Comments on: A Minor Mistake: Shopping While Hungry

By: Sus

Sus — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:01:24 +0000

Haha – very funny. Sounds exactly like something I would do. I also love that Giesen sav blanc, although for $18 – $20 in Australia, I rarely buy it on impulse.

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By: Miss Brooklyn

Miss Brooklyn — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:03:33 +0000

I once went grocery shopping while very thirsty. I came home with about 8 types of beverages and hardly any food.

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By: Jodi

Jodi — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:00:47 +0000

Hey J.D. – I came across this post and just wanted to say it’s good to see you are still posting away and continuing to help folks with their finances! Yay!
Jodi

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By: Lannie

Lannie — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:00:53 +0000

Actually, I’m the reverse – if I go shopping when I’m hungry I am unlikely to buy anything.
Its because my subconscious thinks that if I am hungry then I must be broke, so we better not spend any money.
Strange, huh?

(Unless I know, really solidly that we have money, then I have the same problems as anyone else, but it only takes some vague suggestion of the possibility of problems, and I have to be full to shop )

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By: Liz Kooy

Liz Kooy — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:14:23 +0000

Thanks for the laugh. This is totally something I would do. I would also feel guilty getting the wine for me and might even pick up some beer for my husband!

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By: Brit

Brit — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:24:21 +0000

I hate the archaic liquor laws here in Oklahoma, however this post made me realize that I may actually be lucky to be unable to purchase wine at the grocery store! I would probably spend an extra $10 a week on wine if I didn’t have to drive out of my way to get it…it’s the one thing I can see myself not being able to resist =/

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By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:49:17 +0000

I’m kind of in a similar situation… I go to class all morning, and then straight to work, and it is just so convenient to grab Subway (we have one on campus) before heading to work rather than bringing my healthier (and much cheaper!) alternatives with me.

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By: Satrap

Satrap — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:49:16 +0000

Oh my god, I thought I was the only one who thought shopping while hungry is a bad bad idea. This is actually the first time I have seen someone writing about it. Thanks for that J.D.

The funny thing is despite knowing that, sometimes I do go shopping when I am hungry and every single time I come out telling myslef why did I do that!?…

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By: Babs

Babs — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:08:17 +0000

Me too! I almost always shop with a list, but if I am not a little hungry I don’t get enough for the clambering hoards at home.

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By: SEinSF

SEinSF — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:46:45 +0000

MMM – usually you are my money hero but that is just foul. Credit cards are nasty bacteria magnets. Would have been better to use your fingers, at least you know where they’ve been. Credit cards are touched by so many people, plus every time they’re swiped they’re coming into contact with the germs of every other credit card that was swiped on that machine. Yuck! The guacamole wrap does sound tasty, though.

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By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:18:46 +0000

I get around that by having my list broken into categories. I also cook simply and have plenty of different spices on hand. My list always has chicken, beef, and fish but loosely translated it means “three proteins”. If I saw a great sale say on a different meat that we normally eat, I’d snap it up in a heartbeat.

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By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:59:00 +0000

I moved from Oregon to Colorado and I miss winco so much… especially their bulk section! Groceries (and wine/beer especially) are way more expensive in Colorado!

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By: Bella

Bella — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:35:30 +0000

Great post – I have a shopping list ap on my smartphone (I know the smartphone isn’t that cheap – but given that I have it…). Now whenever I remeber something I need it gets put on the list (since I’m never without my phone) and shopping goes pretty much only according to the list. NOTE: It seems in your house that you alternate grocery shopping – in my house since I am the cook I am the only one responsible for going into the grocery store – therefore if it’s on teh list – we need it for a meal, if it’s not we probably don’t need it. But yea, I no longer ‘peruse’ the fancy cheese bar at the store anymore – I would ocme home with more cheese than we could eat in a month.

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By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:28:17 +0000

An actual paper & pen list has helped me, too. Crossing things off moves you toward a feeling of being “finished” shopping, and it changes your behavior. Even if you throw in an impulse item once the list is done, you kind of know you’re doing it. The list makes it harder to maintain a silent justification for anything else you toss in the cart.

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By: J.D. Roth

J.D. Roth — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:22:33 +0000

Ha. Not my intention at all, Kevin. I DO try to eat healthfully, but at this very moment I’m munching on a donut while replying to you. And in the trip pictured here, there’s wine, chocolate milk, and cheese, none of which are particularly good for me. Not trying to show off my shopping morality, because there’s none to show off.

