Planning ahead

I have to plan ahead for grocery shopping or else I would easily overspend. Any major purchases that I am considering, I do a lot of research online for price comparisions and customer reviews. I have found that sometimes I will end up buying a product that I have never heard of before based on customer reviews. Other times, I have discovered it is better to spend a little more and get a much better quality product. So, I guess the answer would be a yes, I do plan ahead!

 

It depends what I'm shopping for.

If it's groceries then I'll write my entire weekend's shopping needs for the home on the day I receive the flyers or check them out online.

When it comes to purchasing for Christmas, I usually have an idea once the holiday season rolls around and I just purchase them online to make life easier.

Anything else, I don't really purchase anything for myself. I may buy clothes once a year, buy things for work when September comes and get a big item every five years or so.

 

For me it definitely depends upon what I'm shopping for. Groceries, small purchases, etc. will likely be decided upon for the most part by the night before or morning of. Big purchases, presents and that kind of thing could be months of deciding, budgeting, and price-checking at various places. I do like to plan to some degree, though, even for small purchases so I'm less likely to spend more than I'd originally intended to.

 

Of course it varies based on the size of the purchase. And well it should. I wouldn't want to go out one day and buy a house in cash for double what it's worth on impulse. And I'm not going to spend a week "planning" a $2 candy bar purchase that may happen once a month or so. Honestly, the most planning we do is to figure out where the things we need are currently the cheapest, and then go to those places sequentially.

 

Depends. I'll plan ahead for Christmas. I'll make a list of everybody I'm planning on buying for, and next to that I'll write exactly what I want to buy that person, and then I'll go through the list methodically. I don't make large purchases often, but I'm sure if I did, I would have to save up for them, and that would necessitate planning ahead. I don't plan ahead for grocery store trips, though, because I pretty much buy the same thing every time I go.

 

I always plan a head no matter how big or small it is. I always write down what is is i need or am getting and try to figure out how much i will spend so that i won't go over.

 

I always keep lists and shop for groceries with a list. I will impulse purchase a few things at the grocery. I usually plan ahead and research any item I'm going to be purchasing, outside of food and toiletries. I like to compare online to store prices, and I try to keep an eye on sales.

 

I usually make a grocery list. But although I make plans in buying something big, I don't write 'em so I tend to forget.

 

I don't plan ahead when I grocery shopping, but I do have a basic idea in mind of what I need and how much money I can spend. I do the math in my head as it goes.

With bigger purchases, like my GPS or laptop, I'll research it for a few weeks before coming to a decision about which exact product is best or where to buy it.

Christmas is a mixture between the two. Sometimes I'll research, sometimes I'll window shop until I find something. I'm actually making a few things for people this year to save a bit of money.

 

Well for the simple things and necessities then I don't really plan ahead, I just make a simple list of what I should buy, so that I won't forget the items that I'm supposed to buy. But when it's an electronic gadget, then I definitely plan and research regarding the model that I want, because I don't want to have what you call "buyer's remorse".

 

It depends.
I do plan ahead for groceries/ by meals, and then by sales/coupons. I always have a list with me.
For Christmas, I make out a list a head of time, and keep track on an app on my phone of what I buy so I know. I don't always go by the list of what I think I'll get.
For school clothes/supplies, I go through what we have before we go so we know what we need.
I guess we do plan big purchases, because we have to save for them.

 

I always plan for big purchase items but as far as groceries I make a list most of the time it's before I start out to shop. As soon as I run out of something I put it on my list so I can pick it up when it's time for groceries and that way my list is already made out and all I have to do is go. Such as those big ticket items, I save until I can pay all cash without a bill to look forward to each and every month.

 

Planning ahead with the grocery shopping is important to getting everything that you need as well as not over spending. I think it's good to have an ongoing list on the fridge that you can add items to as you think of them or as you run out so that when shopping day comes around you already know what you need. It helps with meal planning as well.

 

I'm terrible at planning ahead for large purposes, I usually have some sort of crisis where I need to get a big ticket item right away because my current one stopped working or is damaged beyond repair. I had a laptop and computer that were both several years old and were about due to be replaced, and both of them died on me within a short period of time - forcing me to run out and get a new computer right away even though it wasn't really in my budget at the time because I was between jobs.

For smaller ticket items, such as groceries and household items, I'm usually pretty good about buying what I need ahead of time and budgeting for it.

 

I'm doing my once a month shopping trip in 2 weeks and I'm already making my list, taking an inventory of my pantry items and getting my coupons together. In order to maximize my savings, I combine coupons and sales so I have to start pulling coupons that apply to items on my list and printing coupons in advance because it's not a rush job that I want to do at the last minute. Ever since I cut back to grocery shopping once a month, I spend less money on impulse grocery and snack purchases and I have all my meals and my daughter's packed lunches planned in advance, but it takes 2 weeks of planning ahead before I even go to the store. There is some peace of mind in knowing what you're going to eat for the whole month, but that one day of shopping takes several hours and is exhausting.
Not having to go for the rest of the month kind of makes up for that one stressful day.
It might not work for everyone but it works for us.

 

I plan for about 2 days before I do my shopping. I'm not really a fan of planning because I'm a really lazy person. I make a list of the important things that I want to buy and I also research for the best deals that I could find in the shopping area where I'm planning to go. This way, I get to save more money which is good because I also get to buy more things with my limited budget.

 

See, I find I spend less on my grocery shopping when I don't plan ahead. I will jot down stuff I've run out of, but our meals are based on what's reduced or on sale when I go shopping. Mind you, I do have a husband who does not like his meals planned in advance, which is why this system works so well for us. As long as I give him two or three choices, he's happy.

When it comes to big purchases, we do plan ahead. We put so much each month into a separate account, and my husband's state pension is also paid into a separate account, that we can only access in person at the branch. That means we always have a stash of cash for all but the gravest emergencies.

 

Well we have a magnetic white board on the fridge where my hubby and I can write which food/thing we need to buy the next time we go to the shop/supermarket. This is to prevent us from missing anything as much as possible. Although sometimes, we buy stuffs that's not written there

 

For large purchases, I plan well in advance. I shop around for the best deals. I check out online reviews and get recommendations from friends. It's an obsession. I don't plan ahead for things like grocery shopping unless I'm trying out a new recipe. My grocery is pretty stable. It really doesn't vary very much.