Saving at the supermarket

Supermarkets are designed to make us part with our money. The store layout makes us walk the entire shop, last-minute treats and magazines are strategically placed near the till, and the most profitable items are placed at eye level.

With that in mind, here are our top tips for saving money on your weekly food shop:

 

1. Make a shopping list
   It may sound obvious, but one of the most effective ways to save money at the supermarket is to make a shopping list and stick to it. This helps you to avoid impulse buying and making unnecessary purchases that can quickly add up.
    
2. Don’t believe the hype
   Supermarkets use loaded language to let you choose how ‘luxury’, or ‘basic’ you want to be. Premium words like ‘finest’ imply that you are buying the best, while value words like ‘basic’, or ‘savers’, imply the product is cut back and of lower quality. In reality, there is often little difference between the expensive branded product and the unbranded, cheaper one.
    
3. Look for deals and discounts
   Most supermarkets run promotions and discounts on certain products, either on a weekly or monthly basis. Keep an eye out for these deals and plan your shopping accordingly. Most stores also have loyalty schemes which offer additional savings and rewards for regular shoppers.
    
4. Avoid convenience foods
   Pre-cut fruits and vegetables, ready-made meals and snacks, are often more expensive than making meals from scratch. Consider buying whole fruits and vegetables and preparing them yourself, or cooking meals in bulk and freezing them for later.
    
5. Consider lower-price shops
   Consider going to Lidl or Aldi if you haven't before. They can often prove cheaper than the other big supermarkets.
    
6. Know the difference between the use-by date and the best-before date
   If you have a product that is past its use-by date, you should bin it, as it is likely to have gone off. But if you have a product past its best-before date, the food will still be edible, it's just past the manufacturers' view of when it was at optimum quality.