Supermarkets are brilliant at making us spend our cash, but if you could do with some help to reduce your spending, here are some top tips to get the same for less.
Know where to look!
Did you know you can often buy the same item in the same supermarket for less? Try shopping in the world foods aisle for example – items such as coconut milk, herbs and spices are often cheaper. The same goes for ‘free from’ foods – often the same type of products are available elsewhere without the ingredients you’re trying to avoid – they’re just not packaged or priced as ‘free from’. Find out more here.
Finally – premium priced products are usually located at eye level, so it’s worth looking up, and down, for better value items.
Don’t believe the ‘brand hypnosis’
Whether it’s bacon, biscuits, baked beans or bolognese sauce, if something costs more it’s got to be better, right? Wrong. Often a manufacturer’s brand and own brand may well be made in the same factory by the same people (though it’s tough to prove with specific products). Martin Lewis asked for insider tips to test this theory – see the full list here.
Try it out – on your next shop, try dropping one brand level on everything and see if you can tell the difference.
Find the cheapest supermarket for your favourite groceries
If you’re lucky enough to have a choice of supermarkets near you, it’s worth checking out an app called Trolley, which allows you to benchmark the cost of items (at Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, Co-op and Boots), and set alerts for when the price of your favourite items drop.
There’s also an app for Android and Apple phones so you can compare the data to in-store prices as you shop.
Over 60? Get 10% off at Iceland
If you’re aged 60 or over, you can get a 10% discount on your shopping at all Iceland or The Food Warehouse stores nationwide. Use it every Tuesday when you show valid ID and your Iceland Bonus Card.
Bag yellow sticker discounts
Yellow stickers are used when an item has been reduced to clear – they’re a great way of bagging some lovely products at a bargain price, and worth looking out for, especially if you have a freezer.
But did you know that the discounts get bigger as the day goes on? As a rough guide, the first yellow stickers tend to appear mid-morning, and bigger price reductions begin early evening when stores sometimes cut prices by 75% and more.
Every supermarket varies, but here are some top tips from shoppers:
Lidl – go as soon as it opens and you could pick up a ready meal from as little as 20p
Aldi – half price stickers start appearing from 8pm
Asda – final reductions start around 7pm, and most bargains have been snapped up by 9pm
M&S Food – shoppers say they’ve seen final reductions 30 minutes to an hour before closing.
Source: Money Saving Expert