did a little poll the other day on Facebook (do follow there if you don’t already!) to ask my readers what their biggest concern is. Most of you said money. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most people love money and wish they had more of it. I’m certainly not a financial wizard but I do know my way around a bank account. I’ve never had to borrow money from anyone ever, I paid $12,000 cash for a car when I was 20 years old and my budget hasn’t changed since I graduated from university despite the fact that I earn five times what I did back then.
I’m not a tight arse but I do know exactly where my money goes so I thought I’d start to include more money and budget advice here on Smaggle. I’m starting with the 5 most costly mistakes you make when grocery shopping…
1. Not looking at the per kilo price
Most big supermakets have a per price kilo on the label that’s attached to the shelf. So if you’re buying a packet of almonds, a bag of 250gms might cost $6 which means that the per kilo price of those almonds will be $24. The 500gm bag of almonds might cost $10 which means that the per kilo price of those almonds is $20. If you regularly eat almonds it’s much better value to buy the $20 per kilo bag for $10.
2. Being blinded by sale stickers
This is a habit I had to break Mr Smaggle of because the boy LOVES a sale sticker. Just because something is on sale, doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest option. Look around at the other items and compare the prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Also have a peek underneath the sale sticker. You might only be saving a few cents in which case you’d save more money buying a cheaper branded item.
3. Only shopping in the one location
Supermarket prices can differ depending on what suburb you live in. Bigger suburban supermarkets tend to be cheaper than smaller inner city supermarkets. The best way to shop is to mix up where you buy your groceries from. It takes a little extra time but sometimes the farmers market will have cheaper tomatoes and sometimes your local supermarket will have a better deal. Keep an eye on the prices of fresh produce at your local shopping centre so you’ll know a good bargain when you see one.
4. Never looking up or down
Supermarkets are sneaky and they’ll put the products they make the most money out of at eye level. Have you ever noticed when you’re looking for zucchini in the produce section, you always seem to stumble upon the expensive organic stuff first? That’s not an accident. Make sure you look up and down when you’re trying to find an item so you don’t miss out on the best deal, whether it’s a sale item or cheaper version of the item you’re after.
5. Not paying attention at the check out
Nabbing an awesome 4-for-the-price-of-3 bargain in the aisle at the supermarket is one thing but if the sale doesn’t scan when you’re at the counter, you’ve just paid full price for 4 items that you probably weren’t planning on buying. If you want to take advantage of a sale, you need to make sure it scans properly at the check out, otherwise it’s just a waste.
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
How’s your shopping mojo? Are you a savvy grocery shopper? Or a grab and go kind of person?
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
P.S Also you should totally follow Smaggle on Facebook or sign up for the Smaggle weekly newsletter – I post productivity tips daily on Facebook and there’s almost always a Beyonce gif in my newsletter.
34 Comments
-
Something else I would add is that check in at the deli for meats and cheese – so much cheaper than the prepackaged, the exact same, stuff. I like buying a certain brand of Greek feta – packaged it costs nearly $8, at the deli? $5-6.
-
Author
Oh definitely! I do that all the time with ham and cheese. Often the seafood is cheaper at the deli too!
-
-
What’s the saying Carly about a dollar saved?
My big tip to Melbournians is the Queen Victoria Market. Shop on a Saturday when the produce is almost given away. Last week zucchinis were $1.49/kg, big supermarket $4.98/kg. I plan my meals for the next week around this seasonal cheap produce.
One Question though…Who pays full price for TRESAME shampoo and conditioner?-
Author
Queen Vic Markets are rad. I wish I disciplined to get there every week. I have a small Greek grocer near me that’s cheap but not great quality and he does on weeks when I don’t make it to the market!
-
-
My tip would be MEAL PLAN. Then develop a list from that. And shop your cupboard first! Pull out all your staples and see what you can make. You probably have 5 cans of chickpeas already!
-
Totally! I suck a bit at meal planning because I travel a lot but I’m a big fan of shopping my cupboard! I can usually make a mean meal without going to the shops.
