[Aviza]

I noticed today that I get stressed out grocery shopping. I knew I never liked it, but it causes me anxiety. I know it's the one area that is flexible in my budget but I have a hard time keeping track and fear going too far over my self allotted amount. And I pretty much always do, even with opting not to get some of the things I intended to.

I don't know if anyone has any tips on how to manage that kind of stress but I sure could use them.

I have to budget using cash. At the beginning of the month I put into envelopes the amounts I have budgeted for each expense. In the case of groceries I have an envelope for each week. This way, I'm unable to go over my budget.

I also save a great deal of money making soups, soaking dry beans, and taking bread out of my diet.

[avlady]

i agree with rcat

I have a grocery shopping list app on my iPad where I can not just list what I need, but I can also enter in the cost of each item ahead of time so when I make my list I have a pretty good idea what that trip is going to cost. It saves those prices and those items for future lists I make( and you can tweak them as needed for better price accuracy).

[Perna]

Yes, I would find a way like lolagrace to keep track of amounts so you know exactly how much things are going to cost so you don't go over if that is what is stressing you.

5 Grocery Shopping Apps That Can Save You Time and Money - ABC News

I use to make it a game to learn or guess approximately how much most important items I was buying cost (bread, milk, eggs, meat, fruit, vegetables I like, etc.) and then see how close I could come to my budget when I did my actual shopping.

The one I use is literally called "Shopping List" by hensoft.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shop...360112255?mt=8

There is a free version. I think I paid a few dollars to upgrade to a version without ads. Works for me.

[IceCreamKid]

I despise grocery shopping. I often go when the store is least busy. In my neighborhood that is Friday evening. One nice thing is that if I time it just right they are putting out all the freshest things for the big shopping day on Saturday.

The other thing I do is I allot so much money for categories, rather than specific items. So many dollars for fresh vegetables, for example. Then I buy a mix of what I like that is good for me that fits into that dollar amount and I try to buy a mix of colors for optimum health. Purple onions, red peppers, orange carrots, etc. When zucchini stops being a good buy, I drop it and switch to something else green/yellow.

I try to build in money to take advantage of specials. Laundry detergent was dirt cheap. So I bought 2. Because usually it isn't cheap.

You could wear earphones and listen to something pleasant while you shop; you'd only need to listen to the cashier.

[pegasus]

Do your shopping online and get it delivered. You can see the total and chuck out items you don't want to bring the price down. Not only that but you don't even have to get stuck behind people with trolley's and there is no queuing at the checkout!

[lizardlady]

This is pretty old school, but I used to carry a calculator with me. I kept a running total of what I put in the buggy. I also used cash. I had a set amount with me so I could not spend more than I was carrying.

I also got the "must have" items first. That way I didn't run out of money loading up on "fun" stuff. Hubby and I had big appetites. I would buy some items in bulk quantities if I knew we'd eat it before it spoiled. I cooked a lot of what we ate from scratch. Some thing's are way cheaper from scratch than prepackaged stuff. I also used to be a coupon queen. I clipped coupons from the paper on Sundays and Thursday (big coupon days) and used them when I shopped. A coupon tip - check the price of other brands of the item you have a coupon for. Sometimes a comparable item is cheaper than the coupon item.

Someone mentioned shopping on Friday night because the store is empty. Boy howdy! Not in my area! Friday night is when people just cashed their check and are in the store - along with their fifty zillion screaming children - doing a major shop. I try to avoid the grocery store on Friday night. Early morning is usually the best time around here.