Yeah, I can't go when I'm too full, or else I don't buy enough. I find it best to go when I'm feeling about 2 hours out from eating. Looking forward to something nice and healthy, but not yet ready to cram the first fatty thing I see into my face.

I'm always ready to cram junk food in my face

You're male

I just have a really big sweet tooth...
Plus I rarely ever get junk food anymore :(

Haha, I find that I don't buy junk food when I'm full, which is a good thing, because as long as I don't have it sitting around, I'm not really tempted to eat any. So going shopping when I'm full is good.

When I was younger and used to go grocery shopping with my mom, she would never make a shopping list, but would just walk around the store, knowing what we needed to buy. Now that I'm buying stuff for myself, I've found that I can't do that well yet... I always end up forgetting something that I needed, so I make a list every time before I go shopping.

If I don't make a list, it'll go something like this: "Oh crap, I'm out of milk! I'll run out and get some! While I'm there I guess I'll pick up some asparagus and bread too, since I'm low. *later* Okay, got the asparagus and bread! ... WAIT, I WENT OUT FOR MILK. DAMMIT."

I have to make lists and go when I'm not hungry or I end up buying the whole store >.<

I went for just eggs and bread once and came back with so many thing I just didn't need. I'm not even sure what I was thinking when I put each item in the cart. So, now I just plan out my meals and go with lists.

i never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach
i do make a list and i do try to stick to it.
unless there are things on sale,
then i stock up on them.
i do try to keep my pantry stocked
especially with canned goods.

There's a UK blogger who until recently had to feed herself and her son on $15 a week.
She has a blog, "a girl called Jack" with tons of meticulously budgeted meals

I like those kind of blogs when they really are on a strict budget, they are super useful then. Some of them though, the ingredients they use, I'm like, "WTF, how can you afford to buy this stuff!".

I've just started making dinner menus for the week, it keeps hubby from asking "what's for supper tonight?" every stinkin day of his miserable life. I get so tired of that question. Anyways... I've always made lists because if I don't I forget to buy things. It helps keep me on track that way I don't spend waaay too much. I have limited budget that has to last the whole month.

---------- Post added 10-04-2013 at 10:28 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Cherry Who?

If I don't make a list, it'll go something like this: "Oh crap, I'm out of milk! I'll run out and get some! While I'm there I guess I'll pick up some asparagus and bread too, since I'm low. *later* Okay, got the asparagus and bread! ... WAIT, I WENT OUT FOR MILK. DAMMIT."

ME!!! This is so me...

College students I know have that sort of budget. nothing but ramen and cup o' noodles. never tried for actual meals on $15 a week though.

I think the only way to eat proper meals for cheap is repetition.
To rotate a few dishes which can be made *in bulk* and kept for leftovers.

And if you're cooking for one, a vat of chilli will be around for days.
Fun times

When I lived on my own, I would make a list through the week or on the day of grocery shopping while I waited for the shuttle. I usually follow the list unless I wander into the international section of my grocery store.. If I do that, then I end up leaving with my stuff plus a couple European candies and a jar of Lingonberry preserves for my oatmeal and toast ^^"

*what* is a lingonberry? o.o

It's a Scandinavian berry. Too warm for them to grow here, I expect. I want to try cloudberries, they're said to taste like caramel They sell cloudberry things in Ikea but I've never seen them anywhere else in the UK. :(

My fiance and I use this app that syncs between our iPhones. Whenever I add something, he can see it on the list and vice versa. So whenever we realize we're out of something during the week, we add it to the list and then refer back to it when we go shopping on the weekends. It works quite nicely most of the time but my fiance doesn't always check it if he does midweek shopping to see that I need milk. >.<

When we shop on the weekends, I try to get everything on the list but sometimes when things are really expensive I hold off buying it till the next week in hopes that it'll be on sale then. I also buy stuff that wasn't necessarily on the list but is on sale or I realize I need/want it. We've had to be more careful with our spending these past few months though since my fiance is currently out of a job.

We don't have a plan either. We do make a list but usually lose it somewhere in route to the store. Haha! So then we end up repeating to ourselves what we need. Then we get distracted by interesting or yummy looking things. And we never plan our meals for the week either.
Needless to say, we often get left with nothing to eat by the end of the week or things start growing there!

I make a list of the things I know I need, then maybe pick up a few more things that I want or something new
to try.
The problem is, I work at a grocery store, so I find my self buying at least a few things every day, after work.
I'll be checking and see something that looks good. Onto my list it goes.