Supermarket Comparison
The first thing you have to do is to do your research. Visit your local super market and make a note of all the basics such as bread, milk, butter etc. These are you basic products and they give you an idea of how expensive your supermarket will fair compared to another one. I would also recommend making a note of the food and drink items you personally value. For example, I personally like to drink wine and I eat a lot of chicken. Having made a note of these products visit the other nearest supermarket and compare prices.
Go local
Shopping at the big stores can be expensive. These supermarkets tend to dominate the surrounding area and push out local competition. For example, Tesco allegedly has a policy of buying up all the old land in local town centres to prevent other competitors from squeezing its margins.
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Fortunately some local shops still survive. The local butcher and grocers are a must if you intend to find bargains. Don’t expect to find lovely straight carrots or perfectly shaped bananas. Instead you will find cheap, honest food, sourced from the local area. Not only is this produce fresh but it also puts money back into the community.
Take it online
Everyone loves a bargain but unfortunately you are never guaranteed one in the shops. There are certain times of the year, such as at Christmas, when you can expect many products to be discounted. However, if you need a bargain here and now why not try online. This becomes even more relevant when you consider the cost of petrol these days.
One of the most obvious stops is the money comparison sites. These sites compare products and services across the range. Be warned as not all of these sites offer any real discount. For example, there are many cases where you can get cheaper insurance by going direct to the seller.
The savvy surfers can also save themselves money by checking online vouchers or discounts for their normal high street shops. Often a store will highlight any in-store promotions online. This is useful to know as the spotty teenager serving you in the store is highly unlikely to be aware of any particular promotions.
Price Wars
Always keep an eye on the news for a bargain. It seems like every winter all the gas and electric companies are fighting for our money. You may not have realised when you think back at all the prices increases. Nevertheless, over time these companies start to reduce their prices in competition between each other. Go to an energy comparison site and see which energy company can beat your existing bill.
Back In The Home
There are literally thousands of small tips and tricks that our grand mothers’ could teach us in order to save money. I don’t really want to go through a lot of these but simply want to draw focus to the obvious. Don’t waste food! It might seem so simple but things like not throwing items out of your fridge once they have reached the “Best before date” will save you an absolute fortune. You should however bin everything that has passed the “Use by date” as this is an official government warning. Nevertheless, items such as pasta are edible far beyond the use by date so just use common sense.
Go Back To Basics
Something else that can save money is to grow your own vegetables. This might not be for everyone as not all of us have gardens. Nevertheless, you can grow your own veg in pots. So no excuses! At the time of writing it was August, so this is not the planting season. This is however a good time to plan your garden for next year. You can plant some seeds as early as February. In the mean time you can prepare the ground. Don’t forget you can also grow herbs in doors throughout the year.
Paul Tom works for Getmetopayday.co.uk which promotes Payday Loans. These are short-term loans that give you a cash advance when you are short of cash.
