As a nation it is probably one of our biggest outgoings. Food. You will know exactly what we're talking about if you have a large family. You spend hundreds on a food shop, you come home and within a couple of days the kids have eaten everything that you 'stocked up' within a matter of two days. It's frustrating and deflating.
The cost of food and groceries is ever increasing and as a result we are seeing more people having to be very clever when it comes to doing their weekly shop.
The first thing that people try to alter is where they do their shopping.
For instance, it is all too easy to get into a routine and go to the same supermarket week in week out. Location is a key factor. If there is a supermarket in close proximity to you and you know that it is one of the priciest stores, we bet you still go to it. Yes? Thought so. Convenience is a massive player, especially when we all collectively have less time to do things than we have ever had.
But we really urge you to alter your shopping habits if you want to see a real difference to your spending practice. Even if it takes you twenty minutes to get to a different supermarket as opposed to the five minutes it takes you to go to your regular store, do it. It could make you much better off than you'd ever have imagined.
As well as trying different stores to see if your food bill comes back cheaper, you could also switch from buying brands to a supermarket's own version. This is another area where people are set in their ways. Rather than buying that branded bottle of ketchup that can cost up to three times the price of an unbranded substitute, why not try the other options available? Quite often, especially in taste testing exercises, unbranded options come back as scoring higher in tasting sessions so you could be getting something much nicer for far less money. Surely it's worth a try?
Thirdly, one of the biggest changes you can make to your shopping habit (should you not be doing it already) is budget. That word crops up all the time when we are discussing spending as it is so imperative to good money management, yet so many people don't do it.
The trick to getting the supermarket shop under control is to write a list of what you need - just the essentials basically - budget for this week on week and then go and get the goods. Leave the kids at home so they can't coax you into getting an extra pack of crisps or that 'much needed' large bar of chocolate, and avoid any 'special offers' that may not be that special after all.
If you only buy what you need you will be surprised as to how much money you actually save.