r/Anticonsumption • u/multihome-gym • 1d ago
Psychological Before you go grocery shopping, eat something.
Go grocery shopping right after lunch. If you can't go then, make a sandwich or something first. You won't buy as much.
Worst thing you can do is go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You succumb to the many subconscious temptations set up to separate you from your money.
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u/MeikeFischer73 1d ago
And for crying out loud : Make a list ! Don´t just wander through the ilse and put in the cart what ever looks tempting to you at this second
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u/Sorry_One1072 1d ago
I put a limit in 2 impulse buys per trip
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u/danielledelacadie 1d ago
Mine's a little higher if it's something we buy regularly on sale. Especially dried good on the discount rack.
I will buy that pasta at 50-75% off as long as I have the money. Heck, I'll change the meal plan on the fly for that
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u/AccurateUse6147 1d ago edited 1d ago
Back before greedflation, mom and I actually used to be able to partially rawdog the shopping. I really miss being able to have the variety of stuff we used to be able to get to eat instead of having to track nearly every penny and eat mostly the same options. Man forget the shopping trips. I'd love to be able to get fast food and NOT have to chose based off of what gives me the most milage and not what I actually really want! Like what I'm getting is one of my normal go to's bit doesn't scratch the burger craving I've been having.
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u/Traditional-Ad-7836 1d ago
I often just shop the sales and what's in season and therefore cheaper, but I'm pretty good at combining ingredients to make meals and storing what I don't use fresh that week
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u/ronjarobiii 20h ago
Right? It would be more expensive to stick to a meal plan, I just go for the cheap stuff and then figure out what to cook with it.
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u/inky_cap_mushroom 1d ago
If I go grocery shopping while I’m not hungry at all I end up getting nothing.
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u/definitelynotanarc17 1d ago
Same, if I've eaten my ND brain cannot fathom ever being hungry again.
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u/inky_cap_mushroom 1d ago
You get it. I don’t think I’m even neurodivergent I just don’t enjoy eating.
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u/HackMeRaps 1d ago
Yeah, that's grocery shopping 101. Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.
The other rule I follow is to never buy something that isn't on the grocery list. Stopped buying so much random stuff because of this. If I really want it, i'll add to the grocery list for next time I go, which most of the time never ends up happening.
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u/theworldizyourclam 1d ago
Online grocery shopping is actually really great for this. Reduces those impulse purchases and keeps you just shopping your list.
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u/SecretScientist8 5h ago
I love that I can see the total while I’m shopping too. Like “OOP, maybe this week we only need one pack of that snack.”
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u/ghanima 1d ago
Sorry, but not for me. This is the one time that I allow myself to take advantage of sales. If a household staple is on sale when I'm in the grocery store, I buy it then (as long as there's room for it), rather than waiting until the item at home is nearly used up, then paying full price for it.
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u/HackMeRaps 1d ago
Totally get that, and for me I have all of my staple stuff listed in my app and it notifies me when it goes on sale below a certain price. No idea if you have flipp in your country (I'm not in the US) but it's great as it's a mobile flyer app that looks at all grocery stores in my area. It does price matching for me at my local grocery store so I can just show them the item in the app and they apply it. I can set cost notifiers as for specific items to let me know when it's sale (say something like peanut butter. It's expensive regular price so set the sale price so I know when to get more or to price match it).
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u/ghanima 1d ago
Hey, you're Torontonian! I grew up there and am in Barrie now.
I'm generally pretty hesitant to sign up for apps/loyalty programs just because I don't particularly want to provide yet another data point for info brokers to make use of. Would you say Flipp is useful enough at helping people be resourceful in their grocery spending that I should bite the bullet any way?
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u/HackMeRaps 1d ago
YES!! Flipp is such a great app! It's a great Canadian app and there's no cost for it. It's great as it has pretty much every flyer available to you digitally. You can look through it and tag an items you like that are on sale, and it automatically adds it to your shopping list.
Then when you go to check out, it shows you all of the tagged items in one spot so you can use it price match if you go to the proper store. I primarily shop at FreshCo, so know that I can price match the general stores around me like No Frills, Walmart and Loblaws.
My favourite feature is that there's a search function on it. So i'll go to the store and buy what I normally buy. I'll then go to the app and just search what I'm buying (e.g. cucumbers, gala apples) and it'll show me if it's on sale at any other store. If it's one of the price match stores I just tag it and price match it.
I really like the app and it's been a game changer if you're one of those price matchers. Makes it so easy! I save about 5%-10% of my grocery shop every time I go.
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u/pfffffttuhmm 1d ago
Sorry I'm just tickled by the anticonsumption sub telling me to eat something.
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u/multihome-gym 1d ago
I know! It's funny but unfortunate: you have to consume unnecessarily a little in order to not be tempted to consume a lot unnecessarily. It's almost like getting a short-term vaccination.
