Frequent shopping saves me money

InvertedVee

Recently retired, I walk 30 minutes to Lidl 4 or 5 times a week to pick up a handful of groceries. I have the time and it's good exercise. I now realise is that it also saves me money because my attitude has changed.

When I shopped weekly, I would notice things that weren't on my list and, if I thought that I might want to use in the next week, I'd buy them.

Now if I see something appealing, knowing that I'll be back soon means that I'm far less tempted. It's far easier to consider "Will I use this today or tomorrow?" than "Will I use this in the next 7 days?"

stuartp2000

This is interesting and thanks for the post.

I was mulling this exact point over during the last week. 

With all the crowds in Tesco because of Xmas hoarding I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.
I have this week thus been shopping as I go to see if works. (About a 40 mins round trip to supermarket or 5 mins to co-op)
I am guilty in the past of buying stuff on a weekly shop and wasting loads especially the fresher stuff.

Be good to see how this works out.

Katiehound

well, it wouldn't save me money as the supermarket I prefer is not quite walking distance- certainly not with a load of shopping..., so that involves the use of the car.
Once a week is perfectly fine- if there are bargains to be had- good.
I rarely buy things that are not on my(mental) list and anything that looks as if it won't survive is eaten or put in the freezer for a later date.

I would rather spend time in the swimming pool than wandering around a suoermarket!

i can see if you live near the sm and buy YS goods, yes, that could save you money.

Teapot55

I think that’s an excellent idea @InvertedVee and I’m going to try and copy your rule of not buying things that are perishable unless we’re going to use them in the next few days, especially vegetables. We have Tesco/ Lidl/ Co-op all really near and about to get an Aldi too. We rarely use the car for shopping and use shopping as exercise the same as you. 

We like to make sure we’ve got potatoes/ onions/ carrots/ celery etc always in. But too often we end up with veg that was cheap at the time but is now just sitting there because it didn’t ‘go’ with what we were eating and isn’t likely to this week either 😦

SandyShores

We do something similar InvertedVee.  Started when I began working from home in lockdown and we were walking daily to the local supermarket.  I still tend to do a large weekly shop at Asda for the staples and non-perishables .  Then one of us nips out for any bits we need just for dinner each evening if we need to - you're right its far easier to say 'will we use this today or tomorrow' and we end up with stuff we want to eat and very little waste.

I tried meal planning but it was a chore to plan it all out, shop for it (especially if things weren't in stock) and then frequently we'd get fed up by day 6.  Though that was better than when I used to work from the office and shopped randomly through the week - £50 a pop several times a week as well as a weekend shop and takeaways soon got out of control moneywise.

You've all prompted me to try and get my Asda shop down to a monthly shop. I've tried a few delivery services but they were all more hassle than benefit, but if I could get it down to a monthly visit I'd be happy.

maman

It's horses for courses but I can see two issues that might not be very mse.

You would need to be disciplined and be sure only to buy what you really need. I've often read on here about people who spend loads when just popping out for a pint of milk! Of course, the same applies to any shopping, daily, weekly or otherwise. 

It will only be economical if you have an Aldi, Lidl or reasonable supermarket in walking distance. 'Corner shops', like the Coop or little Tesco, can be far more expensive.

I do think the daily walk is a positive though. 👍

Krakkkers

"horses for courses" is meal planning.

calleyw

Don't get why meal planning is so hard.  Just pick six main meals and then have them when you want them.  Don't need to get bogged down in monday is x and tuesday is y.  It helps you shop for what you need and then use it.

Shopping everyday or every other day wouldn't work for me as I would end up buying extra stuff.  So try and limit shopping to once a week.

If it works for you good.  But for most people with work, families and everything else it wouldn't

alicef

Would love to walk to my nearest Lidl - though it is a 21 mile round trip and walking would be around 6.5 hours, less time if I could run it!   

We schedule our shopping for the days when we drive to the sports centre for swimming.  Our nearest food shopping is a Co-op/petrol outlet in the next village and that would cost a fortune.

Teapot55

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is whether you buy according to your menu planning or whether you decide your menu based on what you’ve found in the shops. 

Brie

FiL was a twice a day shopper and OH seems to have followed somewhat with this.

Admittedly with FiL it was a case of go to the library in the morning and if there was a shop nearby get something for lunch/dinner.  And if he hadn't sorted his dinner then he'd pop out again in the afternoon to get the bus to one of the larger stores.  I always found it odd that this generally meant that FiL & MiL had completely different dinners.

OH tries to meal plan but is not very successful which means that I'm constantly putting stuff in the freezer on it's last day rather than chuck it.  (yes I know BBD vs UBD...).  I've gotten into the habit to go along with this to stop at a shop on the way home from work to grab something.