Better grocery shopping in 2012

Hi

We(read me) need to get better at grocery shopping in 2012.  We know that we overspend in this area every week.  I'm not talking $100's but $20-$30 most weeks with the occasional big overspend $50-$60.  Terrible. 

We had a budget for groceries in 2011 and we recorded the spend everyday in our diary.  We (read me again) didn't actually record the amounts in our spreadsheet until much later.  This meant that we couldn't make any adjustments when needed which just compounds over time.

I would always make a list to take to the supermarket.  It's what 99.9% of budgeting blogs say to do.  The unfortunate problem is that I am too easily swayed by 'specials' and tend to throw the little extras in.  So I would always have more than the list.  I guess that makes it more a reminder note than a list.

Oh and I think that using the credit card for everything(paid in full every month) might not be helping either.

So these are the problems that have been the undoing of our grocery budget. 
Here's the new plan to tackle them in 2012.

1. Stick to the list. - write everything down on the list even the occasional 'treat' snack food.  Avoid, avoid, avoid the impulse buying no matter how small.
2. Start using cash instead of credit card.
3. Record purchases in spreadsheet in a more timely fashion.

I'm really hopeful that these few changes will produce a positive effect.  I'll record the results at the end of the first month.

Mrs BB