Yesterday we talked about some helpful ways to prepare for shopping
with your children.and But we need to put all that planning to work by
actually getting our shopping done!and Here are some helpful tips for
making the most of your time with small children in the grocery store.

Set Them Up for Success
You can take small steps to help your children be successful in the grocery store.and

I’ve
found that by doing a few simple things, I’m able to set my girls up
for success when we go to the grocery store.and This doesn’t always guarantee success, but I do think that it improves our chances of coming home happy.

• Bring your gear:and This includes all of your couponing gear and any diaper bags, hand wipes, or baby carriers that you might need.
• Think about seating:and
  Think through seating before you get in the cart corral.and Publix has
  double-seater carts, but we’ve found that it’s best if I wear my baby
  in a wrap while shopping.and What will be most effective for you?
• Pack a snack:and If I’m smart, I’ll pack a snack for my toddler and
  for me to avoid any cracker-aisle blood sugar crashes.and This helps me
  to resist the temptation of cracking open a box of Cheez-Its halfway
  through the trip.and and
• Encourage them:and A little bit of encouragement goes a long way.and Focus on things they’re doing right, and tell them you’re proud of them.

Give Them A Purpose
Busy hands and minds are content hands and minds.

Grocery shopping can be really
boring to an active three-year-old strapped in to a shopping cart for
an hour and a half. Even small children can be involved in the grocery
shopping experience.and My two-year-old knows to look for blinkies (she
calls them “saves”) and is in charge of holding any new coupons I
accumulate while at the store. I recently met a very wise mom shopping
with her four children at the
store.and Her two oldest girls walked behind her pushing a toy shopping
cart, helping Mom cart along items from her list. You’ll find that your
children can be a great help while you’re shopping, even if your
children are very small!

Make it a Learning Experience
You don’t need to plan arts and crafts to help your children learn at the store.

The
grocery store is chock-full of learning opportunities, we just need to
take advantage of them!and Children can identify shapes and letters, go
on a color scavenger hunt, read signs, make predictions, compare
prices, and more.and The opportunities for learning – even for the
smallest children – are limitless.and Reinforce skills your child is
working on at home or at school.and Bornlearning.org is a great resource
for these kinds of ideas.and You have a captive audience while you’re at
the store; make the most of it!

Ask for – and accept – help
You don’t have to go it alone at the grocery store.

I don’t do this often
enough!and A few days ago, a kind gentleman behind me in line offered to help me
get my pesky cantaloupe out of the corner of my cart as I nearly fell all over myself to get it.and What a
blessing!and Publix is known for its customer
service, and they are there to help you.and Ask for help unloading your
cart if you need it.and Let the meat department know if you can’t find
those on-sale chicken breasts.and Get carryout service.and I’ve even
flagged down people in the parking lot to ask for their shopping cart
so that I can load the kids up without trekking into the store.and My
kids know my local Publix employees, and they look forward to seeing
them every week when we shop.and Thanks to all of their help, I do too

When
you’re shopping with small children, you need to give yourself – and
your children – an extra measure of grace. You will miss deals.and You
will make mistakes.and You will forget to use coupons.and Sometimes diapers
will blow out, ordinarily well-behaved children will have tantrums, and
you’ll come home with a headache.and Remember that your children are some
of your greatest earthly blessings, even when they’re throwing
a fit about the candy in the check-out line.and By being proactive, you
can simplify – but not perfect – your shopping trips.and Make sure you
come to the store with reasonable expectations, a sense of humor, a
healthy dose of patience… and of course, your kids!

Do you have any helpful tips for shopping with your children?and Let’s encourage each other as we walk these aisles together!

Guest post by Sarah

The “uh-oh” coming from the grocery cart was not a good sign.  There, right in front of the frozen vegetables, my two-year-old had dropped my coupon organizer…and its contents.   My meticulously organized coupons had scattered across the aisle, and the fussy baby I was wearing was really not interested in my bending over to pick these up off the floor.  I hurriedly shoved the coupons back in my no-longer-organized organizer and vowed to never shop with both girls again.

Then reality set in.

Although it can be really wonderful to shop alone, I still do my regular grocery shopping with both of my girls in tow.  But since shopping strategically is challenging enough on its own, I’ve had to figure out a few ways to simplify our shopping experience. Even if you don’t regularly shop with your children, some of these tips may still be helpful as you try to streamline your shopping. 

I’ve found that one of the best ways to ensure success at the grocery store is to be prepared.  By spending a little extra time at home preparing for my trip, I save myself time and frustration at the store.  Here are some helpful ways you can prepare for your shopping trips with small children.

Make a List

It’s important to have a plan before you even buckle those kids into their car seats. 