-
-
I have saved heaps of money since I started grocery shopping online. I now only buy what I need and I get all that shopping time back. I do a bulk meat buy at the meat market when we need it and green grocer or farmers market for the fresh stuff because it lasts longer.
-
I love online shopping but I hate other people picking my fruit and veg. I’m pretty fussy about my apples not being soft and I just can’t trust someone else to do that! Most other things are great though!
-
-
I always make sure I check the receipt before I leave the mall, as 9 times out of ten there is a scanning error in there where I have been overcharged. I always make sure they uphold the policies in place (ie if they scan above shown price the item is free).
I also request rainchecks if a sale item is sold out. This used to be something I got into a habit with when my kids were in nappies as a big sale on them made all the difference to my non-existent budget. If they had sold out, I made sure I got a raincheck for however many packs I wanted to buy (probably 10 or so if it was a good deal), then when the shelves were restocked and it was no longer on sale I got it at the sale price with my raincheck docket. Win!!
Also always be nice to staff and other shoppers, its not hard, the staff are mostly lovely people doing a great job and it does make a big difference to everyone’s day.-
Oh definitely! I actually didn’t know about rain checks until my mate worked at a supermarket and she used to have to write them out for everyone! They’re such a great idea. I buy lots of bulk stuff at costco so I don’t usually need a rain check for anything much!
-
-
We are supermarket shopping soul sisters! I do all of these things because it’s soooo easy to overspend when doing the grocery shop. This is why my husband is banned from coming with me. He’s an extra $50 I just don’t need to donate to a major supermarket chain!
-
Mr Smaggle is quite the opposite. He hates grocery shopping and wants to get in and out as fast as humanly possible. My mum is starting to hate my dad shopping with her because he wanders off with the trolley and bulk buys batteries and kids snacks. He’s not allowed to go shopping with her anymore.
-
-
I wish I could teach my husband the “pay attention at the register” trick, he is so unobservant that they could be charging him anything and he wouldn’t notice the difference. We went to the big bunnings-esque hardware store here the other day to buy a step ladder; picked up some batteries at the same time. We go through the checkout and the employee says it’s double the price of what it was supposed to be and my husband doesn’t think anything of it and goes to swipe the card. Thankfully I was there and said “uhhh, yeah, that seems all sorts of wrong”. Turns out the guy scanned the items twice “accidentally”.
The whole checking under the sale sticker is a great trick. Many grocery stores here will raise the “original price” when they have a sale.
I think buying home brand products is a seemingly obvious, but often snubbed practice. Most of the time you’re paying extra for packaging and advertisement budgets rather than a better product.
-
I buy home brand every I can! All my basics like sugar etc are homebrand. I love it. Mr Smags and I are both pretty frugal so we rarely get over charged!
-
-
Yep check your dockets! I was recently charged over $40 for two bunches of spinach. And often things are scanned twice. Also bought a piece of fish just last week and then noticed they had scanned as rock oysters! I could go on but you get the picture …always check your dockets!!
-
Author
Whoa! $40??? Lordy! I’m so glad I check my receipts all the time!
-
-
I think the best thing to ever happen was the mandating of per-kilo pricing on tickets. We have only one major supermarket here, and nothing for another 30 minute drive after that. That place could teach the Mafia a thing or two about extortion. People complain about the supermarket duopoly but let me tell you, it’s a dream compared to a complete monopoly.
-
Oh my god! Totally! Although I live in metropolitan area and all supermarkets are expensive in cities. If I drive to my suburban supermarket 20 minutes away everything is cheaper.
-
-
all good thanks smaggs! … on the ball again hun!
always keep an eye on most of those things!
happy days! love m:)X-
Thanks Merilyn! Happy days to you too!
-
-
My grocery bill has gone up significantly now that I’ve started reading the labels carefully. I used to buy a lot of homebrand but since a lot of homebrand stuff is from China it makes it a big no-no. Buying Australian stuff is pretty expensive but atleast I don’t have to worry about it being contaminated by fecal matter… And this goes not just for homebrand, but just a lot of stuff that is brand name even – for example frozen fish is pretty much all from China regardless of the brand, even if the label says from New Zealand which is a big fat dirty lie!
