On average, a person spends 43 minutes inside a grocery store, excluding the amount of time they spend getting to and from the stores. In a year, a person spends about 60 hours grocery shopping. Hardworking families don’t always have the luxury of spending this much time when grocery shopping, which is why it’s crucial to improve grocery shopping habits.

Grocery shopping will always require time, but this doesn’t mean that you need to spend almost an hour every single time you do it. There are actually plenty of ways to shop fast — perfect if you have your hands full taking care of your entire family.

Here is three grocery shopping tips ideal for a busy, hardworking family:

Utilize Shopping Apps

Technology is present everywhere. Businesses and households worldwide rely on technology to improve their processes. But do you know that technology can also become your ally to minimize the time you spend grocery shopping?

Instead of going to a physical store to shop for groceries, make use of online offers and shop using apps. These techs are highly convenient as you don’t have to leave home just to buy your essentials — you choose products online, pay using your credit card, and have them delivered to your doorstep.

These type of apps also contribute heavily to the environment since there is no need to print any leaflets which harm mother nature and negatively impacts the earth.

To score better deals on shopping apps, follow these hacks:

• Sign up for the store’s email list: When downloading shopping apps, make sure to submit your email to get the latest promotions and discounts. This allows you to get first dips on the store’s latest offerings.
• Turn on notifications: Turn on your notifications once you have the shopping apps downloaded. You want to know when your favorite grocery store offers discounted products, right?
• Avail of free shipping: To avoid the stress of driving back and forth to the grocery store, avail of free shipping services offered in the shopping app. Most apps will give free shipping to buyers who reach a certain amount, so hoard non-perishable goods when shopping online.

Maintain a Grocery List

One of the biggest reasons why families regularly visit grocery stores several times a week is because they prepare a grocery list in one day. While this hack often works, it may cause you to miss or forget certain items.

Keep in mind that food items in the house could run out any day, and you’ll likely forget to buy items that will run out on Wednesday when you prepare your grocery list on Saturday. Being in this situation is stressful and will cause you to spend more time and money.

Maintaining a running grocery list is a must for busy, hardworking families. To make one, place a grocery list template in your kitchen cabinets or fridge. When you notice items running low at home, say your favorite ginger tea or your kid’s cereals, add them to the list immediately. This will make your grocery list more efficient, resulting in lesser time spent grocery shopping.

These tips also come in handy when you’re preparing your grocery list:

• Never overbuy: Before completing your grocery list, check your pantry, freezer, and fridge to know the items you already have at home. This will help you stick to your household budget as you won’t buy items you already have.
• Share your list: Have everyone in the family help when making a grocery list. The more people help create a running grocery list, the lesser chances of you forgetting to buy essential items.
• Shop fresh produce wisely: Always add frozen fruits and veggies to your grocery list. Frozen fruits such as blueberries and blackberries are available as fresh foods only during the summer, but they’re packed with vitamins and antioxidants which reduce the risk of major diseases such as cancer and not only. They do last all winter long and you can eat them whenever you want to get a grasp of a refreshing healthy snack. They also do last longer than canned food and veggies.

Plan Your Meals in Advance

Do you often see yourself going around in circles in a grocery store because you don’t know what meals to prepare for the upcoming weeks? Prevent this from happening by planning your meals ahead.

Having a weekly meal plan will make it easier for you to determine what to feed your family for the entire week and identify which ingredients to get at the grocery store. With this information, you won’t have any problems making a grocery list and shopping within minutes.

Here are meal planning tips for busy families:

• Stock on the essentials: Buy frozen foods and other essentials that you can easily throw together to make delicious and healthy meals. Some examples are canned tuna and frozen veggies.
• Prepare breakfast ahead of time: Make sure that none of your family members skip breakfast by preparing it ahead of time. You can always prepare overnight oats the night before or mix frozen fruits to make smoothies in minutes.
• Get everyone involved: Ask everyone in the family what they want to eat for the week, especially if you have kids at home. Their answers will give you more ideas on what to prepare for the week. Plus, this will also make everyone excited!

Improve Your Shopping Habits

When you’re a part of a busy family, spending too much time grocery shopping can snowball into bigger problems. Your hands are likely too full that shopping for hours means no one will take care of your kids at home, or you’ll have to leave work earlier than everyone else.

To ensure that your family still accomplishes their responsibilities while keeping your kitchen fully stocked, follow all of the shopping tips mentioned here. These tips can become your key to shopping faster and more efficiently!