Step # 2 Mastery Over Kitchen Inventory

How much more will you likely spend if you shop hungry rather than on a full stomach?

A. 8% more
B. 10% more
C. 13% more
D. 15% more

Answer B.

One of the most important grocery savings confidence builders is knowing what is in the pantry, freezer, spice rack and other places you keep cooking ingredients before we make out our shopping list. You have a couple of questions you begin to ask yourself before beginning our plan. To put your grocery-shopping plan in focus you ask these questions:

1. Why do I grocery shop?
2. How much money do I want to save?
3. What would I like to accomplish at the grocery store?

The inventory gives you direction and defines discipline. Knowing your plan and keeping it prominent is your mind gives you direction to your shopping plan. I define discipline and commitment as putting your shopping plan first. You do what your plan “says” you should do rather than what you feel like doing. Committed shoppers are driven by their purpose and not by how they happen to feel on a given day.

We are doing this for one reason, when you clarify your plan, it gives you something to go to when you don’t feel like doing what you need to do or some adversity gets in your way. It provides you with a ready-made, honest answer to the question, “Why as I doing this?”

Making decisions is easier when you have a plan because your priorities are set. When a plan is clear the question is, “When am I going to shop today?” not, “Should I shop today?” There is a big difference between these attitudes.

To accomplish your goals: Be Present. Beginning with the inventory, you are putting yourself in the present. What you accomplish while grocery shopping is the sum of all your present moments, and why you accomplish is really the sum of all your “todays.”

The goal of saving 30% to 50% has to be a realistic goal. Number 1, you don’t want to make grocery shopping and cooking a full time job. I know, you’ve seen where you can save over 90%. It is just like an all-star baseball player. His goal could be to hit .900 for the year. That’s 9 hits for every 10 at bats. Maybe there are streaks they may be able to go 9 for 10; however, it is unrealistic to think you can do that.

Let’s say 30% to 50 % is a good goal. Let’s say you’ve gone back and looked through some old register receipts. Actually, if you have them, do it now. You see you’ve been spending $150 per week. That is our food purchase range from $105 to $75. Or, it saves us, $45 to $75 a week.

If you only spend between 1 to 2 hours a week on kitchen management, then factoring in your time, it is a realistic goal.

Because what is going to happen, you are going to get discouraged if you are expecting 90% savings and you don’t reach the goal. You know you’re being deceived and blame yourself. Also, if you go to low, you also know you’re lying to yourself.

If it takes too much time and you choose events with your family instead of the big savings, then you must decided which is more important to you and live with that choice. Both are important family things.

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