Before I do my grocery shopping, I plan our meals for the week and make a detailed grocery list.  My list is organized by section of the grocery store, and I indicate whether or not I’m planning to use a coupon on that item.  I also have a short list of “maybes” at the bottom of my list — items that I can add in for stockpiling or for splurges — if I’m under budget after purchasing my necessities. If you’re anything like me, you won’t remember it if it isn’t written down… so have a list, and use it!

Gather Your Coupons

Set aside all the coupons you’re planning to use for your shopping trip.

I pull and organize all of the coupons that I’m planning to use, and I clip these to my grocery list.  That way, I don’t have to spend my time at the grocery store fumbling for coupons.  This also helps limit the chance of my dropping my entire coupon stash again.  If there’s a coupon I don’t end up using (if an item is out of stock, or if the deal doesn’t work into my budget), I simply pull it out of the stack and put it in the front of my coupon binder or in my pocket.  I’ll (hopefully) file it away later, when I get home.

Set Ground Rules

Children need to know ahead of time what is expected of them at the grocery store.

Even small children need to have ground rules for the grocery store.  If you are planning to shop often with your kids, it is imperative that you set some expectations up front.  Smaller children can understand that you won’t make unplanned purchases (Teddy Grahams, anyone?), and that they must stay seated at all times.  Older children need to be reminded to stay with you, and not to take any unauthorized items off the shelves. Think through what you want your children to do (or not do) while in the grocery store, and tell them about it.  And don’t be afraid to follow through with consequences if they do not obey your directives; you want them to understand that the rules apply at the grocery store the same way they apply at home. 

Planning well will absolutely simplify your shopping, but it doesn’t guarantee success.  You actually have to go to the store!  Tomorrow, I’ll share some tips for your time inside the grocery store. 

What are some ways you plan ahead to simplify your grocery trips?

Yesterday, I wrote about how I afford my meal plans by stocking up ahead on ingredients when they are on sale. Today, I’d like to pass along some tips on how to get started building your stockpile without blowing your grocery budget.

Start by using 10% of your grocery budget on stock up items.

This means identify a few products that are on sale and free or nearly free when stacked (matched) with coupons. Round up printable coupons, news paper coupons, coupons your friends are not using and use these on the items on sale.

You will be surprised by how far 10% will go when you are purchasing sale items. For example, your grocery budget is $100/wk and you are setting aside $10 for stock ups. Kelloggs cereal is BOGO $3.99 at Publix ($2/each) and there is a $1/1 printable coupon available. You have access to six $1 off 1 box of cereal coupons. You will purchase 6 boxes of cereal and you will pay $1 a box plus tax. Now you have $4 left to buy more stock ups. Next check out French’s mustard on sale BOGO $1.39 ($0.70/each)  You have 2  $0.75/1 coupons. You will purchase the mustard. It will cost nothing out of pocket and you still have $4 to use on your stock pile. Continue this system until you use up your $10.

Use 90% of your grocery money for immediate needs.

Assuming you have not built up a stockpile, you will need to eat something for the week other than cereal and mustard. Plan your meals based on what is on sale and what you have on hand or follow the meal plan on this site. Use coupons if you have them. If not, don’t worry about it. You’ll have a great stash before you know it.

Continue this pattern for several weeks.

There is no magic number, but a gradual shift depending on the sale cycles. After a few weeks you will begin to notice that the rice you need is already in the pantry, you’re not out of mustard, and there is plenty of cereal for breakfast. That will free up another $10 to use toward stockpiling. Now you’ve moved to using 80% of your budget on immediate needs.

Start looking for free and nearly free health and beauty aids.

If you have not already started to add health and beauty aids to your stockpile start paying attention to those things now. You will notice that nearly free toothpaste is all over the place for a few weeks, then deodorant, then shave gel. Don’t try to do every deal at first. Just take some of that stockpile $$ and try a few small purchases. Pick a drugstore and start reading the sale ad each week along with the grocery ad you are already reading. When you have a few toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, and bottles of shampoo on hand you will be able to hold out for the free and money making deals.

Focus on meat.

You’re off to a great start most likely spending 30-40% of your grocery money on stockpiling. You may have purchased some meat on sale already since you have been reading the sale ads each week. If not, really focus on it now. Buy extra when meat is cheap and freeze it.

Take a deep breath!

Now, start doing all of this at the same time. It’s not hard. You have already incorporated all of the building blocks into your lifestyle. Before you know it you will have slashed your grocery bill in half, you’ll have a great stockpile, and your family will think you are preparing for Y2K…but that is OK.

This week is VBS at my church and my job is to put band aids on booboos. My desk is strategically placed in the entry hall so that I am easy to find. Well, not only are the kids finding me, but the moms are as well…with centsible shopping questions. So I’ll be posting answers to frequently asked questions over the next few days.

