I have a problem with both. I usually have a list of things to get before I begin grocery shopping. I tend to over-buy when my husband comes along. He will want to get this and that and the other. That's when I feel that I have no control over the grocery expenditure. He's working and I'm the one staying at home to look after our daughter. So does that justify doing whatever he likes with his money? I guess not. So I normally try my best to shop without him.
I also tend to over-buy when I have brought a little extra money than what I would need to get on my list. There are times when I'm not so sure how much an item would cost and when I arrive at the supermarket, I may realize that it was cheaper than I thought. I'd be wondering. Now is there anything else I'd like to get since I'm already at the store? Yup! That's when I'd over-buy. This one is my fault!
There is also another situation when I tend to over-buy. That is when I want to utilize the store reward cards. In my case, the local supermarket offers points for purchases above $20. The points can then be converted to vouchers. Normally, I would visit the store when I have more than $20 worth of items to get. But there will be moments when I needed some items really badly, such as diapers for my daughter. As such, since the diapers cost just $10, I'd be thinking of what else to get to increase purchases to $20, just so that I can get the points issued with the card. That is when I'd over-buy.
At other times, I tend to under-buy. This normally happens when I have a list of items to get, but can't find them in the store or they are out-of-stock. In that case, I would have to visit another store to purchase those items. Usually, I visit the smaller shops nearby so that I do not have to spend more on fuel and parking fees at another supermarket store.
So the question is - how do you over come tendencies to over-buy or under-buy? It seems that having a list may not necessarily work for both cases for me, as you can see from the examples given above. I always start with a list, but still end up over-buying to under-buying. But I'm not saying that having a list is all that bad. It will still be important to make sure that you get the important items you need.
For me, I think the important thing is to pay everything in cash and bring only a limited amount of it. Try as far as possible to estimate the amount you are about to spend and just bring enough for those items, so that there is no way for you to over-buy. Another important thing I could do is to leave the store rewards card at home if I know that I'd be spending less than $20 each time. That way I would not consider topping up my trolley with items I may not necessarily need, in order to utilize the reward card.
So, what kind of shopper are you? How do you overcome over-buying or under-buying?
