Groceries & High Street shopping
The most universal tip about grocery shopping is a very simple one:
Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.
You’ll be surprised just how much food you’ll buy if you are hungry in the supermarket.
Other than that, here’s a handy list of tips for shopping offline.
Food
- Try and get into the habit of using shopping lists – and only buying what’s on the list. Don’t make impulse purchases, and resist items you don’t need.
- Go to the butcher / grocer / market late in the day when they are finishing for bargains. You can always make up casseroles or stews in batch to freeze and if fruit is turning make smoothies or pies
- Buy BOGOF or reduced mince and cook a huge batch of ragu, which you can split up and freeze. This can then be used for Lasagne, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Chilli (just add chilli powder) etc.
- If you enjoy wine, try the boxes. They are great value and as good quality as a £4-£7 bottle, for £11 – £15 for 3 litres. This is only worth it though if you are sure you won’t be tempted to finish the box!
- Buy porridge instead of cereal for your breakfast, it costs a fraction of the price and will fill you up for a lot longer.
- Don’t buy fresh milk for your tea and coffee, instead use dry milk. Not only will it work out cheaper but you will find a large box will last much longer.
- Buy a jar of expensive coffee and a jar of cheap coffee and mix the two together. For some unknown reason the cheap coffee takes on the full bodied flavour of the more expensive coffee so you get twice as much for less cost.
- If you’re going to the cinema, make your own microwave popcorn at home and sneak it in inside a carrier bag. Also make sure you buy any drinks coke or bottled water at the supermarket beforehand.
- In supermarkets make sure you check the ethnic cooking section as normally you will find spices, rice etc much cheaper than the branded products.
General Shopping
- Shop at charity shops for your clothes.
- Use supermarket own brand products. The major producers make supermarket own brand products and simply change the packaging.
- If you use a product regularly (e.g. shampoo, deodorant, shower gel), and you see it on a BOGOF offer then it’s worth buying a couple of what you need to keep. Unlike food it’s not going to go out of date if you don’t use it immediately.
- Always buy stuff that won’t go off, like toilet paper or washing powder, in the largest volumes you can store. If you look at the price-per-unit labels in the supermarkets there is an incredible difference as buying small volumes increases the amount you are spending on packaging.
- If you are a size 8 or 10 buy teenagers’ clothes as there is no tax on kids’ clothes.
- Don’t be embarrassed to nip into Pound shops when passing to pick up essentials. A twin pack of Colgate toothbrushes will cost approx £1 compared to £1.50 for one in a supermarket.
- Shop car boot sales and charity shops for Xmas presents. No one will ever know if you make a good enough job with the wrapping.
- Find a group of people that will all chip in a certain amount to buy certain things like large bags of dried foods, then buy in bulk and split it all between you.
- If you have a formal occasion to attend like wedding, christening etc… and need something nice to wear, hire instead of buying. Most towns have dress agencies where you can hire outfits for a fraction of what they would cost to buy.
