Tactics for a grocery shop saving newbie

IM

By my own admission, I’ve had by head stuck in the sand as regards finances for a while, but I’m determined to try and get back on the straight and narrow this year.

The most obvious way is to be a bit more selective and prudent with the family grocery shopping.

We have our ‘big shop’ delivered weekly by Tesco – and use either Sainsbury or Aldi for the bits in between, occasionally using Quality Save for things like cleaning stuff.

I’m sensible enough when I’m in a shop – will always make use of discounts and/or selecting the best value on offer. What I’ve never done however, is bothered to schlep between different stores in the precinct, comparing prices and buying from the cheapest for each item.

So I guess my questions are…

• Is it really worth it (savings vs ball-ache) to use the discounters?
• If so, are there any specific items/categories to watch out for?
• Are there any tips for saving on shoe leather and targeting my trips do different stores? (I think I'm right in saying that https://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/ doesn't include all stores)

For reference, we have Sainsbury, Aldi, Quality Save, Iceland and Pound Land close by – with B&M Bargains and Home Bargains down the road.

bhjm

1. do meal plans for the week
2. create a shoppinglist and stick to it
3. change from brands to supermarket brands
4. try out lidl & Aldi and compare the prices

Beccawte

There’s an app called mySupermarket you could download on your mobile. The idea is that you put all the items in your basket on the app for relevant supermarket and it compares your basket cost against other supermarkets. I use it all the time and it’s saved me a lot of money too!

Farway

A second for My supermarket, handy if the shops are not too far apart but obvs no point driving miles to save coppers

suki1964

I have Lidl, tesco, Home bargains, savers and spar and I use all of them depending on what Im buying


Mind I went into Iceland the other day for the first time in 20 odd years and I was most impressed with their prices. However thats 15 miles away and at the other end of town to Sainsburys, lidl, tesco and B&M so I don't think it will ever appear on my round of preferred shops

Im with bhjm, list, own brands, Lidl etc

The biggest saver for me is just not going into a shop unless I really really need to. If its just a pint of milk I pop to the local petrol station. If its something else Ive run out of it goes on the list ready for the next shop and I make do without it. But its rare for me to run out of anything forcing me to a shop. I always go by one in use, one spare. So when the spare becomes the one in use, it goes on the list for next time Im shopping


Seriously, keeping out of the shops saves the most money

IM

Thanks for the replies.

I had a look at the My Supermarket website, but can’t say I could make head nor tail of it – couldn’t spot a ‘Getting started’ guidance section.

So the idea (especially with the app) is that you create your shopping list and go to Shop A and start filling your trolley with those items My Supermarket says are cheapest there – then pop over to Shop B, then Shop C etc. for the items cheapest there, until you run out of energy?

Will download it and have a play…

Coming back to one of my original points, are B&M, Quality Save etc. significantly cheaper than regular supermarkets – and what’s the best way to compare prices to save shoe leather?

thriftylass

IM wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I had a look at the My Supermarket website, but can’t say I could make head nor tail of it – couldn’t spot a ‘Getting started’ guidance section.

So the idea (especially with the app) is that you create your shopping list and go to Shop A and start filling your trolley with those items My Supermarket says are cheapest there – then pop over to Shop B, then Shop C etc. for the items cheapest there, until you run out of energy?

Will download it and have a play…

Coming back to one of my original points, are B&M, Quality Save etc. significantly cheaper than regular supermarkets – and what’s the best way to compare prices to save shoe leather?

I'd say just go to Aldi first. Less choice (why the need for 4 different pesto brands in other shops etc) and cheaper prices (no need to compare as it is across the range). A weekly shop with meat will cost us £90 in Tesco and £70 in Aldi, as a guide. Ours is really good for fresh fruit and veg too. And then we go to Tesco or ASDA for fancier things like coffee. I've only been to B&M once and thought they only sell brands for slightly cheaper and I don't buy brands anyway.

From my experience Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest for everything. Lidl has fresh bread too. Tesco and Asda are next with Asda taking the lead apart from the meat section/cold cuts which is more expensive than Tesco. But Asda often have better deals on brands. Sainsbury's, Waitrose etc are too expensive.

I don't really go to Iceland etc as I rather just go to one or two shops and am happy with ALDI/LIDL then TESCO/ASDA depending on the day.

p00hsticks

IM wrote: »

So the idea (especially with the app) is that you create your shopping list and go to Shop A and start filling your trolley with those items My Supermarket says are cheapest there – then pop over to Shop B, then Shop C etc. for the items cheapest there, until you run out of energy?

Some people might use it like that, personally I tend to use it when I know I need to buy something in particular (e.g Nescafe coffee) as you can then search on the product and see who has the cheapest price on it. But then we're lucky in that we have all the major supermarkets within a short walk/ drive.

You can also get it to show all the current offers at a particular retailer, which can be handy if you know you will be visiting that one.

Farway

p00hsticks wrote: »

Some people might use it like that, personally I tend to use it when I know I need to buy something in particular (e.g Nescafe coffee) as you can then search on the product and see who has the cheapest price on it. But then we're lucky in that we have all the major supermarkets within a short walk/ drive.

You can also get it to show all the current offers at a particular retailer, which can be handy if you know you will be visiting that one.

This is the same way I use it, for instance needing to buy detergent? Search on that.

It does have option of listing by price per kg, so so you can compere exactly like for like as some pack sizes will be different, and it will then show that it's sometimes cheaper to buy two small packs than one large one

ouraggie

You can also get it to alert you by email whenever a favourite item is on offer somewhere. I quite often stock up on various things when I receive an alert , esp if they are expensive usually (our understairs cubby hole is currently home to 6 giant boxes of Persil! ). Often I would miss these offers if too busy to plough through this week's Savvy Buys and Top Offers.

Cornucopia

thriftylass wrote: »

I'd say just go to Aldi first...

Totally agree. Start with Aldi (or Lidl) and work out the products and ranges that suit you, and what you might need to find elsewhere.

As a rough guide, A & L are typically cheaper in these area: Deli, Dairy, Cereals, Biscuits, Cakes, Meat, Canned goods, Fruit & Veg (although some stores have quality issues), Cleaning products, Crisps, Chocolate, Alcohol, Tea & Coffee.

Aldi also has a growing vegetarian/vegan range, although it can be expensive. Lidl has a gluten-free range.

Unless you are spending a lot, that's probably the best trade-off between saving money and shoe-leather/petrol. If there are products that are best bought elsewhere, then visit those places every few weeks to stock up.