Here are my top tips that made shopping at Kroger faster, more fun, and less expensive.
Top 8 Grocery Shopping Tips:
1. Create an organized list with the most efficient path.
When starting to grocery shop, I would never make lists of stuff to buy. I would just shop aimlessly and I would find some good products but my diet was not the best. So, I started making lists of products to buy. I would add stuff like milk/eggs/produce to my list as it runs out. Then right before, I would add in additional products I wanted like chips, fruit, cereal, and cheese. I get to Kroger and it takes me 30 minutes to walk around and buy everything. I would go in order of products I wrote down which I ultimately realized was inefficient.
Which would you rather do: start at milk, get eggs, produce, chips, go back to produce, get cereal, then walk back to dairy or get everything in the right order? Easy, get everything in the right order so you don’t waste time. I would highly recommend signing up for Aislespot which lets you put in all your groceries and then it will make a checklist and tell you the quickest path to buy everything.
2. Know what aisle everything is in before you start shopping.
Do you ever wander around the aisles looking for something and you have to ask a worker what aisle the product is in? I’ll admit that I’ve done it a lot. Well the app Aislespot will let you search for a product in a specific Kroger and it will tell you what aisle something is in, what side of the shelf it is on and even has the bay number. This will make your life easier because you won’t end up wandering.
3. Set a budget and stick to it!
Money can be tight and grocery shopping is an area where you should be able to control what you spend. One problem I have had is I put a bunch of stuff in my cart and have to cross my fingers during the checkout that it is at or below my budget. I’ve always thought it would be super helpful to have a rolling total of the price of your cart as your shopping. Plus, if you have a Kroger ID, you will get discounts so if you buy the same products week to week, your price might be different. Aislespot has a feature where you can see the current price of your cart as you shop! You should check it out if you haven’t already.
4. Have a few recipes in mind that use similar ingredients
Let’s say you are really into italian food and want to make a lot of dishes including pasta. I would recommend buying ingredients that you can use in a wide variety of recipes. This often includes shopping for the basics like produce, some grains, sauces, and protein while adding some specialty items that apply to a few particular recipes. This will save you money because you can use what you bought and not waste as much.
5. Sign up for Store Rewards.
All grocery stores have great store rewards where you can get access to exclusive discounts. Kroger has a reward program that is free and you can get good discounts on a variety of items. The only way to access deals like buy one get one free or X% off is through kroger rewards. You can create a Kroger account today and they will automatically register you for rewards. When you are at the checkout, you can show them a card with a 12/13 digit ID to scan or you can type in your phone number as the “Alternate ID” and it will give you all the discounts available. Did I mention you get monthly fuel points you can redeem at Shell? What’s not to like.
6. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season
You don’t want to buy fruits/vegetables out of season because it won’t be as tasty and it may be overpriced. For example, I would only recommend buying fresh watermelon during the summer. Buying produce in season is a great way to make yourself try new vegetables and recipes depending on the time of year. Plus, Kroger may have coupons for produce in season so you won’t have to spend as much.
7. When in doubt, grab a cart
I know people who go into the grocery store looking to only buy 1-3 products so they tell themselves they can use their hands or a basket. Then, as they shop they remember a few more items they are out of at the house and eventually they are trying to hold 10+ products in a cart or in their hands.
8. Shop with Aislespot
If you aren’t already signed up for Aislespot, you should sign up today! We can save you time, efficiency, and money! Time is money so if you want an easier way to shop, sign up to use our app! Please send us your feedback and thanks for reading this article.