I don’t let my partner shop alone because if something is scanned incorrectly at the checkout he is too shy to say anything because he doesn’t want to look like a dick… So that’s why I’m there, to make sure it doesn’t happen.
I’ve also found that I save $50 a week on fruit and vegetables by shopping at a local farmers market instead of getting everything at Woolworths. We eat a lot of fruit and veg in our house and it started to really add up buying it at the supermarket, the amount we are able to get for just $50 at the markets is crazy!-
Do you have a link to Australian prods? I’d love to know more about it! I never buy frozen fish but I do buy frozen berries! Mine are usually from Cost co though which I think European.
-
-
I love looking at the newspapers on a Friday and comparing the prices at the different supermarkets – then I do a little bit of shopping at each one to get the best bargains. Shopping around takes more time but it’s totally worth it! Oh, and I always do a larder edit and then go shopping with a list and my mission is to stick to it!
-
I tend to not multi-shop because I just don’t have time but I love to limit myself to only buying stuff from the Greek supermarket. They don’t sell anything in packets so I’m forced to have a clean meat and veg based dinner!
-
-
I find that sometimes the home brand items contain more additives. I have a can of home rand coconut cream in my pantry (it was substituted at the shop when I had my last home delivery as the brand I ordered was sold out). It contains thickner and 2 types of stabilisers that most of the other brands don’t. Our (4) kids have appetites like small Giants so we are on a mission to grow as much of our own as we can. Also our next big purchase will be a chest freezer so we can order a whole beast. And the rest will be bought in bulk (especially when it is on sale). Also, I have to always stop and think whether I really need some sale items. Rice cakes! Yup. They get devoured at our place, but 10 doughnuts for $2? Not so much…
-
I always check the labels before I buy stuff and I’m very conscious of additives too! That’s we love the Woolies pasta sauce – it’s the least chemically!
-
-
Snap! These are the rules I play by when I’m doing the grocery shopping.
When I first met my husband he knew NONE of these rules. He just thought you go to the supermarket and grab whatever you fancy, no matter the price. The best one he learnt is rule number 4. Makes me proud.
Me – I have a thing for scouring the catalogues every Wednesday to make sure I don’t miss out when our deodorants go on sale. Haha..weirdo. 😉
-
Mr Smags is a fiend for a sale item and he rarely checks the original price. Drives me bonkers! He also wants to get in and out as quickly as humanly possible which also drives me bonkers because I like to take my time and read the labels!
-
-
Love this! I’m all over price per kilo! It’s shocking how much they jack the price up of sliced things or pre packaged. I get it people are busy but seriously if you can’t chop veggies thats next level lazy! I’m getting weirdly addicted to being frugal LOL
-
I bought a food processor recently and I always use the veggie slicer. It takes 5 seconds to slice a whole bag of mushrooms. It’s the best!
-
-
My man has started to become weirdly addictive to being frugal too. He used to be a sale loving unnecessary purchases and pre packaged meals kinda guy but when I was like “dude.. meal plan and buy for the week and you don’t need those starbursts or 4 jars of bechamel sauce’ he had a realisation and is now the frugaliest of them all. He’s found this site where we can bulk buy toothpaste, toiletries, random dry goods and is begging for my to do a monthly ‘things’ shop and only buy fresh food every week. Love him!
-
Haha, I do all of those. Does that mean I’m a tight #$se too?
And meal plan
I never used to look at superette junk mail, but I tend to now. Check what’s on special and meal plan around that -
I shop at Aldi, then Woolies and the butcher. Since we’re 25km out of town, that’s already almost an entire day, so I don’t really have time for the green grocer as well.
As for things like sheets, small appliances, etc, I always lay by when they’re on sale. -
Forget the “Sale” sign, all they need to do is slap “New” on something I can’t go home without it 😉 Great post Smags x
