much for the comment. Glad you like this blog. Please let me know if there are any other ideas/subjects you’d like to know more about. I’m always interested in suggestions for improvement.