Me & the Family

Me & the Family

Monday, January 4, 2010

Smart Shopper?

It is Monday.
 
Monday means grocery day.

I spend maybe longer then most as I plan out what we are going to eat for the week.  I sit down and look at the previous weeks to see what we have eaten so that I can decide what I will punish my family with this week.  I try and get some veggies in there, vary the meat day-to-day, vary the starches and somehow try to not make family cooking boring.

And all on a pretty small budget.

After I plan my menu I double check the items in the pantry and fridge and begin thinking about what the kids will eat for breakfast and lunch...and of course snacks and other baked adventures.







I then strap on my tennis shoes, drink a cup of coffee, grab a banana and a water and head out the door with my $1 reusable bags.






I arrive at the grocery store, head to the back of the store where the dairy section is, look at my list and try to play FIND THAT DAIRY so I can begin the task of checking things off.  Needless to say every single time I get to the front of the store with my cart and my crossed out list...there in front of me is a overlooked dairy product. 






Already frustrated by being at Wal-Mart for far too long I turn around and head back again. 

Seriously...where is the dispenser?





My friend recently introduced me to a new contraption.  Maybe it is not "new" but it is definitely new to me.  She had two and gave me one. 

What is it?




It is called the Smart Shopper (SS101). 

At first I thought...is this really going to help me?

The Smart Shopper is magnetic on the back so that is able to stick to your refrigerator.  Mine is on the side so that the kids do not mess with it.  After I do my menu planning I sit and enter in the items that I need to buy.

Just hit RECORD, speak what I want and a pop-up list appears.  You find the item that you said and hit SELECT.

That's it. 

Well, that is not it.  I have found the reason that this contraption is so useful for ME.  You see, I enjoy baking and cooking and use lots of different miscellaneous things that I often forget about when I go to the grocery store.  I can set the empty container on the counter to try and make me remember but I ALWAYS forget.

Things that I often forget?

Oregano.
Cayenne.
Shirt starch.
Toilet paper.
Windex.
Dog food.






You get the idea.  It's all the items that I KNOW I need when it runs out...but by the time I make my list and check it twice...it's gone.

This is one area that the SmartShopper has made grocery shopping so much easier.  You see, I have now trained myself to walk to the fridge and RECORD the item that I just ran out of. 

Those forgotten items are no longer forgotten!

Not only that but when you are ready to head to the store you press PRINT...and your grocery list prints out.  Not only does that save my hand from cramping up and eliminates duplicate items (because I am brain-dead)...it breaks the grocery list down into sections.

Obviously this is nice because the grocery store is broken down that way too.  :)

If you need to run errands prior or after the grocery store just add them to the list!

Overall, I really like the gadget.  There are a couple of improvements that I would like to see the Smart Shopper take on...

Please add quantity. 

You see, when I go to the store I have amounts that I need: 4lb ground beef, 2 pkgs chicken, 2 cans of green beans.  You get the idea. 

The second?

I would love to be able to program mine to show the cost per item...that way I have a grocery list and PRICE prior to ever leaving for the store.  I live on a budget and if I need to alter something around I would rather do it at home then at the register.

And yes, the budget is that tight.

Would I recommend the Smart Shopper?  Yes, for those that need to shop with a list...which EVERYONE should!  Stop forgetting your groceries today!

Have you heard of the Smart Shopper?

Would you use it?



1 comment:

Stephanie Faris said...

That's cool! I'd never heard of it. I have a list I keep at all times throughout the week. Then when it's time to go to the store I think up what I'll be making for dinners that week and add those items to it. I don't know if I'd use the Smart Shopper. If it's like everything else, I'd use it for a while, then it would just join the heap of things that seemed like a good idea at the time.