With food prices rocketing out of control – as a consumer there is much we can do to stretch our money when food shopping.
Retailers spend fortunes in developing strategies to con us into spending more money on the products that bring in higher profit margins for them.
Save £££ on your shopping bills
Using some of the techniques listed below you could play the supermarkets at their own game and save £100’s off your shopping bill.
- Always go with a list – otherwise you might come back with a trolley full of things you already have in stock and not enough of the items you are out of, which means another trip to the supermarket.
- Don’t go shopping when hungry – when you are hungry you will be tempted to buy far more than you need. The old saying ‘your eyes are bigger than your stomach’ has some truth. If you notice supermarkets are always full of aroma of freshly baked bread and cakes. A hungry shopper would find this hard to resist. Be wise and shop with your head and not your stomach.
- Go shopping alone if you can. Shopping with children especially will add to your shopping bill.
- Have a budget and try and stick to it. Do a rough running tally and once you reach your budget make wise choices and ask yourself ‘do i really need it?’
- Beware of supermarkets marketing strategies. These are designed to get as much profit out of you as possible. These include;
- High profit goods on shelves at eye level and at the end of the aisle– don’t automatically reach out for these. Look on higher and lower shelves for better deals.
Don’t impulse buy!
- Impulse buying – product placement at the till point. Avoid temptation to put these in your trolley.
- Beware of store layout which entices you through unnecessary aisles with tempting goodies.
- Bogus offers – don’t be fooled by offers which are ‘bigged up’ by signage.
- Switch to a more economical brand. Take the taste challenge and see if you or your family can tell the difference. I am not saying that you should substitute all your favourite brands with cheaper brands but be open minded and compare the difference. The best way to do this is to serve the cheaper brand without telling the family beforehand and see if they notice.
- Don’t get tempted by impulse buys. Supermarkets are adept at tempting shoppers at the till point.
- Only buy in bulk if you know you are going to use it. How many times do you buy multipacks only to realise you have to throw them out because they are out of date?
- Always check for use by date. Supermarkets are notorious for using short use by dates on everyday essentials such as milk. This is because they want us to come shopping more often. Avoid this by selecting from the back of the shelf which is where you will find the same item with a longer use by date. For example milk use by date can vary by 5 days in the same batch.
Look out for the BOGOFs
- Look out for offers like BOGOF’s and stock up. However be sure not to get tempted into buying it if you don’t actually need it.
- Trade in coupons. Most supermarkets will accept coupons for items other than what they are designed for.
- Buy frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones. Although fresh vegetables are undeniably better the frozen vegetables are almost as good plus they keep for longer.
