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For a lot of people, money is tight right now – my bank account has an echo – but it doesn’t mean you should sacrifice your health. It is possible to eat proper food, and feel full after a meal, without selling your kidneys to afford it.
Shopping on a budget is nothing new, people have been doing it for decades. Set yourself a spending limit, make a list, go to the shop, buy as much of the stuff on your list as you can afford, and go home. Shopping on a budget is just having a moment right now. And as with everything, some people ace it, and some people struggle. We’re here to help you get the most value out of your food shops.
Compare the unit prices
When you’re browsing the aisles (or scrolling through the supermarket’s app), you have to look beyond the price displayed to get the best value for your money. Below that big, headline price, is the unit price. It’s in a much smaller font and is easy to miss. The unit price is the cost per a measurement of weight or volume. This measurement is either grams or kilograms for weight, or millimetres and litres for volume.
Once you’ve located the unit price, you can properly compare the value of different products, irrespective of their weight.
Let’s have a closer look.
At Tesco, Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar 550g is £5.40, or £9.46/kg. Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese 550g is £5.40, or £9.82/kg. Tesco’s own Extra Mature Cheddar is £3.15 for 400g, or £7.88/kg.
As I said in my ‘How to create a meal plan’ article, the more processing that goes into a food, the higher the cost to the consumer, and that is evident when you look at ready grated cheese. Tesco Extra Mature Grated Cheese is £2.55 for 250g, which is an eye-watering £10.20/kg. You could get double that from a branded cheese for a pound less. Buy a block and save money by grating it yourself. Because, as they say, you pay for convenience.
Make the most of member’s prices and deals
Supermarket loyalty cards and schemes give you opportunities to save money in a multitude of ways:
- By earning points which can be converted to vouchers, which can be used in-store or at selected partners
- Access to exclusive member’s only discounts
- Giving you personalised discounts, vouchers, and offers
- Cashback on your shop
But remember: supermarket loyalty schemes are accounted for in their pricing policies, so we advise you to shop where you usually shop, and just take advantage of the points you’re given along the way.
Yellow sticker discounts
You’ve seen them and you know they go quickly. Yellow discount stickers are reserved for damaged products and ones that are close to their Use By dates. These bargains can be found on shelves with their non-clearance counterparts or in their own specific section and usually appear mid-morning or at the end of the day (this is when the biggest discounts are generally found). When, where, what, and how much varies from day to day, and each supermarket is different.
Plan to do your shop in the evening when they’re most likely to be on shelves. And when you hit the aisles, search out the yellow stickers first – you might find items on your list. Even if not, you might get lucky with some meat that would normally be out of your price range. Save it, freeze it, incorporate it into your meal plan.
Look down
Beat the supermarkets at their own game: higher priced items placed at eye-level, so look to the bottom shelf for lower unit prices. The middle shelf is where supermarkets place their higher value products, whether that be branded or based on unit price. Consumers tend to buy things they can see, a fact shops factored into their sales strategy – which means the lower value products get relegated to the bottom shelves. Here, you’re more likely to find the own-brands ranges or the value multipacks.
Make a list
Before you go shopping, make a list. Know what you need to buy before you go and you’ll find it easier to ignore the foods you don’t need.
You can take advantage of online supermarket baskets for this as well. Fill your virtual basket with the items on your list at different supermarkets and compare which is cheapest. This way, you’ll also know the total of your basket before you even hit the aisles. You can, of course, avoid the temptations of the treats on the shelves by using a supermarket home delivery, however, by actually going shopping, you might be able to get some of the items you want on a yellow sticker discount.
Go shopping on a full stomach
Don’t go shopping hungry. You’ll think with your stomach if you do. Instead, plan to go shopping after a meal, choose to go after dinner for the best chance for yellow stickers, and silence your stomach’s persuasive calls for a quick snack.
