If at the end of any given week, you find that you haven’t used half the food you bought for the house or if you often find yourself returning home with items from the shop that you don’t really need, then you may be throwing money down the drain unnecessarily.
Here are a few simple tips to help cut on your weekly shopping costs:
- TAKE TIME TO PLAN
If you have a family, you should plan your family meals for the entire week before you go shopping. Making a menu of everything your family will eat during the week will ensure you buy only the foodstuffs that you need for family meals or for the kids packed lunches.
You can also save by skipping on overpriced processed foods from the supermarket and making certain items at home from scratch.
For example: instead of buying costly processed juices, you can make fresh juice. Instead of making soup from cans or packets bought in supermarkets you can use the vegetables and leftover cuts of meats.
Making a plan will also help you be realistic about the food you buy, preventing wastage.
- MAKE A LIST
Prior to any shopping trip, make a list of what you need and indicate the average prices of each item. This will not only save you time, but it will also allow you to compare different brands and get the best bargains.
Whenever you go shopping without a list, you usually end up buying things that you don’t really need and skipping the essentials.
- ALWAYS CALCULATE SAVINGS BEFORE BUYING
You should always be on the lookout for savings via sales and discounts but be wary of false savings when you buy in bulk.
For example, a pack of 4 rolls of the brand of toilet tissue I am loyal to costs 6,000 shillings, while a single roll costs 1,200 shillings.
That means four individual rolls would cost me 4,800 shillings- less than if I bought in bulk. This shows that sometimes bulk purchases don’t help you save at all. It is important to compare prices of individual items when buying in bulk.
- AVOID IMPULSE BUYING
It is only natural to get excited by sale offers like 75% off, 50% off when in actual sense you might not end up wearing the shoes or dress you bought impulsively.
Sales items can’t be returned or exchanged after purchase so it is important to think hard before making any of these purchases.
- SIGN UP FOR LOYALTY CARDS & NEWSLETTERS
When you use loyalty cards, every time you shop you accumulate points that translate into money. This could come in handy on a rainy day or help you cover some costs down the line.
Signing up for these cards usually doesn’t cost anything more than making an inquiry at a customer service desk. Big stores like Woolworths, Capital Shoppers, Nakumatt and Uchumi offer loyalty cards to their customers, but you can also find them in some of the smaller supermarkets.
Leaving your email and contact details is also helpful because they will keep you informed on the upcoming offers so you can save on some items the next time you go shopping.
- BUY IN BULK
Whether you have a large family or not, you can save money if you stock up some items in large quantities. Items like rice, sugar, toilet rolls, pasta and soap are best bought in large quantities.
[related_posts]Forget the supermarket, take a trip to kikuubo and stock up on items that could take you for a whole month, remember whole sale prices are lower than up market retail prices; you will be amazed at how much you will save!
Source, Let’s Talk Money
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