31 Days of Money-Saving Tips: Day #9 - Shop Sparingly

I'm not sure if I should say that this next tip is easy or hard, because depending on the time, it could be either.  But another way to save money is to shop sparingly.  This does take some planning.  However, if you forget something and you don't go back for it enough times, it really does make you more diligent about checking your list before you check-out at the store.  This will also be different for everyone - some families shop once a month, others every other week, some once a week - you just have to find what works best for your family.  But the most important aspect to this tip is to stick with whatever you decide on.  If you say you are only shopping once this week, only go once!  Multiple trips equal multiple opportunities to put things in your cart that aren't on your list.  It is hard to walk by certain aisles in the store and say no to temptation, so why do it more than you have to? 
I personally break my shopping up in to two days, but I also shop multiple stores.  I do the bulk of my shopping on Sunday when I go to CVS, ALDI, and Giant.  Then on Saturday I venture out to the Dollar Tree to grab my coupon-laden-ed newspapers.  This is my standard - there are weeks when I go to an additional store, or not all of these, or I have to go on a different day - but 95% of the time, this is my schedule, and I stick to it.
So, to save some money, stay out of the store as much as possible!

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