25 supermarket shopping tips that will save you money, time and hassle

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Many people know about this, but few do.

Before visiting the supermarket

1. Plan your menu for the week

If you know exactly what and when to cook, you will be able to determine what exactly you need to buy, and what is in the refrigerator and so in excess. This will save you from rash purchases and at the same time from painful thoughts of what to cook for dinner during the week.

2. Check discounts

Take a look at the supermarket's website and scroll through the virtual catalog, use special applications to find discounts. If you find good prices for products with a long shelf life, it might be worth adding them to your shopping list to save money.

3. Make a list

Even if you have an excellent memory, you should not rely on it in this matter. Write down on a piece of paper or enter into your smartphone a list of the products you need to buy.

Look in the bathroom and the cabinet under the sink: you may have run out of laundry detergent or trash bags. So you can buy everything you really need in one go.

4. Grab the player

Paradoxical, but true: slow background music increases sales in stores by 38%. Less meditative tunes played from the headphones will help you not fall for this bait.

5. Eat

It is not difficult to seduce a hungry person with food, and he will fill the basket much more actively. Scientists even calculated how much: if you do not eat in advance, spend on average 64% more than with a full stomach.

6. Choose the right time

You will most likely have to run in for bread after work during rush hour. It is better to plan large-scale purchases at a more appropriate time. Then you will avoid huge queues and crowding in the aisles, and the shelves will not grieve with a gaping void.

To calculate the correct time, consider when walking to the supermarket is most uncomfortable. By the way, some shops offer additional discounts for special days and shopping hours, check the information booth for information.

7. Park closer to the exit

You enter the supermarket light, and any distance is within your power, and you leave with huge bags or a heavy trolley. Therefore, the return journey should be as short as possible.

In the trading floor

8. Limit time

Make it a goal to make your purchases within a reasonable but reasonable time. Tight timing will not give you the opportunity to “see something else” and spend too much. In addition, the "anything else" category rarely includes anything needed.

9. Walk only on specific rows

If you need pasta, cabbage and milk, go to the vegetable, dairy and pasta shelf. A leisurely wandering around the supermarket forces you to buy something that was not in the plans. And so that you are not afraid to forget to take something, you have a list.

10. See below and above

Shelves at eye level are set aside for the most expensive goods. So it pays to lower your gaze to find products with a more affordable price. Please note that cheaper does not mean worse. Just compare the compositions.

By the way, at the level above 170 cm, there may also be excellent inexpensive goods. And even higher, it is worth looking for products that ended on the shelves: it is possible that the sauce for the promotion simply did not have time to shift from the packages to the proper place. True, to get it, it is better to call a supermarket employee.

11. Read labels

Pay attention to the expiration date, date of manufacture, storage conditions and do not forget about the composition. For example, there should be no vegetable fats in cheese and cottage cheese. And low-fat yogurt can be higher in calories than its regular counterpart, which is important if you are buying it for dietary purposes.

12. Check the conditions of the promotion

If you are interested in the yellow price tags, take the selection process thoughtfully. First, check the expiration date of the product, perhaps this is how the supermarket sells illiquid stock. Secondly, specify the conditions: it is possible that the promotional price is valid only for the purchase of three products of the same name, but you do not need three houses for a cat.

13. Pay attention to price

This advice sounds like Captain Obvious, but many people don't look at the cost of goods they buy regularly. You are used to the fact that a carton of milk costs 64 rubles, and just put it in the basket. But it may turn out that the product has been worth much more for a long time.

If you do not know the price of products that you often buy, you are depriving yourself of the opportunity to save money.

14. Research your own supermarket brand

Many chains produce goods under their own brands. They are distinguished by nondescript packaging, low price and the absence of any advertising. These products include both terrible and wonderful products. You can find out the quality by carefully reading the labels, and, alas, by trial and error.

15. Calculate the cost of a kilogram

Some supermarkets write on the price tag not only the cost of packaging, but also the price of goods per 1 kg. If they don't, do it yourself. It is this figure that speaks most eloquently about the real cost of the goods and helps to choose the most profitable option out of several.

16. Round up correctly

499 rubles is 500 rubles, not 400. Yes, the difference is "only" in 99 rubles, but with 10 goods, almost a thousand will run up, so you may not fit into the budget.

17. Look deeper

You buy cottage cheese for the whole week, but there is only a product on the shelf that expires the day after tomorrow. Look at the packages in the second, third row, and so on to the very wall.

Sellers put the fresher product back, and this is logical: in this way, buyers will first disassemble the product, the shelf life of which is about to expire.

18. Take prepackaged items with care

On the packaging of sliced sausage or cheese, you can often find only the packing date, which is easy to change along with the plastic wrap. And not a word about the date of manufacture. So such purchases are at your own peril and risk. Moreover, most supermarkets already offer to cut products like cheese and sausages, just ask the seller about it.

19. Weigh vegetables and fruits yourself

It's nice when someone else has done the dirty work for you, but spoiled vegetables may end up in the bag. And fruits on a plastic backing are usually more expensive than their comrades out of the box. However, there are exceptions. For example, single bananas in plastic. The fruit, torn from the bundle, spoils faster, so the supermarket is interested in selling it first.

20. Buy seasonal vegetables and fruits

The gifts of nature from nearby gardens and fields are usually cheaper, as the logistics costs are lower.

21. Use packages

Flour, fish preserves, meat, and other similar items are best placed in a bag before placing it in the cart. At the checkout, you will most likely be asked to pack these goods additionally. But the insidious pickle from some mussels may have time to fill the entire contents of the basket even earlier.

This is not a very green solution, but it doesn’t mess up all the food. If your soul hurts for nature, put several similar products in one bag at once and use it several times.

22. Don't buy too much food

Even with a list, you can buy too much, for example, take a bag of carrots instead of two for soup. You use as much as you need, and the rest risks spoiling.

According to statistics, Russians throw away 20-25% of food. So be moderate.

At the checkout

23. Control yourself

There is a dangerous zone of spontaneous purchases at the checkout. The agonizing waiting in line can make you want to reward yourself, and that's just a chocolate bar on the shelf. Then you suddenly need wet wipes, throat lozenges, and lemonade to wash down the sweetness of the chocolate.

This is what marketers are counting on. So be patient yourself and keep your child busy with something other than looking at the shelves.

24. Inspect the contents of the cart

Conduct an audit of the goods. Perhaps you grabbed something from the shelf without thinking. It's time to lay out the extra and not spend more than you need.

25. Check the check

Some products may break through twice, some may not be at the price you expected.

A dispute may arise due to a stock item. When you point out the wrong price, you will be kept at the checkout for a long time, and then taken to the shelf, on which there will already be a new price tag. And you just won't prove anything. Therefore, it is better to first go to the trading floor and take a picture of the price tag, and then sort things out.