7 Shopping Tips to Help You Save Money on Groceries and Other Consumables

  It is necessary to be concerned whether there is any money left for savings when we consider the way most people shop nowadays.The trick is to know what to do and look out for when you enter into a supermarket to do your weekly or monthly grocery shopping. Here are 10 tips to help you save some bucks on groceries and consumables. 1. Write a shopping list: Supermarkets are huge and stocked to the tip with everything you dream of stocking your refrigerator with and every time I enter a supermarket, my mind keeps thinking of the different possibilities and the different consumables I can buy. Knowing myself has helped me to write down a shopping list before I step into a supermarket. The cold feel of the paper on my palms jolts me back to the reality that I have just a limited amount to spend. 2. Try less known brands: We tend to believe that if it costs more or if it is a brand that is advertised more on the media, it is a better product, but this is not always the case. I was on the search for milk some weeks ago and I had to choose between a famous brand and not so known a brand. The difference between the prices was a bit significant and I thought to myself, “I can keep that money!” so I went for the less known brand. I don’t regret my choice. I will keep buying that brand. 3. Be on the lookout for supermarket deals: I walked into Shoprite, Ilorin some weeks ago and I was excited to find that they had deals on some of my favourite consumables. My brain was on a spree thinking of the possibilities and doing the calculations. I’m glad I had my list or I could have been carried away. 4. Watch out for the “Buy Five/Ten and get a discount” or any related offers like that: On my list was to shop for a new luxury soap different from the one I was previously using and I was glad when a shopping assistant was there to talk to me about a new brand which I instantly wanted to try. However, she kept on talking about how, if I bought five of it and five of two other products I hadn’t planned for, I was going to get some sort of discount. I had no plan for the two other products and it didn’t make any sense to buy five of new brand I wanted to try out, so I had to decline the offer. 5. Always check the best before date: I obsess over checking dates on any product I buy because I cannot afford to spend money on a product that would expire before I get to use it. Although the best before date is not necessarily unsafe, it is a personal preference for me to go for groceries and consumables that are still fresh. 6. Ditch items last minute: Sometimes you get carried away and you pick items you keep telling yourself while you shop, “I think I’m gonna ditch that”. Shopping isn’t a competition. I have seen people who had full trolleys drop more than half of that they had picked at the payment counter. So, if you cannot afford them and you picked them all the way to the counter, don’t be afraid to drop them. 7. Don’t abandon your local market stalls: Supermarkets are convenient and the products are clean and well packaged but you will always get some of the same consumables at your local market stalls or areas at their freshest and for nearly half the price.