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By: Dr. Jason Cabler (@DrCabler)

Dr. Jason Cabler (@DrCabler) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:17:48 +0000

Always make a list. Always eat before you go. Always have a plan.

This is what I teach in my Celebrate Financial Freedom course and practice in real life.

When people ask me “how do I get out of debt?” one of the first things I tell them is “have a plan”. Works in the grocery store and works with life in general. Always have a plan.

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By: Tanya

Tanya — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:17:33 +0000

Hunger is such a primal feeling and it can definitely drive us to overspend in an urge to stop it. At least you bought good stuff; it’s too easy to fall for junk food temptations if you haven’t eaten before you head to the store.

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By: Janie

Janie — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:09:48 +0000

Amen to that! Precisely why I’ve given up reading the S.D.

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By: Mike T.

Mike T. — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:38:42 +0000

For me, I have the opposite problem.

If I go to the grocery store and I am NOT hungry, I don’t buy hardly anything and have to make another trip in a couple of days.

Also, I am not a “foodie” either and my meals are very basic like a bowl of Cheerio’s for dinner. Not too healthy, and I am not opposed to healthy foods, its just not a priority for me (although it probably should be!)

So for me, I must go to the grocery store hungry or I will end up wasting my time and gasoline making another trip.

Yes, I’m weird – I know, this works for me, and I typically keep my food budget to around $50 a week.

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By: elorrie

elorrie — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:03:04 +0000

The best formula for me is making a list/meal plan for the week while looking at the online circulars. Best of both worlds, but unfortunately I’m usually not this organized. If I go in just looking for sales I get great deals but still can’t put together an actual meal. Typically I go in with my list and try to be flexible if I see something on sale, and if I see a staple on sale I’ll grab that too.

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By: Belligero

Belligero — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:58:29 +0000

Relax. Food in general is cheap – too cheap, in fact – in the US. You’re enjoying quality food at some of the lowest prices in the world; don’t feel guilty about that.

The cost of cheap food and energy is enormous, and it’s ruining North America. It ain’t cheap in the long run when it creates an obese nation of TV-addicted suburban doofus consumers who can’t think for themselves.

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By: vince

vince — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:34:55 +0000

why not save more money by buying inorganic (lolz, little joke there) milk instead of organic milk. the health hazards of inorganic milk might not be that high

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By: Heidi@pocketchangebook.com

Heidi@pocketchangebook.com — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:47:29 +0000

Yep! The way I always say it is that if your “bucket of self-control” is already empty when you walk into a situation that requires impulse control, you are out of luck. By the way, I’ve been there, too.

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By: Bareheadedwoman

Bareheadedwoman — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:48:51 +0000

isn’t ezk bread a west coast entity? then there’s your argument for eating local being cheaper…that twice extra cost most likely covers shipping it cross country. It’s just sneakier when it’s wrapped up in retail cost.

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By: kevin

kevin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:31:46 +0000

This strikes me more as a “Look at the healthy stuff I buy when I go grocery shopping” post disguised as a “Let’s examine a financial mistake I recently made” post. But at least you acknowledge current mistakes. If you read the Simple Dollar, ALL of Trent’s mistakes occurred in the past.

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By: Petra

Petra — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:33:52 +0000

Thanks for a good laugh. Don’t worry, I do the same sometimes. For example I “suddenly” bought a (good!) book for $15 and a (reasonable and healthy) dinner for $15 recently because I had not taken my $3 bread and a free book from the library with me while traveling by train… I should’ve known better…

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By: Nicole

Nicole — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:43:48 +0000

Impulse shopping at the grocery store is where I get my excitement in life. Without it I might waste thousands of dollars on skydiving, bungee jumping, illegal travel to prohibited foreign countries etc.

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By: bobj

bobj — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:12:20 +0000

I think i spent that on Halloween candy last time I went to the store.

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By: Stellamarina

Stellamarina — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:30:59 +0000

As I read this I keep thinking about some study I have read that says men way over shop on unplanned food items than women.

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By: Earin

Earin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:24:41 +0000

This looks so damn tasty.

All in all I bet after that lunch you didn’t need anything more that day.

But pre-fab fruit is just a no-go.

And everytime I see those prices for alcohol I’m so clad I don’t drink them. I can’t understand why people pay so much money for some of them. There’s so much better things….

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