Friday, July 27, 2012

YES Bring the Kids and Spouse Grocery Shopping!

One things that seems a constant saying around finance blogs when giving out savings advice is to go grocery shopping alone and to leave the kids and spouse at home.

This bothers and irritates me and this is why.....

I mean we all know that yes, children ask us to buy extra items and that a spouse can too with puppy dog eyes which can increase how much we spend. This is true, but is it really spending extra if we know we have oh lets say $100 for grocery shopping and stick to THAT number? This allows us to know when we leave we can not go over $100 while shopping, so if we are taking the family a simple solution maybe to know that $10 or $15 ( this will vary depending on the number of family members) out of that $100 may go to their requests while fulfilling the needed items within the total allowance.

This shows the other members that their needs and wants are just as important and grocery shopping is not a one sided dictatorship with one person deciding the fate of the families menu for the month. This is placing each members needs just as important as any other member in the family.
If it is truly out of the budget then by all means say NO the budget will not allow for that right now!

While the person who usually does the cooking does know more about what will be needed to purchase for the month, that still is leaving them in charge of at least 90 percent of where the money is going!  But as long as you stick to your original $100 you will not be overspending and your spouse may have that $2 jar  of peanuts or your child may put in some new food that catches their eye.

Now that solves the problem of I want, I want, I want, I need, I need, I need!

I am a firm believer however of taking the family grocery shopping as a family affair, especially if you, the main shopper is the frugal queen of your town because how else are the other family members are suppose to learn if they always stay at home?

When you take them involve them! Show them how to price compare, unit price, find the reduced meats, the day old bakery shelves!  Show them how you keep track of the spending. Show them good foods compared to processes or convenience foods. Explain cost per person for oatmeal versus cold cereal. Show them how you take into consideration not the price for one package of meat per say but how much a whole dinner for your size family will cost and what is the lowest price for a whole meal you can come up with? Let them know how much you all have to spend,  have them weigh the bananas and see how much they will be. Fully involve them and simply by keeping them busy in such a manner reduces them asking for a whole lot while teaching them valuable life money lessons!

If the family always stay at home, I fear we just continue to raise future generations of adults who do not know how to shop, what a real bargain is or how to have much at all in the way of money management manners.

So YES take the family grocery shopping and make it a frugal family affair where the lessons learned will raise money conscious responsible adults who KNOW how to shop!

Do you take the family shopping? Why or Why not? I would love to hear your comments on this!

11 comments:

  1. I don't like taking anyone shopping with me, as I find it hard to concentrate when I have other people with me.

    Gill

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    1. Gill, I find that if I do not have things wrote down and keeping things in my head are the days I can get easily lose concentration! It goes much more on track when I have it all wrote down!

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  2. Usually we all go but I find it hard to involve my husband in the process too much...he does none of the cooking and is hearing impared so a loud grocery store is not an ideal place for conversation...he keeps the baby busy and helps run back if I forget something...also I know if he is along and can pick out some snacks for the week we are less likely to eat out or stop for snacks out....a good thing! :)

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    1. Yeah that would make it hard for communication! But at least he keeps that sweet active active active little one busy for ya hon! :)

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  3. Great points. I did leave my DDs behind when they were at home, it was one of my few things I could do on my own. Hubby dosn't get to go to often now days, I need to be able to think and not moniter his actions

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    1. I can see that Debby, it is nice to get to do something alone once in a while .....for me that is my foraging or returnable can bike rides.

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  4. WHen the kids were very little, DH still worked on Sat. Since I work outside the home, Sat is my typical grocery shopping day. I would bring all 4 with me, grab one of those carts with seats for 2, plus the front basket for baby and I'd strap one baby on me in a front carrier. Ideal? no, but they learned how to behave in a grocery store, became helpers (who wants to hold the coupons? what is next on the list? who wants to go and get a can of tomatoes?). As the youngest (twins) got older, they sat where the older 2 originally were, and the older ones were trained to walk alongside the cart, with one hand holding the cart at all times (unless told to get something off a shelf). They learned how to comparison shop, to watch for marked downs, that we buy mostly raw ingredients, and that "No" is an OK word. I am ocassionally horrified by other's kidlets running amuck (sometimes behind empty carriages) with no sign of a parent. Others whine to get this treat and that and parents cave. My children learned that food X is a treat, not to expect it. Often it would be a once in a lifetime treat as I would never have considered it if I didn't have a double/triple coupon to match a store sale/promotion. Fast forward and kid # 1 is an awesome shopper. Kid #2 is more of an impulse shopper, but he is like that in his personality. He definately should shop on a full stomach or he'd never have $ to pay the rest of his bills. Youngest 2 are now 14, one is careful about $, the other is materialistic to some degree (welcome to Fairfield county! and to being a teen)but understands on some level, that we have a budget and that's it. Example: for his birthday, we gave him a cell phone (actually the house "cell phone" that replaced a landline we pulled. He has the actual house cell phone, which is a very basic one. He can call and text. that's it. He'd like a fancy phone. I told him that would be on him, I'll gladly pay the $12/mo for his phone service but that was it. Ditto should the house cell phone break-I do have some Freecycle spares, he's welcome to one of those or buy his own. I'm the mean Mom. : )

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    1. I Love your response to this post CTMom, I do think that sometimes a person is just born with certain qualities but at least if we teach them in the store, it gives a basis that is solid ...........whether they apply those lessons later in life.............well that is a whole other story! LOL

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  5. I love this article! I totally agree...you need to educate the kiddos about budgets and finances, not to mention nutrition. My only thing is that ideally I like to take only one kid at a time---my boys are at an age where they sometimes misbehave or goof off in the store so much that it's hardto get through the store, much less have teaching moments. I also leave the kids home if I'm trying to do a huge coupon-based trip with matches and refunds and special offers. It doesn't happen too often but when it does I need to focus.

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    1. Now that my kids are older, they do have a choice, sometimes everyone comes, sometimes one chooses to stay home to get some alone time.

      Wait your boys are a certain age for goofing off? They are suppose to outgrow that?

      Funny my HUBBY and ADULT son are HORRID in the store.....thats when I just focus heavily on my mission of buying what we need at what we can afford to pay and ignore the adult children! LOL Hubby is the biggest kid of them all sometimes!

      Or I do something right back like signing and dancing all loud and funky to embarrass THEM

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    2. LOL I'm supposing now that the goofing off will never end...;-)

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