How I Persuaded My Family to Automate our Grocery Shopping
And gain an extra 2 hours of free time every week
The idea that an hour-long task can be done in just 5 minutes excites me. Think of what you could do with all that free time. Perhaps you could finally get around to doing a project you’ve put off, or maybe you could use that time to learn a new skill.
When it comes to our jobs, we’re always looking for faster, and more efficient ways of working, but why do we hesitate to do the same with our personal lives?
At work, many use Google Calendar to plan meetings with clear agendas, but when it comes to organising a day out with friends, we…. resort to a Facebook group with little to no context?
It seems odd that we’re so driven to do things the right way at work, yet the same can’t be said for our lives at home.
Until you start considering it of course.
Creating a Budget Sheet
In 2020, I thought it would be a good idea to create a spreadsheet where I could track my finances.
Working from home gave me some time to think about my long term goals, though most of that thinking was on the lines of why I waited so long to do so.
I never thought I’d be spending a Saturday afternoon writing spreadsheets, but there’s something satisfying when it’s for your own self-improvement.
After finally completing my masterpiece, the horror of my expenses stared back at me on screen, and it wasn’t pleasant.
I had a habit of regularly buying lunches with work colleagues, and these lunches weren’t cheap. Now, I could finally see just how much I had been spending on food.
Fortunately for me, I was no longer buying lunches every day due to COVID. But our family were always at home, and we were eating a lot more together.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course, plenty of tea breaks with snacks.
Surely, my dad too, would be overspending?
Convincing my Dad
My dad is old school, and he would track all his finances in a thick folder by jotting down his spending on a weekly basis.
I had no idea if he made use of any of that information, and it was very manual and time-consuming.
It was time to bring him into the modern world of financing.
It didn’t take long to replicate my budget sheet and add his figures in. Although surprised at first, I think maybe he was just glad that I was doing it for him.
Many parents don’t want their children finding out their well-guarded secrets — even if they’re quite dull ones.
‘How much do you spend on petrol per month?’
‘How much are you spending on groceries?’
Luckily for me, my dad was open to sharing. Being able to trust your family is an important step to improving your financial well being.
We soon discovered that although his grocery shopping fluctuated from week to week, they weren’t merely small amounts. In one month, he overspent by more than 50%!
I wanted to help him, and I knew how to.
Automating our Food Deliveries
I wanted to change our family’s shopping habits, but I also wanted to understand why we were overspending.
Our family is made up of 7 people, plus a cat. That’s not easy for any dad to manage, let alone keep everyone happy.
Each person had different needs. My sisters were allergic to fish, but the rest of us enjoyed seafood. Some of us ate porridge for breakfast, while others were content with toast.
Whenever my dad would go shopping, the trolley would inevitably fill with cake baking ingredients, cookies, and other snacks.
Staying home all day meant more treats and snacks, but to my dad, it just meant more hassle.
I think you get the picture. More time doing the shopping, more money spent, and more headache.
Something had to be done.
Switching to Amazon Fresh
In my mind, the only way to avoid impulse buying would be to standardise the grocery shopping, and that meant switching to an online service.
But I didn’t want to sign up for a website just to see how the system, so I turned to Amazon instead.
They had recently launched a platform for delivering groceries and since I already had free access from Prime, it was a win-win situation.
Amazon Fresh had a nifty system of being able to save individual shopping lists. There were 3 goals I had in mind if we did decide to make the switch:
- Standardise our food shopping so that everyone knew what was coming each week.
- Keep the food varied so that everyone wouldn’t complain.
- Lower costs to save my dad money over the long run.
A great initiative right? Well, my family struggled to see the merits and I had to deal with a lot of pushback.
‘What are you going to eat with that pasta?’
‘So you’ll be fine with just eating porridge then?’
‘We’re all going to have to ration now.’
There was a lot of back and forth debating, but by the end of it, we actually did come up with a shopping list that everyone agreed on.
I thought it would be more challenging to win everyone over, but as long as everyone had something they wanted, the rest was easy.
The best part about it? We actually had more variety than before, and still managed to cut the costs down by 35%!
It might not seem like much, but creating and automating our grocery shopping saved us a lot of future headaches.
During the middle of the pandemic, we felt safer as we didn’t need to risk going out to the shops. We used the time to do chores, watch movies and spend more time with each other.
If my family of 7 could do it, surely yours could too.
Individuals may be picky, but families can agree on something if everyone collectively benefits.
For my dad, it was about managing his finances. By automating this aspect of his life, he was open to the idea of doing the same to his groceries.
‘Most people don’t like change. They revolt against it unless they can clearly see the advantage it brings.’
— John C. Maxwell
Don’t just force people into something. Show them why you’re doing it, how it will benefit them, and what you’d be able to accomplish.
It only takes a few minutes to explain it to someone but could save you hours of arguments in the long run.
Disclaimer — Using Amazon Fresh requires you to have a Prime Account. If you signup for Prime using the link I provided in this story, I will get a small commission.