Grocery Shopping Online

I do not like shopping anywhere for anything. I even hate to go to the grocery store as much as I hate planning a weekly menu. I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now. I have been shopping online for groceries for over a year at Harris Teeter in Charlotte, NC.  If you haven't tried it you should. Yes, there is a small service fee but it is worth it. I actually spend much less shopping online for groceries than when I go to the store. I haven't been a faithful online shopper over the past year but I'm starting to see the benefits. Let me tell you how I use it to my family's budget advantage.

1. Set a weekly grocery budget
2. Plan weekly meals using a menu planner
3. Use coupons only on items you have already planned to use in your menu. (Or plan a menu around the coupons - takes a lot of planning). You won't get your first coupons subtracted from your first order but they will scan and store them to take off your next order.
4. Just because an item is labeled "buy one / get one free" (at Harris Teeter), doesn't mean you have to get two items. If you buy only one item they subtract half the cost off the one item purchased! I don't know any other store that offers this value.
5. Schedule online shopping the same day/time of the week.
6. Stick to the menu!
7. Stick to the budget!

Since I have been married I have used a menu planner for the week. It helps to plan the meals. Otherwise we over spend or over eat; (go out to eat). It wasn't easy to do this in the first year of marriage. My husband was the only wage earner on a Christian school teacher income (9 months). He managed our budget and allocated $50 per week. It was not hard to stick to that allowance because we didn't have debit cards back then; I carried cash. If the cashier tallied up over $50 I had her remove some items. Yes it was embarrassing but we had to be drastic.

Fast forward to 2011...Grocery shopping online is still new for some and it took several times for me to get adjusted and I know it took them time to get the kinks worked out. But give it a chance and you might find it a time and budget saver.

Once you create a shopper profile online and place your first order a list of all your past purchases is retained so all you have to do is click through the master list. Careful here or you will go off the menu seeing the cookies and ice cream on sale and you'll have clicked a couple more items to be added to your virtual cart. You can see which items are on sale marked in red font and how much an item cost per ounce. You'll even see the specials marked for VIC (very important) customers. You can also change the number of items or delete it altogether. The cart has a tally window so you can see how much you are spending as you shop.

I enjoy having a personal shopper, driving up to the express lane and pressing a button to announce my arrival. My shopper brings the groceries to my car and loads them. I pay for my purchase right from my car! The entire process takes me about one hour (online to pickup). I even get to pick which day and time I want to pick them up. I am less stressed about the entire shopping experience.

No longer do I have to get to the super center before it gets too busy and push a buggy through a crowd of shoppers or zigzag from one end of the store and a mile back to the food section or stand in a long line to pay for my groceries or load the car!


What would you do with more time and money?