Picture of asparagus in the store to go with tips on grocery shopping

Simple Shopping Tips for the Proverbs 31 Woman

     Grocery shopping is not exactly my favorite childhood memory.  In fact, I used to get very bored the times when I tagged along while Mom did the shopping.  We went so slowly, stopped often, and stared at row after row of food.  I would get very tired from the stop and go pace.  To be honest, I was far more happy when my parents turned a shopping trip into date night, and my sister and I stayed home with our brother and ate corn dogs – a treat usually reserved just for this occasion!  As I grew older, I learned to like grocery shopping more.  I became a more active participant, helping to pick out the things that we needed.  Or I looked at things elsewhere in the store.  Whether we like doing it or not, grocery shopping is part of our lives, and today we are going to look at tips on grocery shopping from a Proverbs 31 and simple living perspective.  If you don’t like grocery shopping now, you may change your mind!  Oh, and I have a freebie for you, so keep reading.

She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

Proverbs 31:14

How did the Proverbs 31 woman shop?

     Let’s take a minute to look at this verse.  It says that she is like the merchant’s ships.  What do merchant’s ships do?  They usually travel from one place to another, selling cargo and picking up a new one to sell elsewhere.  It is possible that the Proverbs 31 woman traded things that she made in order to buy food from other places.  In other words, she was very intentional about making sure that she could get the food that her family needed.

     She wasn’t afraid to “go the extra mile” when needed.  In fact, if the food she needed was far away, she found ways to get it to her home anyway.  It was her goal to make sure that her family was nourished and cared for.

Picture of bread for sale

Simple Tips on Grocery Shopping

     Now that we have taken a quick look at the Proverbs 31 woman and her shopping, let’s talk about your shopping!  Let’s look at some simple tips on grocery shopping, and I have a special freebie for you to make your shopping that much easier.

Why do I find grocery shopping stressful?

     If you are someone who finds grocery shopping stressful, there could be several reasons for that.  (If you don’t find grocery shopping stressful, comment below with your favorite tips!)  I think grocery shopping stress would be similar to most any other kind of stress.  Some of the most common causes of stress are our mindsets and being unprepared.

Mindset

     When we are feeling stressed and overwhelmed about something, it has a lot to do with our mindset.  Often we are focusing more on our feelings than we are on what is actually true.  We are also focusing on overwhelming thoughts instead of thinking about Jesus and His strength.

     If we start praising the Lord for the opportunity to buy food (having the money to buy it, food in the store to buy, etc.), this can give us a complete change of mind and heart.  Not only that, we can thank the Lord in advance for how He is going to help us complete the task that He has given us to do.  So one of the biggest tips on grocery shopping that I can give you is to have a grateful heart!

Picture of empty shopping cart in front of freezer case

Preparation

     Another thing that causes a lot of stress in grocery shopping and other areas of life is being unprepared.  Don’t you know that helpless feeling when you know that you have so much to do, yet you don’t know where to start?  You aren’t even sure what all has to be done.  That’s where planning comes in!  In this case it would be making out a grocery list.

     Write down the items that you need.  How do you do that?  Well, take inventory of what you have on hand to see what you need more of.  And, think about the meals that you are going to be making, and make sure that you have all of those ingredients on hand.  The Proverbs 31 woman brought some of her food from afar.  This means that she had to plan in advance to make sure that she got what she needed.  If she missed getting something, it wasn’t as simple as driving around the corner to the grocery store.

How can I make shopping easier?

     In recent times, my family has made a discovery: grocery pickup!  Now, we already knew it existed, but we didn’t realize how nice it is.  It saves so much time, energy, and money, all valuable resources that God gives us to steward for Him.  You can sit at home and talk through the things that you need, adding them to the order.  Schedule a convenient time, and head to the store to pick them up.

     You may be wondering, how does it save money?  Simple.  Since you aren’t walking around in the store looking at things, you are much less likely to buy other things that you did not go in there for.  Now, grocery pickup is not always an option, and it may not be for everyone, but it can definitely be a blessing to some.  If you have the option and haven’t ever used it, it’s worth giving it a try!

     Another way to make things easier is to buy extra and shop less often.  We have done this some because Cost Co and Trader Joe’s are a pretty long drive for us.  So we stock up on the things from those stores and only go there every month or two.  We go a little more often to closer stores.  But even so, it’s just nice to make larger runs and go less often.  It saves so much time!

Enjoy these shopping lists for free!

Shopping Lists

     Before you go, I have some free shopping lists for you to download!   I had a lot of fun designing them and hope that you get a lot of enjoyable use out of them.  They are a way for you to write down what you need so you can be prepared.  A couple of them also have reminders about the mindset you should take with you when you go shopping.

     If you are already on the email list, you can use the password on your latest newsletter and go straight to the freebies archive to download them.  Otherwise, just sign up here and I’ll send you the password and directions!!

Simple Takeaway

  1.  Have a grateful attitude about shopping!  It may not be something you enjoy, but it is a privilege, and thanking Jesus is SO important.  Thank Him for the strength to go shopping, how He is going to help you shop, money to buy the things that you need, food in the stores to buy, and so many more things.
  2. Be prepared!  Keep a running shopping list of things that you need, and have a good list before you go to town.  Write on fun shopping lists as a bonus.
  3. Try out grocery pickup when it’s available.  It may be just what you’ve been wishing for!

Let’s Chat!

     Do you enjoy grocery shopping?  What are your favorite grocery shopping tips?

     Until next time, shop with gratitude!

In Christ,

Bethany

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2 Comments

  1. Anna says:

    Great post, Bethany!!! Loved the tips you shared!

    1. Thank you, Anna!! The Lord helped me think of the tips! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂

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