It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

euronorris

There really is no need to judge people who struggle with such things. We have no idea why or what they're going through. But safe to say that if someone is doing that, they are already struggling financially and I don't mind helping out such people. If I happen to get caught out by someone being deceptive, then so be it. I'd much rather take the chance of helping someone who didn't need it than the other way around.

Frugalista

Florenceem said:

Frugalista -Years ago computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter coined the term “innumeracy” as the mathematical counterpart of illiteracy. He said innumeracy is “a person's inability to make sense of the numbers that run their lives.”

Sadly some who visit our SA would be in the above category. A calculator wouldn't help them.

And that is fair enough - I accept that, but I'll bet that they make up a very small percentage of the general population. 

The majority of people just say that they "can't be bothered" or "it takes too much time/effort" or "you can't do that for a full weekly shop" or "I can't be expected to remember every shelf edge price" etc, etc, etc.  All I'm saying is if a person is that concerned about watching the pennies then they will make the effort.

Just for the record - at school (eons ago) I was hopeless at maths and held the dubious award of coming bottom of most maths tests.  My parents were told I had number dyslexia.  As an adult it improved enough for me to hold a job running an entire direct debit department; another job handling thousands of pounds in cash every shift, and more.  I'm no Einstein - but I sure as hell know how to keep an eye on the pennies!

-taff

Can we please stop having a go at someone who was obviously in a tight spot? Sge sgould have done this and that doesn't help, it just reinforces belief in our own superiority because we wouldn't have done that. Walk a mile in their shoes first etc, before being judgemental.

tooldle

I’ve not worked in retail for years, but back when I did work on tills it was reasonably common for the shopper to ask us to subtotal every so often, so as not to go over their limit. Most would order their shop so that essentials went through the till first. It was the 80’s so might have been down to lack of funds or possibly weekly pay which was more common then. Occasionally I’d spot a shopper with a calculator, although those were few and far between. 

I was only aware of one customer who couldn’t read. She coped by memorising labels of products. I came to learn that she couldn’t read when she began shopping for her elderly neighbour, and asked for help with the shopping list she’d been given. 

As an adult I’ve come across many who can only cope with very basic maths, and slightly more complex calculations for example working out pro rata holiday entitlement is beyond a lot of people. When you think about it, few have to use mental math daily as most calculations  are now done by spreadsheets, tills etc. There is a difference between understanding numbers on a bank statement and having the ability to make the calculations. 

Auntycaz

I think sometimes younger people struggle with mental arithmetic as they don't teach times tables properly in schools and rely heavily on calculaters or write all their sums down on paper. I was born in the early fifties so we learned £sd. 
A few people worked with when I first left school who were older than me lost a lot of schooling due to the war. One lady in particular who couldn't read but knew basic maths said her mum kept her off school to look after her younger siblings as she couldn't cope after losing her husband. When I asked how she managed when shopping she said she looked at the pictures on the tins. 

newlywed

I did well at maths in school… got an A. Was apparently in the top 10 results of the school for the mock exams…. But whilst quadratic equations were easy, adding up in my head is never accurate… adding up whilst carrying a small child would be a pointless exercise for me!  

and every time I add up on a calculator as I go round (mobile phone calc app) I still always seem to mess up at some point unless I am only buying 10 items. 

I am better with pen and paper and adding that way as I go round.

So different things work for different people, and not necessarily education related at all! 

 But I know I like online shopping coz it tells me the price and works it out for me and then I get a chance to swap things out. Thankfully I can afford to shop online twice a month, if your income is weekly and your budget very small then that may not be possible.

not everyone has tried all the suggestions yet to find what works for them.

Auntycaz

Maybe logging in to the store online and adding their shopping list and then taking an extra few pounds just in case they forget anything or their child/husband adds something extra to the trolley might be helpful for them. It's so sad it must be so embarrassing for them.

elsien

I have to agree that I'm very thankful that I had to learn my times tables at school. Much as I resented it at the time, it has proved invaluable since.
The slide rule instead of a calculator - less so. Although I guess nowadays you could repurpose it as a "keep your distance" stick instead. 
Asda keep  changing their yellow sticker times. There appear to be a select few who are happy or desperate enough to loiter in the supermarket for quite a long time but I take my chance nowadays. 

YorksLass

I was hopeless at Maths at school (50's/60's) and was always in the bottom stream.  But I can add up in my head and still recite my times tables parrot-fashion.  Metric measurements are still a challenge at times - I just can't seem to visualise what they look like.  Currency is definitely easier than £sd but I was always OK with that.  My late DD used to say you wouldn't go far wrong if you could work out your wage.  

That said, I can work out how much fabric, wallpaper etc I need and worked in an accounts department for many years, so maybe I'm not as bad as I think I am.    

When I'm shopping I write the price at the side of each item and then put the total on the back of the list.  That way, I can see if something has gone up since I last bought it and it's easy to adjust the total before I get to the checkout.  I can use a calculator but still prefer pen & paper.

Brambling

When I go to Sainsbury I have found their hand held 'smart shop' devices useful as it does tell me as i shop how much I'm spending and they do offer quite good savings on items i have previously brought if i use it. TBH I prefer it to the self service till.  However i shop on my own just for me so no whining OH or kids and I'm not buying a huge trolley load.

I do like that i can pack when i walk around and that i can remove items if i'm not happy with how much i'm spending, usually the nice to have rather than the need to have.  There are disadvantages, i've had to go to customer services a couple of times when it's not removed a item and i've been audited once although they only check 10 items and i had no issue with them doing that and once i had to chase down someone as none of the scales were printing labels one Sunday. 

I understand that some people aren't comfortable using them and also miss the chance to speak to someone when they go thought the tills after all we are all different

I'm quiet good at mental arithmetic but i think i would have issues totalling up a lot of items especially in a busy shop or trying talk to a child at the same time and they don't have those handy price labels on anymore to recap.  As a Saturday girl in the late 70s early 80s where most people still used cash we frequently had people putting items back