Comments on: Do no-buy days work?

By: funnyaboutmoney1

funnyaboutmoney1 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:50:14 +0000

Absolutely! My plan is to reduce shopping trips to once a month — or as close to that as I can manage.

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:45:09 +0000

Planning definitely goes a long way to keeping your spending down. Each time you go in the supermarket you risk spending a little extra on the things you don’t need.

I’m tending towards one big shop a week now with another visit half way through to ge milk, bread and other bits and pieces. Generally I spend less than I used to when I used to go in 3 or 4 times a week.

By: The grocery pool « Funny about Money

The grocery pool « Funny about Money — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:16:11 +0000

[...] Three weeks of every four, you would stay out of grocery stores! We’ve already seen that simply not going into stores saves a surprising amount of [...]

By: funnyaboutmoney1

funnyaboutmoney1 — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:51:04 +0000

That IS interesting. You have to pay a surcharge for online shopping, and you get no choice in the quality of the produce — whatever some kid in the stock department grabs off the top of the bin is what you get. But the idea that you could actually save money by having your groceries delivered is fascinating. You could always buy everything BUT produce and then go to a specific store armed with a list for your fresh fruits and vegetables.

Basha’s has canceled its online ordering service. I don’t know whether Safeway still does it — hope so, but in these times, services like these are unlikely to survive, especially if they’re actually costing stores money by cutting into impulse buys. They’re a godsend for the elderly in an area like Phoenix, where public transportation is inadequate.

By: Anne

Anne — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:50:20 +0000

I work ancillary in the supermarket industry and this is backed up with hundreds of pages of research. Heh, I’m at home with a cat on my desk rather than piles of articles, so no statistics. The simple act of grabbing a cart when your purchases will fit in a basket can cause you to spend more if you aren’t shopping directly from a list. Staying out of the store is powerful but the research seems to point to the list being the most important part of the equation. The minute you step foot into a store there are hundreds of “BUYBUYBUY” marketing messages assaulting you.

When I lived in AZ, sans car and on a meager grad student stipend, online grocery shopping was a god send. When you order online you have to have a list and you’re removed from the advertising. So my $100/mo grocery store budget was adequate and then I could supplement it with a few bucks a week for fast food.

I’ve gotten the shopping one day a week thing down (my mom and I shop together to save gas) but I’m still working on the list and the cooking. Also, if your library has any Paco Underhill books they’re a great non-trade press source for a lot of this sort of info.