Ask Penny: How Often Do You Grocery Shop?

Do you do a large shopping once a week or less often? How long does it take you to do your shopping?

~Jane

I really seek to balance my time and savings when it comes to grocery shopping and I go to the store as little as possible.

Since we buy so much whole food, I tend to do the bulk of my shopping once a month at the beginning of the month. 3/4 of my budget goes towards that one trip.

The amount of time it takes to shop depends on how many stores I am visiting and if the children are with me. I do not go to more than one store if the children are with me and try to shop without them.

At the beginning of this month, I visited two stores (Walmart and Winn Dixie) and brought the cold stuff home between stores. It took 2.5 hours total.

I continue to watch sales and coupons throughout the month. If something fabulous goes on sale, I will go get it or send Bill on his way home from work.

Great question!

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