I was invited by Shopwise last June 2 to give a short talk to mothers about being a wise grocery shoppers. I had so much fun putting this presentation together and sneaked a little bit of storytelling that I cannot help but share the slides with my insights through this blog. So here goes…
While I prepared and delivered this talk, let me be clear and honest that this presentation was accomplished with my husband’s valuable inputs. He is the grocery Dad and the rockstar in grocery shopping.
Grocery shopping is bonding time for the Ruffolos so we make it a point to take them to the supermarkets.
When we do take them, it is important that we…
We are pretty old-fashioned. While there are several apps for grocery list, we stick to the tried and tested, paper-and-pen methodology. I also keep this printout which segregates the items so we do not have to go back to a previous station because we forgot something.
Another tip that I am sharing involves hunger and spending…
If you are on a budget, do not shop when you are hungry. Aner Tal and Brian Wansink from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,conducted a lab study and went out into “the field” to see how hunger influenced food choices. They asked 68 adults not to eat for the five hours before a late-afternoon appointment. A Reuters article based on their study noted that people who hadn’t eaten all afternoon chose more high-calorie foods in a simulated supermarket than those who were given a snack just before online food shopping.
Why is this so? Because everything looks good when you are hungry. You will buy the items you do not really need. It will destroy your budget!
One of the reasons why I love being married to Jeff is the fact that he thinks in advance and buying in bulk is one of them. For several essentials, we have more than three items of them: 5-galloon water bottles, paper towel, canned goods, among others. We also do that to save on money. Buying in bulk saves us several pesos (or bucks to Jeff) rather than buying individual items.
We love membership cards and being in Shopwise last month gave me the opportunitt to hear testimonials about how their Wise Cards are real treasures especially when they received treats on Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
This is a subject that I have been writing about since I became a mother to three children. Meal preparation is important when you manage a crazy jungle for a household. I like the Shopwise website because it gives you meal ideas and they are arranged according to categories, breakfast, lunch, Filipino, international… name it! Recipes are downloadable too. These days it is not difficult to learn how to cook with so many Tasty videos available for free viewing.
In sharing these tips, let me also emphasize that while many people say that there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is such a place as a free library.
That is… the Cebu City Public Library! There is a Children’s Corner with books and other materials for your children. The library is also open to everyone who needs to research or study. That’s a wise tip that I really want mothers to know. I host Toddler Storytime sessions at the Children’s Corner. Please check the Reading Ruffolos Facebook page for the schedules.
Recently, I also founded Cebu Nanays for Nanays as a result of the Toddler Storytime sessions so do check out updates via the Cebu Nanays for Nanays Facebook page. We had the launching event last June 28 with a talk by Mommy Jonnah on first aid and basic CPR. We were joined by mothers from Barangay Capitol Site. MyJoy sponsored our snacks. Watch out for my story about it next Monday (July 9).
While many of us, mothers, are describe as “Super Moms,” I feel that in the world that we are in we are called to be not just “super” but to be “Super Wise Moms.
I look forward to meet more Nanays as I go around the different villages for more talks and sharings.
Do you have any Super Wise Mom tips?
