My grocery money saving tip

Becles · 20 April 2005 at 3:07PM

I've been doing a personal experiment which appears to have worked!

My Mam always does a 'big shop' once a week, and I just followed her example and have done the same. I find though that I often 'impulse buy' as it's so easy to throw things into the trolley, and often I'm ashamed to say that food used to get thrown out as I'd bought too much and it went off.

I've been looking for ways to cut down and have been using local shops and the market, and have given up on the weekly big shop. I'm buying groceries 2-3 times a week, but only buying what I need for the next 2-3 days.

Nowadays if I go to the supermarket, I only buy what I went in for and I take a basket, never a trolley. If you only have a small basket, you can't buy as much. You are less likely to impulse buy, as you need to save space in the basket for the essentials that you went in for.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else would like to try it.

maggut · 20 April 2005 at 8:08PM

You must be quite strong willed i think. As a checkout operator i constantly see people with their baskets overflowing and them saying to me 'i only came in for milk'
or ' i only wanted bread and a paper' they go out with about 3 bag fulls of goods.

I shop once a month then just buy essentials to last me, i do think it helps that i work at a supermarket because i get so sick of seeing food i can't wait to get out of the place at night,just grab my milk or whatever i might need and get out as quick as i can. Having said that there is only two of us at home and two dogs so we dont eat a huge amount.

Katgoddess · 21 April 2005 at 12:21AM

maggut wrote:

I shop once a month then just buy essentials to last me, i do think it helps that i work at a supermarket because i get so sick of seeing food i can't wait to get out of the place at night,just grab my milk or whatever i might need and get out as quick as i can. Having said that there is only two of us at home and two dogs so we dont eat a huge amount.

I work in a supermarket and I seem to have a big problem where I can't walk out the door without buying something. I feel really strange if I don't have a carrier bag in my hand at the bus stop.

This may or may not have something to do with why I can't save any money. :rolleyes:

Debt_Free_Chick · 21 April 2005 at 1:00AM

I have the opposite strategy - I only go to the supermarket once every three months for storecupboard essentials and then buy meat & veg locally

nicki_2 · 21 April 2005 at 8:07AM

Great minds think alike! I always go for the smallest trolleys at Asda as I usually do one big shop to last the week, when I have to do monthly puchases of toiletrolls (I usually buy the 16 pack) I get the bigger one. This week we don't have a car so I've got to carry the shopping home so I'm planning on buying less (including only a 4pack of toiletrolls), but we'll see.

Curry_Queen · 21 April 2005 at 8:37AM

Do any of you buy your groceries online and if so, do you find you spend more or less than if you actually shop instore?

soon2bjobless · 21 April 2005 at 9:05AM

When i worked full time I always shopped on-line - I could do a monthly Tesco shop in under 20mins and it saved me a small fortune (I'm one of those who cant go just for bread and milk!!!!) Now I am about to sign on I am trying a fortnightly shop at Asda on-line - even better stuff as you can get all the Smart price stuff. Its slightly cheaper delivery but still cheaper than impulse buying. Also, they do a price promise - I ordered a bacon joint but it wasnt available so they delivered a gammon one and only charged for the one I ordered. I find the Asda site a bit more fiddly to use than the Asda one but so far I have had no probs with deliverys - their stuff is better wrapped too with notices if its fragile ie eggs. You can buy a lot of their homestuff as well - I got a toaster for just over a £5 last time.
I do miss going to the shops for bargains but overall the savings by not having dd and dh putting stuff in the basked out weigh that.

Sarahsaver · 21 April 2005 at 9:48AM

Separate purse for the shopping, £20 a week. That is all I am allowed and that helps me stick to it, because I have to use cash. And Im saving by also not paying out for delivery charges, I used to spend £60 a fortnight at tesco online PLUS fresh fruit and veg. Now I do a weekly meal plan and stick to it, and use whatever i have in before buiying anything else. I used to have a spare of everything - bin bags, washing up liquid and so on, but i have saved money by only getting these things when they are running low.

rchddap1 · 21 April 2005 at 9:56AM

Every now and then I'll do an online shop at Tesco (can't do Asda as they don't delivery to me). But it will be a big shop. I'll only do it when I want to fill up the freezer and my store cupboard. Haven't done a big shop in a while as I need to defrost the freezer...so I'm trying to empty it. From my calculations only another 3 weeks to go...and I only have a fridge / freezer combo! I never realised how much food I had in there.

Magentasue · 21 April 2005 at 10:22AM

Sarahsaver wrote:

Separate purse for the shopping, £20 a week. That is all I am allowed and that helps me stick to it, because I have to use cash. And Im saving by also not paying out for delivery charges, I used to spend £60 a fortnight at tesco online PLUS fresh fruit and veg. Now I do a weekly meal plan and stick to it, and use whatever i have in before buiying anything else. I used to have a spare of everything - bin bags, washing up liquid and so on, but i have saved money by only getting these things when they are running low.

How does it save money? I have spare washing up liquid for example - I don't buy it any more often. In fact I have spare loo rolls, detergent, toothpaste, shampoo flour, frozen peas ... anything the kids don't eat really! Cereals for example, I only buy a week's supply now. When they're gone, it's porridge. When I bought a cupboard full, the kids used to leave half their dinner knowing there was cereal for later.

What has cut my shopping bill is going to Lidls, having spare stuff so I don't need to shop so often and not buying crisps and choc bars for packed lunches.

Chipps · 21 April 2005 at 11:47AM

You are very self-controlled to be able to go every few days and not be tempted to buy more than is necessary!
I do a 'big' shop once a month - I have to go 10 miles to a bigger town for this, there is a Lidl and Aldi there, so just going once per month saves diesel too. When I get the chance I go to a farm in a village a few miles away which is ... well, the place where the animals walk in and come out as meat. But they have very good meat, and the prices are very reasonable too. But again, not somewhere I want to have to drive to too often.
Other things I buy locally, eg milk, bread & veg (veg from either the greengrocer, farmers market or the Saturday market)
I just find that the more often I go into supermarkets especially, the more things I see which are such a bargain (hmm..) and which we don't need.

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My grocery money saving tip

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