Grocery shopping online has been a reality for us nearly five years now. I was pregnant with my youngest at the time and had abnormal bleeding problems which concerned me about pushing heavy supermarket trolleys around loaded with the week's food and household necessities for a large family. For me at that time, online grocery shopping really was an answer to prayer! Now I have a choice of online grocery providers so can compare deals on a weekly basis, also we have a new superstore opened in our nearest town, so the choice expands! Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that expanded, all those 'bargains' coming into the house are now showing on my waistline and my bank account.
When I sat down to see how much I was spending each month it was a scary amount, although further investigation showed that I was only actually spending £2 per person each day. So we were actually getting a more varied diet at a good price thanks to all the regular 'buy one get one free' deals. Lately we have become more money conscious after losing a part of our regular income which meant that we have been regularly spending from our emergency savings fund to pay for monthly necessities. There are a couple of large bills coming up which will just about clear the rest of our savings fund, so it is essential to see where we can save in order to keep a good quality of life for our large family. Since the beginning of July I have kept a good eye on my grocery spending and am deliberately spending a little less on a weekly basis which I believe will make a big difference over the next six months if I can keep it up, God willing.
One of the good things about my weekly online grocery shop is not just that they can deliver my full trolley load for less than it cost me to drive to the store and back! They also pack it well so that nothing gets squashed or broken. I can still remember that time when I dropped a jar of jam in the carpark...and the occasional smashed egg, definately the squashed bread or cakes under the weight of all the other carrier bags full of shopping fighting for space in the boot. Not to mention the occasional messes, split sugar bags leaving a sugary trail, or dusty flour on my black car seats. It takes time to clean up these messes.
At first I just compared the cost of fuel to the cost of delivery but recently I have realised that I wasn't taking wear and tear of the car into the equasion. Together with saving time driving to the store and back, not being tempted by all the other 'bargains' that weren't in my budget plan and not having to get baby sitting or the stress of taking all the children shopping with me, online grocery shopping is a real blessing!
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