» Avoid these Expensive Household Shopping Mistakes

Even when times are hard and money is tight you still have to eat. But, like most people, you’ve probably

Frugal shopping can help keep costs down

gotten into buying habits that mean you spend more than you actually NEED to on food. While the whole world is focused on economic downturn, it’s a good time to revisit your buying habits for the long term.

It’s easy to become a more frugal food shopper without giving up on good food. Follow these handy tips:

1. Don’t shackle yourself to brand loyalty. Doubtless you have favorite brands for some foods, but if this means you never try alternatives you may have tied yourself in to needlessly expensive purchases. Experiment – you run the risk of being pleasantly surprised. Those brands you now buy automatically were new themselves once.

2. Don’t let that expensive ready-prepared salad dressing sneak into your basket. Scan the ingredients in your favorite brand, then have a go at making your own version. Combine different herbs, vinegars and other ingredients. It takes no time at all, and you may create something you like even better.

3. Don’t give in to the kids. Plasters with cartoon characters on them don’t work any better than the regular ones. Breakfast cereals in individual packaging always cost more than larger packs. Buy any product with a children’s character association, and you’re likely paying more for the branding than the quality of product.

4. Don’t shop every Saturday. If you normally shop on the same day every week, extend this to every 8 days. You’ll likely survive the extra day’s wait, you won’t buy any more, but you will cut down on the number of times you shop.

5. Don’t be fooled by supermarket classifications on fresh produce. Exactly what does that superior quality label mean? It could just as equally be about appearance as about quality or nutritious value. Does it really matter if your apples are all the same size, or your bananas all the same length?

6. Don’t pay for unnecessary packaging. It’s usually cheaper to buy loose than pre-packaged. This applies to most ranges of fresh produce – fruit and vegetables, meat, cheese etc. You’re only going to be throwing the packaging away, so why pay for it in the first place?

7. Don’t buy more than you need. The Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that the average UK household throws out £420 of good food each year, and for the average family with children it’s a whopping £610. That’s over 350 million tonnes of food gone to waste, and over 200 tonnes of this is food that hasn’t even been touched.

8. Don’t over-react to the ‘best before’ labeling system. While it’s important to make sure the food we are sold is edible, there can be a tendency to err on the side of caution in date labeling. Most things aren’t alright to eat one day, then totally inedible the next. Don’t throw things away just because they’re slightly over their ‘best before’ date or you’re throwing money down the drain. And don’t confuse ‘sell by’ with ‘use by’. Retailers don’t expect you to use everything you buy the same day.

9. Don’t buy items that are out of season or you’ll pay over the odds. Go back to how things used to be: buy and eat things that are plentiful, therefore cheaper. This goes for meat as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. If pork is cheaper than beef this week, eat pork.

10. Don’t write off own label produce. Sometimes this is made by the same manufacturers who make the branded goods sitting alongside. What’s the harm in trying the own label once – if you like it you could make a considerable saving.

11. Don’t automatically buy products in squeezy bottles. The squeezy bottle may be more convenient but you may be paying for it. Compare the price with the same product in a glass bottle. It’s also easier to make sure you’ve used all the contents from a glass container, and you can recycle it, which isn’t the case for all plastics.

12. Don’t buy carrier bags. Save heavy duty plastic carriers and use them each time you shop. Keep them in your car so you always have bags, even for those unplanned trips Better still, use non-plastic alternatives.

13. Don’t avoid slightly damaged goods. Some supermarkets sell dented cans and crumpled packages at lower prices. The contents aren’t damaged in any way, and you’re not going to eat the can, so what’s the problem?

14. Don’t shop too early. If you want to take advantage of reductions on products that have reached their ‘sell by’ date, shop in the afternoon or evening. Discounts are likely to be applied from midday onwards.

15. Don’t assume ALL own label products are cheaper. Many supermarkets sell several ranges of own label goods: a basic range, a mid price range, and a premium range. The premium range can sometimes be more expensive than similar branded goods. Compare across the different ranges and brands before you choose.

16. Don’t shop at eye level. Supermarkets place their premium products at eye level. Look down and you’ll likely find similar products at cheaper prices.

17. Don’t avoid BOGOF. Many people think ‘Buy One Get One Free’ deals are a way of wasting money. Well they are if you are seduced into buying products you wouldn’t normally buy, but if the offer is on something that is part of your normal shop, then why wouldn’t you respond to the retailer giving you something free? The same applies to offers like ‘3 for the price of 2’, or ‘50% extra free’. Supermarkets change prices daily, and it could be that the price will go up after the promotion has ended, so buy while you’re getting it cheaper.

18. Don’t buy small. Sometimes you can save by buying bigger. Take oats for example. You may be able to buy a large volume pack, own label or simply packaged, cheaper than a smaller volume cardboard packaged item. The same applies to pasta and rice. All you have to do is provide the storage container. If you can afford it, buy the biggest pack of wash powder you can, then use less than directed. You won’t notice a difference in how clean your clothes are, but it will last you longer and will have cost less than the equivalent number of smaller packages.

19. Don’t assume the supermarket is the cheapest place. Fresh produce from local markets or farms is often a cheaper – and more nutritious – alternative. You may be able to purchase items like potatoes in bulk. If you’ve got somewhere cool and dark to store them, you could save a lot over supermarket prices.

20. Don’t let retailers make your meals for you. Is it really that hard to cook things separately then combine them on the plate? Are you incapable of grating cheese? Why pay for someone else to do these things?

21. Don’t shop in company. Especially avoid taking children and partners along. Children – unless well trained – are likely to try and persuade you to buy treats, and supermarkets play up to this, placing products at their eye level, or at the check out counter. Partners who don’t normally food shop are suckers for bargains and offers that aren’t part of your normal shop.

and an extra tip for free:

22. Don’t use a trolley when you’re doing a smaller shop, take a basket instead. You’re far more aware of the weight you’re carrying, so you’re less likely to buy things you don’t really need.