Planning your shop
Better planned grocery shopping could save you a small fortune over the next twelve months and there are a number of steps you can take immediately to make an impact.
Before you set off for your regular supermarket shop, take some time to check your cupboards, fridge and freezer first. Plan your meal menus for the next week or so around what you already have and what you will need to complete the recipes. You can search online, accessing free recipes based on the store cupboard items you already have for inspiration.
Make a shopping list and more importantly, stick to it. If you find you succumb to temptation when you are surrounded by shelves of food and make impulse purchases, switch to online shopping. You may have to pay for delivery but this could save the impulsive shopper far more in the long run.
Time your shop to avoid going when you are hungry as this will only serve to increase temptation and impulse purchases. The time you shop could be significant too; try varying to include shopping later in the evening and you could benefit from more discounted items, nearing their sell by date.
If you are committed to the buying premium brands, try the own label and see if you really can taste the difference or if a few more minutes care and attention in the kitchen means that your ingredients come together whatever the make. If you find you still can’t taste the difference, try again, this time with a value brand and you could find you can reduce your grocery bill significantly in the coming months.
Try to vary your supermarket too, always using your loyalty card and benefit from newsletters, email marketing and direct mail offers, ensuring that you use the vouchers and discounts offers you subsequently receive (providing it is actually for an item you need!).
If you’ve perfected the art of ‘down branding’, experiment with downshifting your supermarket to one of the discount supermarket outlets. Remember, the packaging doesn’t affect the taste of the contents and if it’s cheaper, one good reason could just be that it includes less chemicals, preservatives and additives.
There’s a lot of science in supermarket shelving displays and the items that make the supermarket giants a lot of money are usually at eye level, so be prepared to reach up and bend down to make sure you get value for money. And finally, when your shop is carefully planned, thoughtfully executed to make sure you stick to your good intentions, don’t succumb to last minute impulse buying particularly as you queue to check out.
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