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I will say this right off the bat~ I realize this post is silly but it was ACTUALLY a problem!
Ok maybe I'm just a klutz but I found dealing with the calculator while grocery shopping quite cumbersome ! I also kept putting it down and then when I went to pick it up I would accidentally push something so I would have to reenter the amounts (didn’t notice the running total before screwing it up ) and then ds was trying to grab it nonstop and of course when I was just about ½ way through this fun adventure I deleted everything again when I put the calculator down to grab a case of soda!!!! ARGGGG!!!!! So needless to say I didn’t recalculate everything and ended up going over my budget by $45!!!!!!!
Am I doing something wrong as I’m sure many people use calculators and don’t have these nightmares hahahaha! Seriously though is there a particular type of calculator that might be better to use than the stupid clunky scientific calculator I borrowed from my 14 year old?
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I have a little notebook where I log the $ of items I buy at each store, and then I look for whats on sale in the circular. I have my list ready before I leave the house with the items listed in order of where I find them in the isles. So I pretty much know how much I spend. Averagely $70 for 5 of us. I couldn't imagine trying to calculate as I go. My kids are a big enough distraction. I try to get in and out quick, then I treat the kids to lunch for being so good!
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I have tried bringing a calculator to the store and it doesn't really work well for me. What has worked for me is I have my list to buy on a notepad and then I write down - rounding up on the side of the paper the costs and then add it up as I go along. For instance if I buys something that is $1.75 I will write down $2 and then total it every 3-4 items. That kind of math I can do easily while still shopping and don't need the calculator. The rounding also takes into account the 7% sales tax we have to add onto the bill. For fruits and veggies it's often just a real rough guess since they are purchased by the pound but most other things I can have a pretty close guess as to the total bill before I get to the cashier. I don't do this every time but if I'm buying a lot and the budget is real tight then it works for me.
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i use a cheap one i think i paid a dollar for it at walmart when i add and item i add it to the memory feature that way if i mess up the screen it is in the memory just a thought. when i forget it i just round up and keep a running total in my head that way i don't go over.
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I too just keep a running tally in my head. If I'm thinking of a million things or busy with DS, I'll write down a rough figure every 3 or 4 items. I always round up to the next dollar, sometimes quite more than others would (if an item is like $1.15, I'll round it to $2). But that does cover the tax of something that's like $0.99, which I round to $1. It's just easier for me. And it may just be mind games, but when I get up to the register with $64 total in my head and pay $59.48, I feel like I did really good. Goofy I know. I tried for the longest time using a calculator, but then I had to figure in the tax, and it was just easier to round everything up. Also, the other thing that really helps is that I keep an eye on how much things cost, and when I'm making my grocery list at home, I can jot down the cost of things next to them. Like if onions are $0.75/lb, I'll write $2 next to it, so I know that I can get $2 worth of onions and keep within my grocery list/budget. I'll often overestimate a few things, so if I see something on sale, or if they don't have an item and I want something else, I have the flexible money to use for it. The amount next to each thing on the list - that's the thing that helps me the most. Because it was frustrating to make a list of things I thought I could get for my budgeted amt, but then get to the store and have to make a decision between things with a screaming kid. So, I just started doing that at home. That way I knew before I left the house whether we had enough money for pop, or whatnot, and I had $x.00 allotted for the absolute necessities.
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list of stores offering a $10 off a $30 purchase.. I know buy.com coupon ends on OCt 31 so shop quickly.. NO limit of $10 you can use, FAQ's on link above...
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I had the same problem, than I started doing my grocery list on an excel spreadsheet. I go through the sale adds and put in everything I would like to buy. I have 5 columns - Quantity, Description, Price, Coupon amount, Total Price. Then when I'm finished going through the sale paper, I then fill in the coupons I have, then I total the bottom. If I'm over my budget I just go and delete the items I can do without until I come within budget. This method has also fixed another problem of sometimes losing my list before I go to the store. Now I can just print another one out.
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I use a pencil and a little notepad.
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I remember shopping with my mom as a little girl, she had this little red hand held clicker thing, so if something was a dollar she's click it once, something 3.00 three clicks so everything she picked up and put in a cart all I heard we click click click As a young kid I didn't know what she was really doing, just that is was noisy!
Just like mentioned many times I do the running bal down the side of the list.
first I round up to nearest doller. So something is 1.79 I put down 2.00, next one .89 I then cross off the 2.00 and put in 3.00. I have to do this with each item, the kids are too "busy" for me to keep a total in my head, this helps with some items that may have tax. I am usually with in 3.00 either way.
The best grocery shopping is when DH goes with me and he does the totaling as I give the price and put in the cart.