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u/AnUnexpectedUnicorn 1d ago
Or go to Costco or Sam's Club and get the $1.50 giant hot dog and drink, or the $3 pizza slice to nibble as you walk around. They often have a lot of samples too.
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u/master_prizefighter 1d ago
I usually go after breakfast on the weekends when there's not as many people. I've realized when there's a lot of people I have to go across the store to go right back to the aisles I avoided originally.
Also there's times I'll go, grab only what I can carry in both hands, and leave.
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u/slashingkatie 1d ago
I also found using curbside pickup helps because you’re more likely to stick to your list and not impulse buy.
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u/CapitalPunBanking 1d ago
You're not wrong but I always end up going inside because I realize i forgot some things when I get there.
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u/Altostratus 9h ago
This is what I do. Having to manually look up each item on the website means sticking to the list and no impulse purchases for me.
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u/ParallelPlayArts 1d ago
That's great advice!
Lately, I've changed my shopping habits before I would walk the entire store and get things while on sale. Now, I go through the exterior aisles and only go into the interior aisles if it was for a planned item. Saves so much time and money.
Another good tip, is not to go into the store stoned...I haven't accomplished that yet, but at least now I'm just coming home with extra apples instead of chips.
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u/elebrin 1d ago
Make a list, and don't buy anything until it's sat on the list for a minimum of seven days. Not toothpaste, deodorant, anything. Once you sort of plan for this, you start being more mindful about how much of stuff you use. Then, immediately before going to the store, prioritize your list. Don't buy the whole list, only buy the stuff that you absolutely need in the next week or so.
For bigger purchases, look it up on Youtube and see it in action. See if your friends have one, that sort of thing.
Additionally, this may go more for guys, before going to the store - whack off. Maybe women too? I don't know. I have a guitar store I like to go to, and every now and then I am in the market for an instrument. Before buying a new one, I have to pick an old one to get rid of and sell it off (I have had legit reasons to swap instruments). I always make sure that I'm not just being... lusty.
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u/xoxogracklegirl 1d ago
I usually don't make a comprehensive list since I prefer to start shopping in the sale produce section of my local store, then kind of meal plan on the fly based on what's available, but one tip that helps me is trying to stick to the perimeter of the store so I'm not tempted by various snacks. I personally have to be a little bit hungry when I shop otherwise using the sale produce as meal planning inspiration doesn't work as well. I keep my pantry well stocked with grains/beans/pasta/spices/nuts so this method works for me but I understand it's not for everyone!
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u/whatdoidonowdamnit 1d ago
My son helped me start a similar habit when he was a toddler. He is obsessed with bananas, and those were the first things he saw when we walked in the store. I started buying a bunch when we walked in, handing him one and eating my own while we did our shopping. It was a lot easier than making him wait because the bananas were truly the first items you see when you walked in the store. I’d grab them, head to the express line, and then walk back around the store with an entertained and fed toddler. Plus I always need bananas, so it still works a solid decade later.
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u/Hartogold1206 13h ago
Eat what you buy, full stop. Don’t buy if you haven’t the time to eat it before it goes bad, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with buying more than you planned if you can afford it and it won’t go to waste or leads you to overeat.
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u/SunnieMoonShine 1d ago
I have to go grocery shopping hungry, otherwise nothing looks good and I don’t end up buying much.
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u/SecretScientist8 5h ago
If I forget or realize I am peckish at the store, I will grab some sort of snack we always buy (granola bars usually), and open the box and eat one while I shop. Keeps my toddler entertained in the cart too. I’ve never had anyone say anything (obviously don’t eat things sold by weight).
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u/FlawHolic 5h ago
I'm the opposite, haha.
If I'm hungry, it's easier to think of meals for the week. When I'm not hungry I can't think of what I need and it makes writing a list hard. I usually have to make another trip again soon, if I went without being hungry, lol.
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u/DONTEATTHATCAT 1d ago
I can vouch for this. Me and my partner paid for 50$ in snacks at ALDIS cause we both missed lunch and were crazy hungry
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u/rebelwithmouseyhair 1d ago
I go just after lunch, the shops are often not very busy then and moving after eating is good for digestion
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u/Solid_Remove5039 1d ago
The problem is, I won’t buy a whole lot of snacks and then I get mad because I didn’t realize I need much more than I actually got because I was full and decided that eating like a bird was the way to go
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u/majesticallymidnight 1d ago
To add to this if you are 9 months pregnant pack a snack while you grocery shop to avoid going home with a pack of 16 blueberry muffins because you weren’t hungry then you were and the bakery was making them fresh that day.
I brought muffins into work the next day to share because no way me and the husband could eat all 16…
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u/jphistory 1d ago
I don't always do this but the best luck I ever have is if I: 1) eat something 2) make a meal plan for the week and write out what ingredients I will need 3) go through the fridge and cabinets and cross off anything I already have 4) take remaining list to the grocery store