Grocery stores are designed with one purpose in mind… to get you to spend as much money as possible! From the parking lot to the register, the grocery shopping is a rat maze designed to keep you in the store for much longer than you plan. This blog will give you 5 great tips for smart grocery shopping:
- Do not shop when you are hungry
Make sure to eat something before you enter the store. Hunger is one of the strongest driving forces in life and it is such a powerful urge that it can shape the way we see reality.
A 2015 study showed that hungry shoppers spend 70% more than shoppers who just ate. So, if you don’t want to return home with unnecessary groceries, make sure your stomach isn’t growling when you enter the store.
- Avoid the aisles
Grocery stores are designed to keep you shopping for as long as possible. The produce is usually the first thing you encounter. Your essential items like eggs and milk are always furthest from the front and your meat and bread is usually on the other side. Just about every supermarket has this layout.
The items you throw in your cart will get less and less healthy, the longer you remain inside the aisles where the unhealthiest processed foods are. The registers are also packed with sweet impulse temptations, and you can’t avoid the register!
So in general, if you just do a lap around the perimeter of the store, you’ll avoid the pitfalls of junk food.
- Make a list
Shopping lists are great for helping you save time, remember what you need and stay focused. If you enter the store with no plan, other than you want food, you’ll be subjected to the maze. If you don’t set goals for yourself, other people will.
- Buy in bulk
Part of being a successful shopper is being a smart shopper. Buying things in bulk saves money. If there are items that you know you buy repeatedly that don’t spoil, there are financial benefits to buying a year’s supply at once. This can save you hundreds, if not thousands, over the course of a year.
- Check the ingredients
The less ingredients a food item has, the less processed it is. A banana has one ingredient, a banana! A hot pocket has over 50, most of which are long complicated words that are intentionally crafted to be misunderstood. So as a general healthy rule, try to stick to foods that have less than 5 ingredients.
Hopefully, this blog helps you save time and money at the grocery store and moves you closer to a happier, healthier life! For more food tips check out Intermittent Fasting: Tips for Beginners for some great weight loss tips!