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.
Studies show that people spend
about 10% more if they shop on an empty stomach compared to a
full one.
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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