{"id":7293,"date":"2013-02-26T12:14:03","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T17:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2025-02-21T05:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T05:38:47","slug":"the-grocery-game-challenge-9-feb-25-mar-32013-no-shop-week-no-means-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalskyweb.co\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/2013\/02\/26\/the-grocery-game-challenge-9-feb-25-mar-32013-no-shop-week-no-means-no\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grocery Game Challenge #9 Feb 25-Mar 3,2013-No-Shop Week, No Means No!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo Courtesy\/Stuart Miles\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/p>\n

We woke up yesterday morning with the intention of this week being a no-shop week, but that didn’t happen thanks to yours truly. So much for the no-shop clause as I’ve busted it for the month even though it’s the last shop for February. That’s right I’m the one to blame this week for making the wrong decision but that’s Ok we’re allowed to make mistakes. A no shopping day or week whichever you prefer to call it means “no shopping” including<\/strong> not even going near the stores. When you hear temptation call its you\u00a0that has to make the final decision. Yes, No or Maybe<\/strong> is what runs through my mind and sometimes I lose to temptation, it happens to the best of us.<\/p>\n

I don’t know what made me go into the shops yesterday but what I do know is that the decision cost me $47.73<\/strong> of which I would not have spent had I stuck to the grocery budget. Typically we shop no frills then food basics as we can price match if we need to but yesterday I just had this urge to go in to 2 shops to see what’s on sale. The thing is when you have a grocery budget for 2 you really don’t need as much as you think in the house. I think we go overboard with spending on food items that hang around our house or we used to \u00a0but that’s all changing. Shortly I’m going to do a blog post on what we eat in a typical day and why we don’t need to spend so much on food. The premise of “if it’s in the house, you will eat it”<\/strong> stands true and sometimes we eat more than we should because of it. Going back to Pauline’s post of making the best of what is available<\/a> it really makes me think of the amount of food we buy that is pure marketing in my eyes.<\/p>\n

What is a No-Shop Week for us?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

When we started this grocery game challenge part of the deal was that we would spend less time in the stores so we would save some money. We found the more we went in the more we would shop. You all know, you do it yourselves when you see something and you try to justify why you need to buy it. That’s you, having a back and forth conversation with your mind and the side of the brain that wins is the one that says no. In most cases or at least in my experience it’s typically something we don’t need although a good bargain has caught me off guard although it’s rare it’s a “must have now”<\/strong> purchase. Sometimes I wonder if we just like to shop to be nosey or to see if we are missing out on anything<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I’m not talking just about grocery shopping because it’s easy for me to go into Sears, Canadian Tire or Home Depot and pull the same stunt, the “just looking”<\/strong> to see what’s on sale that’s not advertised game. That game can get costly if you don’t have self-control or a budget but the problem I had was that I knew we had money left to spend so I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I was wrong but hey, we live and learn. This is our personal agenda, maybe not yours but it has helped us to save lots of money on crap we didn’t need to buy. I’m sure many people, us included can look around our house at items we spent money on while “window shopping”<\/strong> that we don’t even use. This is what the moral of the entire no-shop week is about for us, less spending more doing.<\/p>\n

What did I learn from this?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

I learned that there is no “maybe” and no “yes” on the dice, it’s No. No means No<\/strong>. If we take the time to put a plan into place we should stick to it although rules are meant to be broken, I know. I’m not saying stay out of the shop if there is an emergency and you need diapers I’m saying stay out of the shops if you don’t need to be in there. If you have no plan, no grocery shopping list then you likely didn’t anticipate the shop. If you run out of a spice to cook a meal, find a new meal to cook or eat it without that spice or substitute it. If you MUST<\/strong> go into the shop to pick up an item you forgot send the person with the most strength to say no, and that’s not always me. Mrs.CBB though is the one I have to watch out for but she will beg to differ stating that I’m the one who she has to control. Good thing we work as a team. What I would do the next time if I MUST go in is go straight to the product I need and right back to the cash. Get in, get out as the good saying goes and try to remember, No means No even if you have to say it over and over. Freedom from debt feels better than stuff.<\/p>\n

How do you stop yourself from buying more than you need if you go in for one item?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"february-2013-grocery-game-challenge-shop\"<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0Grocery Game Challenge Results\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Food Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n