unt: 724 Save $100.00 A Month With A Grocery Journal by Barbara CarrPhillipsMany people think personal journaling means writing a book ofdeep thoughts, but the most useful journals are simple notebooksthat contain mundane lists, like grocery lists or to-do lists. Iteach journaling workshops, and people are surprised when I tellthem they can save over $100 a month by keeping a groceryjournal. A grocery journal will insure that you'll never lose extrasavings because you forgot your coupons. Also, you won't everfind yourself standing in the grocery aisle wondering, "did Ipurchase ketchup last week or not?" Last week's list will be inyour journal for you to review. You will save time and gas byavoiding extra trips to the grocery because you forgot items youneeded. Plus, you will have everything you need for each meal,every single day of the week.To get started, choose a s...

...mall, spiral-bound notebook to use asyour grocery journal. You want a notebook small enough to fit inyour purse or pocket easily. Spiral bound is best because itlies flat when you are writing. Also, you can flip to the pageyou need easily and it will stay open. Be sure to keep a penclipped to your journal at all times. Also, clip a largepaperclip in your book to hold coupons.Here is how to organize and use your grocery journal:On the front pages of your journal, create price pages. Pricepages are simply a list of items you buy from the grocery storeevery month with the price of each item listed after them.To make a price page, draw four columns on a notebook page. Thefirst column is the widest, and the remaining three are justwide enough to write in the price of an item. The first columnheading will be "Item," and the remaining three column headingswill be the names of the three grocery stores you shop at mostoften.In the first column, list all of the items you typically buy. Inthe remaining three columns, list the price of those items atyour three favorite stores. This way, you will know at a glancewhen a "sale" is really a "sale," or if you can buy the item atanother store at better price.Save a dozen blank pages after the price pages to use for menus.When your grocery store circulars are distributed each week, sitdown with your journal and create the week's menu around themeat that is on sale. This will make cooking very easy.For example, if chicken is on sale, serve baked chicken onMonday. Toss the leftovers in a casserole dish with a can ofcream soup on Tuesday. Marinade a few a few pieces of chicken onWednesday, then grill and slice them to serve over salad greens.Use the leftover grilled chicken to throw over pasta smotheredwith your favorite sauce on Thursday. The menus will becomeeasier to create over time. After you create four or five weeklymenus, you can simply alternate them.Use all pages remaining after the menu pages for grocery lists.Date each list. Determine the best deals for breakfast, lunchand dinner by checking the sale items in your grocer's weeklycircular against your price book and your coupons. When you findcoupons for items, paperclip them to your grocery list page.Stick to your notebook grocery list when you are shopping. Don'tbe tempted to buy other specials at your grocery store. Grocersknow how to influence consumers to buy on impulse. That's whyfresh baked goods are often displayed in the front of the store.Remember, you don't have to create your journal in one day.Simply leave six to ten blank pages in the front of your journalfor your price pages, and start creating your weekly menus onthe next dozen pages. Take your notebook with you every time youdo your shopping for one month and price pages will createthemselves. If you have grade school children who shop with you,they might stay busy helping you look for prices instead ofbegging you for the newest, sugar frosted breakfast cereal. Youcan also save your grocery receipts and fill in your price pageswhile you are watching television.Saving time and money is a cinch with a grocery journal!...