But Mom..... I want chips!

I dread taking my kids grocery shopping with me. Although I must say that is is getting better. When they were small, it was a constant.... "I want this.... I want that!". Sometimes I would buy them something just to keep them quiet.

That added dollars to my grocery bill! Money that I could not afford, but did.... because I did not want to hear the crying and whining.

How do you say "no" and not have your child throw a fit.

These are some of the things I did. First, I will say that I have a very supportive spouse and I leaned on him. If at all possible, I would leave the kids at home with him. If not him, I would call a sister (by the way I have 6 sisters and 1 brother) and see if I could leave my kids with them or do a swap. My sister would watch my kids while I did my shopping, then in return I would watch hers.

Leaving my kids with a sister or spouse was not always possible. There were times, plenty of times, that I had to take them with me. When that was the case, I made sure that I was prepared. I had my grocery list ready. I did not go by memory.... I also went to a smaller grocery store where I could get in and out fast. I also warned my children that if they were not well behaved or they begged a lot..... I would leave the cart where it was and take them home. Once at home they would go straight down for a nap!

Did that ever happen? Yes it did..... once! After that my kids knew I meant business.

How does all this relate to saving money? It should be obvious. I saved money by not having my children beg me for everything. An extra bag of chips is about $3.98 right now. Candy bars are about $0.75 and if your children are like mine.... they want junk food (chips, candy, soda, etc) not the healthy veggies or fruit!

Hope this helps!