I try to budget while doing my grocery shopping by making a list and trying my absolute hardest to stick to the list. But often, I stray from it and make impulsive junk food purchases. Now I think I figured out why. There is a study that suggests that shopping while on an empty stomach can lead to more purchases of fattening and unhealthy foods. The study says that shoppers purchase more calories but not more food while we are hungry. Log In I think that this is a profound realization and can help us greatly stick to our budgets. Also, if you have children, then to avoid impulsive unhealthy purchases, it would be better to take them shopping with you once they are full. Overall, by being aware of this natural human tendency, we can prevent this from happening all together. Your thoughts?
This happens to me often and is actually something I've been trying to work on. I try to have a snack or something before I even go to the store. When I'm hungry it's easy for me to lose focus and pick up all kind of things. Most of the things I pick are unhealthy as well. I could save so much money if I could concentrate on the items I need and leave everything else alone. I've made it to the front of the line before and couldn't understand how all of that even got in my basket! I'm really trying to stop this because I always spend a ridiculous amount of money that I could be saving. Being hungry also hinders my ability to consider my deals and coupons. I get in there and I'm just like whatever, I want that, deal or not! I think this is an important issue that a lot of people ignore but they'd notice a big difference in their pocket if they'd just take care of their hunger before the shopping trip! LOVE & DEALS DH
This is very true which is why my husband and I always go grocery shopping after we go out to eat. It's our routine every weekend. We'd go out for our date night to eat somewhere and then go get grocery. Whenever he doesn't feel like getting grocery on that day and we have to do it in one of the weekday when he gets home from work,it would be about 100 dollars because he just grabs everything. 'hmm this looks good'. 'hey we can make that' .One week later,we still have sausage links ,a bunch of pasta dish in the drawer and he hasn't eaten them .The worst is when he FORGOT about them so I ended up having to finish his grocery. Our grocery costs us about 50 dollars a week if we go there with a list and after we have our dinner.
I don't have that problem because if i go hungry, i already have a budget to spend, so i will have to choose carefully what i need, or else i won't have anything else for the rest of the week.
I have been grocery shopping on an empty stomach and I never had a problem because there are foods I just wont buy. I fast through the morning and that's often the time I go food shopping. Skipping breakfast doesn't compel me to buy unhealthy food.
I have made this mistake too. Nowadays I make a list of what I am going to buy before actually going to the store. That way I don't over-spend and stick to my budget. I think that most people make the shopping on an empty stomach mistake when they are in college. You learn to plan ahead when you have to shop for yourself for an extended period of time.
I think this survey is right on target, whenever l go shopping l always seem to be hungry and l end up buying treats that l would not normally buy and l think it's the same for a lot of shoppers. Maybe it's subliminal messages
I shop at markets and farms for real foods.. if I go hungry, I won't get fat overeating what I end up buying because of it lol. And if I overspend, I guess i could freeze some of it for the following week and save a bit of money.
Lol. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the title of this thread. It's true. Unless you want to buy all the food items in your local grocery store, don't go shopping on an empty stomach. This would allow you to focus more on the things that matter and not just your hungry stomach.
Haha. This is great advice. I noticed that before I used to go shopping when I was starving so I would gravitate towards junk food because its so easy to just eat without cooking anything and without waiting. Therefore now when I go shopping I always try to eat before hand so I avoid buying junk in the supermarket.
I will never forget all the times I have been grocery shopping on an empty stomach. It actually seems as if I always go shopping on a empty stomach. I mean who goes grocery shopping when they have plenty to eat?
You should not go food shopping after watching food prorgrammes on the TV. The food programmes usually involve unhealthy food like like cakes and biscuits. I find that looking at these images wires the brain to want it. My mum is terrible, she watches the programmes and then she goes and makes a cake because the TV makes her want one!
This is so true. If you go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, you'll either gravitate towards all the bad foods and you'll probably start snacking on them as you cruise the aisles. You also get cravings for things you wouldn't otherwise eat just because you're trying to compensate. As a matter of fact, it's probably best not to let yourself get an empty stomach ever lol.
I think that the study just stated what is quite obvious, because when people go out hungry, they tend to overspend on food that they don't really intend to buy in the 1st place. That's why it's quite important to go out after you've eaten at home.
I have personally had this happen to me. I have gone to the store after I ate and still have made the mistake of impulse buying. It has taken many trips to the store with a list and a budget to stop making those impulse buys. If I have to go to the store on an empty stomach and I know the store I will be shopping at, I will shop aisle by aisle in my mind to be sure I am getting everything I need within my budget. LOL!!! As a family we sit together and make a list then we parents will sit together and budget the list and remove the least needed things from the list. These few things we do as a family help me in going to the store if I haven't been able to eat yet. It also keeps me from eating at McDonald's or some other fast food chain when I know I have a budget to follow.
I totally agree! Whenever I go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, ESPECIALLY while pregnant, food appeals to me that I would never even eat at home! The only reason it sticks out to me at that moment is since I'm so freaking hungry! Then I get it home, and it goes to waste since I never would normally want to eat it anyways. I think it's great to go grocery shopping when you're satisfied as opposed to hungry or extremely full, cause then when you're too full everything makes you nauseous!
Although many people would not watch it this way I believe it is true because you will find yourself desiring all sorts of things when you are hungry and decide to shop. Hunger can work on people's emotions at times and cause them to end up over spending. IT take discipline.
Some grocery stores these days are now offering curbside pickup services. You may want to check if any of the grocery stores in your area do this, since it can help you deal with impulse buying and stick to your shopping list. I live in Ohio currently and there is a chain of grocery stores in my neck of the woods called Giant Eagle that has stared doing this. They do charge like $5 to do this, but if you consider how much you are saving by not making any impulse buys, I would assume that would still make it worth it. Plus it also saves you time and stress from having to wait around in checkout lines.
I agree, I abide by this rule as well and undoubtedly have saved myself a good amount of expenses from doing so. Although, I have to admit that it is actually very fun to just go shopping on an empty stomach and going crazy, as it does feel good to have a packed pantry. It's not really practical, though, as you've mentioned.
This is absolutely true. I know when I'm hungrier I spend more AND make worse food choices than when I go to the store full. My mind is a bit clearer that way and the questions "Do I really need this?" pops up before I begin to load up the cart with too many things/too many unhealthy things.
