The Power of Shopping with A List

Posted On 16 April 2020

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

My grandparents had a cool shopping list apparatus similar the one in the picture. I saw my Mom make lists when I lived at home (and she still makes lists!). When I was in college, I heard a wealthy guy give a talk about personal finances and one of the things that he recommended was to always shop with a list. He also recommended to never grocery shop when hungry! Now, this was back in the days before smart phones. Sometimes I would make a list. Sometimes I would forget the list at home! It was a pain using paper shopping lists. As a result, I didn’t use a shopping list very often.

Fast forward to 2013. Shortly after my wife and I got smart phones, I got a job working at an electronics store selling phones. Working as a salesman in the store involved more than just selling phones. I found myself helping customers not only with their phones but also helping them with apps on the phones. As a result, I got into the habit of trying different apps. The best one that I found for a shopping list is Out of Milk.

Don’t Forget Why You Went to the Store

I have had my share of times that I have gone to the store (I’ve even been accompanied by my wife), done the shopping, and got home only to find that I (or we) had forgotten a key ingredient and one of the reasons for the shopping trip! Since using a shopping list regularly, this hasn’t happened. It is such a great feeling to have a list of things needed from the store so that we don’t forget something.

Not only does shopping with a list ensure that we get the items we need, it can also help us stay focused on sticking to purchasing only the items that we went to the store to get. Impulse items can really add up!

Sharing Lists with Others

What is better than having a shopping list on a phone? Being able to share that shopping list with another person! My wife and I share grocery shopping list with each other so that whoever notices that we need something, it is added to the list. It doesn’t matter who is doing the shopping, because we both have the same list on our phones. This is great!

Multiple Shopping Lists

With a shopping list like Out of Milk, the app allows us to create multiple lists. While my wife and I share our grocery list, there are some lists that we don’t need to share. For example, I brew my own beer and mead. That is a hobby of mine. I am the one that does that, not my wife, so do not share that list with her.

Another list that is great to share is the Christmas stocking list. We can both add ideas to the list, and we both have the list. The list of gift ideas for my wife I will not share with her, yet I can add it as inspiration strikes throughout the year!

Planned Meals

My wife and I strive to plan our meals. When we use a calendar to plan our upcoming meals, we can add the items to the list so that we can make those meals. I find that when we plan our meals, we tend to make those meals. When we slack off with the meal planning, we tend to look for easier (and more expensive) meals.

Hunting for Sales

Using a shopping list on our phones allows us to look for good sales on items we need for our 1-Up System. Not only can we save money by buying those items in bulk, we can also look for them when they are on sale!

If we have a month or two worth of an item, it is a very relaxed way to shop. We are not in a panic to get those items.

Help Reach Your Shopping Target

The final benefit that I will talk about in this post is that if you are aiming for a dollar target for reward points (Canadian link), you have your trusty list available so that you can get something that is actually needed in order to reach your dollar target. This has come in handy many times, as I hate to buy impulse items I don’t need – just to reach a spending target!

Shopping with a list is a great way to keep our spending intentional. Using a shopping list on the phone allows us to keep a running list. We add items as needed and remove them when purchased. If an item remains on the list for months, it is not a big deal. I don’t have to rewrite the list. Items can also be moved around on the list if their priority changes. I have found that using a shopping list on my phone is not a chore, but a blessing. It reminds me of what we need. Since I always have my phone with me, I also have my list with me all the time. I encourage everyone to use a shopping list app to make their life easier.