“Never shop on an empty stomach.” Or so the saying goes.
Penny-pinchers say you’ll spend more than you want to. Dietitians warn that your food choices might be less than stellar. I would add that you might spend more time in the store than intended.
It was supposed to be a quick trip to the store. I’d been running errands all afternoon–and then I popped in to the gym for a (relatively) quick bike ride (Yay for starting to train for the big ride!) By now I was tired and hungry and just wanted to get home–but I had my little list that I really wanted to get taken care of while I was out and about.
My list?
- Fresh fruit
- Lettuce
- Celery
My purchases?
See for yourself.
- Bananas
- Apples
- Oranges
- Celery
- Lettuce
AND - Green onions
- Acorn squash
- Avocados
- 2 bags of cheddar cheese (on sale)
- 2 bags of mozzarella cheese (ditto)
- A bag of tortilla chips
- A bag of Fritos
- A tin of sardines in mustard sauce
- A can of salmon
- A bottle of Tabasco sauce
- A bottle of ketchup
- A box of mozzarella cheese stick snacks
The results of this little experiment?
Cost of shopping trip
Items on list cost $4.93
Items not on list cost $21.12
I quintupled the cost of my shopping trip by shopping on a empty stomach! Yikes!
Food choices
A number of my impulse purchases were of high nutritional quality (but then again, I’m a dietitian who happens to adore food). But then I still did make some purchases that I never make when I’m exercising self-control and wise shopping practices. Case in point? Frozen mozzarella stick snacks. I never even VISIT the processed freezer food section of the store. But today I thought, “You know, I would love to have some mozzarella sticks”–and since I was in the store, I just went ahead and got them. Then there’s the Fritos–which ostensibly were for with the chili I was going to warm up when I got home. But I opened the Fritos and started digging in before I was even out of the grocery store parking lot. Um, yeah.
Time
I didn’t calculate this exactly, but I’m pretty sure I picked up the items on my list in less than 5 minutes. My overall shopping trip took over 20. And, if it hadn’t have been for all those extra impulse purchases, I could have paid with the cash in my purse (instead of having to run out to the car to get my bank card, which I’d left in my gym bag.)
Based on my experiment, I have decided that “they” are right. It’s best to not go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.
You know, I went shopping Sunday night and also couldn’t resist the acorn squash and cheddar cheese sale. I just have to know that if there is shredded cheese for $2 I am going to take them up on the offer.
I totally agree about not shopping on empty stomach. I also menu plan before I leave, make a list for each store I’m going into. Shopping for me is like a military attack. I plan out as much as possible to save money & my sanity. If I have a list in my hand, I’m zoned in & don’t notice all the goofy rude people as much. ;)