An enjoyable day for groceries shopping

Do you like to do daily needs and groceries shopping?

 

How often do you go to supermarket for your daily needs and groceries shopping?  Do you go to the same supermarket most of the time or you tend to explore other places too?

Does your shopping habit be influenced by the membership program or a short-term marketing program giving nice gifts after reaching a specific amount spent?

Doing daily needs and groceries shopping can be an overwhelming errand or healing activity.  This will depend such as, on which supermarket you will go, how much time you have, what budget you plan to spend, etc.

Perhaps, a regular groceries shopping will become part of your monthly schedule at the very least, because you will need to re-fill your daily needs that have been run out.

I like to spend hours and hours in my favorite supermarket, not only to do my daily needs of course, but also to check any new items in some sections, such as, fruits, desiccated foods, vegetables, ice cream and yoghurt, coffee and tea, snacks and crackers as well as healthy products section.  Although this can be dangerous for me as I might spend more than I plan but once in a while, I think it is OK to relieve stress and become a therapeutic exercise.

In this writing, I want to share 5 things that I will prepare before doing groceries shopping.

1. Prepare my shopping list

Create a shopping list with items are usually purchased on monthly basis as my top priority lists.  If I still have some of my top priority items in my stock then I can skip not buying it on that month but at least, I can do a check list every time doing groceries shopping.

Simply save the shopping list in my mobile phone and update the list periodically if necessary.

2. Estimate how much money I plan to spend

With my monthly shopping list, I can sort of estimate on how much money I will plan to spend.  This will save me not to overspend and allow me to manage my expenses.

Some supermarkets will have membership programs to join either with or without joining fee.  This program allows me to collect points from the amount spent which I can claim once the points reach certain numbers or level.

3. Timing

Are you flexible with timing or only have limited time for shopping? Plan well on how long you will do the daily needs and groceries shopping so you can do some other activities in a day.  This will also include when and what time is the best timing for shopping.

Weekend shopping might be crowded and packed so it is not easy to plan the exact timing.  If I decide to do daily needs and groceries shopping on weekend then might as well, I enjoy the whole shopping journey with flexible timing.

Do note that end or early of the month can be crowded too since many people want to shop after payday period. And also, with the highlight of social distancing in the current situation, it is wise to choose quieter time to do your shopping.

4. Type of payment

Nowadays, it is strongly encouraged to settle the payment with card not using hard cash when shopping.  I will ensure to have enough amount in the bank account to support my spending when using debit card.  On the other hand, I will also check the limit of my credit card if I plan to pay with this method.

Another thing is do not forget your PIN (personal identification number) number of the card that will be used.  This is important as I experienced a long que just because a lady in front of me try to remember her PIN numbers.  At that time, moving to another counter was not an option since all counters have long line up.

5. Bring my own shopping bag

Many supermarkets no longer provide plastic bag to carry groceries.  The option is either storing the shopping items in used boxes or using my own shopping bag.  Supermarket will also provide reusable shopping bag that can be purchased.  But if I keep buying this cloth bag then I will have a pile of shopping bags in my house.

Enjoy the daily needs and groceries shopping as a fun experience where you can also discover new knowledge from latest products launched.

Happy shopping.