5 Tips to Help Your Man Have a Successful Grocery Shopping Trip
This post is intended to be a HUMOROUS way to help reluctant shoppers (those who really dislike grocery shopping) to survive in the store without you. My husband sat by my side as I wrote this and laughed WITH me.
1. Write him a very detailed list
When I say detailed, I mean detailed. Maps of the store and everything! You may want to even have one part of the list that is just for definitions. For instance, you could use common terms for couponing: BOGO, doubling, tripling, etc. If you are really adventurous, you could even make your man some flash cards for his new vocab. Haha! But in all seriousness, writing him a detailed list in the natural order of the aisles will help him as he navigates the store alone. I did that for my husband some 13 years ago and it has only gotten better and better with time!
2. Have him download the Favado App
For real. Let Favado teach him about coupons and sales. This app helps my husband big time when it comes to his grocery shopping trips! It not only allows him to see which local stores have the best prices, but it also gives him the insight to secret sales and which coupons to use from which weekly inserts – saving up to 70%! Score! So if he gets upset while shopping, it will be with Favado, not you! But in my experience with Favado, that will not be the case because it’s a fabulous tool.
3. Start Small
Don’t put his man-brain on overload, let him ease into this new way of thinking. Give him a short list his first time or two. Let him ease into this new endeavor. Besides, this will help build his confidence and get him ready for the mega-shopping trips you’ll soon be sending him on! Just ask my husband, it works!
4. Reward Him Well
Make sure that you give your man an extra special treat for his bravery. Most men are terrified of shopping for their families and even more so when they are following in their woman’s footsteps. Make him feel proud of his efforts and praise him for going. At the end of the day, he didn’t have to do it, but he did.
5. Start Planning His Next Trip While He Still Has The Courage!
That’s right! Your man is pumped up now that he successfully managed to come home with a bag of groceries or two. While he is still on his grocery shopping “high” it’s time to break the newest game-plan to him. This time, increase the strategies and number of items. If he is a sports fanatic, liken it to a new play for the grocery shopping game. If he’s into computers, tell him this new grocery shopping plan is like a piece of new coding. What ever your man’s “thing” is, make sure you compare it to that. It will keep him excited until the next shopping trip! Ha!
Although this post was written with a bit of humor, I think you will find some great tips in here to encourage any non-shopping husbands, boyfriends, brothers, sons, grandpas or fathers out there! Teach him well, my fellow frugal moms, I’m rootin’ for you!
These are awesome tips.
Maps are important! My guy is flabbergasted by the busy-ness and “glitz” (yes, glitz of a grocery store with all the colors and noise). If you haven’t got the map, be ready with cellphone to help him out with specific directions such as, “the Greek yogurt you like is to the left of the milk about ten steps away, about knee level”. And if the Greek yogurt is not something HE likes and is familiar with, it wouldn’t hurt to have the labels made into a visual photo shopping cheat sheet, so that he knows what he’s looking for. Visual thinkers really need this more than names. Brown cow yogurt isn’t nearly as helpful as having the image.
That reward can be as simple as adding a favorite snack of his to the list like beef jerky or a favorite chip and dip combo, as well as your words of praise. Know your guy’s love language.
Great points, Dineen! It is so true that visual thinkers need more than words – so smart! Thank you for stopping by – and have a fabulous week!
I know you intended this to be humorous, but I share this with my guy and he took it quite seriously. Shopping is HARD for him. I honor that. I had a few other thoughts to share.
Go when it’s quiet and not so busy (after the evening/dinner rush, or even the kids are in bed; if he’s a night owl and you have 24-hour grocery stores, maybe even utilize that option-but be aware that shelf-stocking can present a bit of chaos).
A variation of the start small — keep him motivated with a list of items that are important to him. He’ll be more apt to bring home the veggies if he likes them (for example, if salad is his thing have him grab a box of lettuce rather than scan the freezer section for the broccoli florets).
Speaking of produce — it takes a while to learn what’s ripe, what will change color and maybe always taste “green”. Save produce runs for the easy stuff like a box/bag of lettuce or bagged apples/oranges. Don’t increase the challenge of learning how to pick ripe but not over-ripe produce until he is a confident shopper.
Great, tips Dineen! Your guy is blessed to have such an understanding woman by his side 🙂 Have a wonderful week!