Today, I’d like to clarify some questions about the weekly meal plans. Several ladies have asked me how I keep my grocery budget so low and also buy what is on my meal plan each week. The answer is that I don’t buy everything on the meal plan because I’ve purchased most of it in advance. The weekly plan I post will hopefully inspire everyone, but is specifically intended to help new strategic shoppers start paying attention to the sale ad each week.

While I generally spend $50-$55 a week on groceries, these are not $50-$55 a week shopping plans if you don’t have a stockpile. Most of the ingredients for my recipes including meat have been purchased in advance on sale and often stacked with coupons. These days the majority of my grocery money is spent on stocking up. Only 10%-20% is spent on fresh ingredients and immediate needs.

Building up to a well stocked pantry takes at least three to four months depending on your budget and the sale cycles. I recommend initially taking ten percent of your grocery budget and using it to purchase items that are target priced. Use the other 90% to purchase what you will actually eat that week. Tomorrow I will explain how this number flips and you end up spending 90% on target priced items and 10% on what you will eat for the week.

The most common question asked when I teach coupon classes is where do I find so many coupons. Here are some tips.

• Order a subscription to the local news paper or
• Purchase a Sunday Paper available for $1 at The Dollar Tree
• Print coupons online 
• Use “in ad” coupons
• Save competitor coupons from stores that are in your area that you don’t generally patronize- many grocers take competitor coupons
• Purchase fund raiser coupon books with grocery coupons
• Swap coupons with your friends
• Order coupons from The Coupon Clippers here
• Preview upcoming coupons at Tayor Town Preview here to order or decide if you want to purchase extra papers

Have you been wondering what all of the abbreviations mean? Well, this is coupon lingo 101.

General Terms

• Blinkies – Coupon dispensers at grocery stores with the blinking lights                                            
• BOGO - buy one get one free 
• Catalina-name of machine that prints out coupons at the register
• IPQ - Internet Printable Coupon 
• OOP - out of pocket, actual cash paid 
• Peelie - Peelable coupon located on packages
• Q - Coupon 
• WYB - when you buy
• $5/30 - $5 off purchase of $30 or more 
• .50/1 - $0.50 off one item
• $1/3 -$1 off of three items

Drug Store Terms

• ECB - Extra Care Bucks – CVS “money” printed on receipts… use like cash @ CVS
• RR - Register Reward – Walgreen’s “money” printed on receipts to be used like cash in store
• SCR - Single check rebates from Rite Aid

News Paper Inserts

• RP – Red Plum
• SS – Smart Souce
• PG – Proctor & Gamble

Thinking through how to handle the onslaught of extra paper and organize coupons is one of the first things to consider when beginning to strategically shop. Paper tigers stack up fast and frustration follows. Here are a few tips to consider as you get started.

Designate a place for paper.

• We have a recycle box close to our car in which we place paper. When the box is full we move it to the trunk of the car and deposit the papers in the recycle bin down the road.
• Ideally, coupons go into a folder in my binder until I can clip them and the rest of the newspaper gets read and put in the outbox. My family hasn’t mastered the incoming system and occasionally newspaper is placed on the kitchen island. I really don’t recommend this.

Choose your system.

• The file folder method is designed to save time. Save all news paper coupon inserts in a file folder labeled by date of receipt. Then use an online resource to tell you what coupon from which date to match with items on sale. Cut coupons only as you need them. Place them in an envelope or staple together and shop. File folder are easy to find in office stores and super centers.
• Expandable coupon or canceled check organizer. This system utilizes an expandable folder labeled by category. You clip coupons each week and file in the appropriate section. Use the sale paper and an online resource to assist you with coupon and sale match ups as well as internet printable coupons. The organizer is small enough to take to the store each week. These are often available in the bins in the front of Target for $1 or in the grocery stores for $5-$6.
• Index card box or photo box is a bigger version of the expandable coupon organizer and utilized the exact same way. I used this method early on because I owned a photo box and therefore had no start up expense.
• The binder method is what I use now. I purchased a three ring zip up binder on clearance at Wal-Mart for around $3. I filled it with baseball card organizer sleeves that enable me to see each coupon. The coupons are divided by tabbed pages labeled with the same categories I used in my index box. These are located at some office stores and around the check out lines in Wal-Mart. Always ask for assistance finding these because they are moved from time to time. The binder also has extra pockets and folders that I use to file unclipped coupons, store ads, scissors, a pen and a calculator.

The binder system is by far the system that I am questioned about the most. I don’t recommend it to those that are just getting started because there is an investment of money. Try one of the other ways first and if couponing is working out you will have easily saved enough to cover an upgrade.