It is important not to give up the foods the body needs, to get the amount of calories and nutrients you need. But you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do this.
1. List products, which you really need, based on the approximate menu for the week. This will help you buy only the essentials and be sure nothing is missing.
2. It is better to buy products “wholesale” in hypermarkets – minimum for a week, maximum for a month. And bread and other perishable foods can be bought in addition if necessary.
3. Shop at weekend fairs. Prices there are usually 10-15% lower than in the shops of the city.
4. Keep receipts for purchases made at different storesto analyze where which product is cheaper. Indeed, even in places of trade located nearby, the difference in prices can be 10-40%. There are no unambiguously “cheap” or “expensive” stores; prices for specific products usually differ.
5. It is useful to get a store discount cardwhere you constantly buy groceries.
6. It is better to go shopping without children. It is thanks to them that you are sometimes forced to buy chips, chewing gum, sweets and other not only unnecessary, but also harmful products.
7. Before you go grocery shopping, it is best to eat a large meal. According to statistics, on an empty stomach, a person buys 2-3 times more than planned, and often products are far from essential.
8. Take a certain amount of cash with you: Paying by credit card allows you to relax and collect a lot that you never planned.
9. You may need to reconsider your diet… Give up not very healthy products, for example, sausage, which is often of obscene quality, in favor of the same natural meat. Realize that vegetables and cereals can not act as a side dish, but as a full-fledged independent dish. Reduce the amount of harmful, expensive sweets: it is more useful to take honey or dried fruits for tea, rather than cookies, milk chocolate and sweets.
How to behave in a store
1. Inspect the shelves with goods from top to bottom: Usually the most expensive products are at eye level, and those that are cheaper are somewhere near the floor. At the checkout there are always such “necessary” things as chewing gum, chocolate bars, lollipops. So, while standing in line, do not look around, so as not to buy any nonsense.
2. Having been flattered by the action “Buy two pieces, get a third as a gift”, think about whether you need so much of the same product… By the way, pay attention to the expiration date of the product, which is exposed at a discount: some stores thus sell what is already “on its last legs”. On the other hand, keep in mind: often a new product is sold for a promotion, which has not yet won the recognition of the buyer.
3. It is more profitable to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables in the market, the rest of the products are cheaper to buy in chain stores.
4. Don’t be held hostage to one brand of products. Experience shows that products of one brand become less quality over time, and the price does not decrease, but increases. Manufacturers are confident that people will still take the product out of habit.
5. Many chain supermarkets sell groceriesproduced under our own brand. Such products are usually 5-15% cheaper than branded products of similar quality. They are no worse, just their cost does not include spending on advertising and promotion.
6. Shopping for a long time in hypermarkets, pay attention to the expiration date. There is a danger of buying products that will stand in the refrigerator, and you will not even remember about them. The result is money thrown away.
7. Buy larger products… As a rule, two packages of 0,5 kg are more expensive than one in 1 kg. Save on packaging material, you can often buy the same product in glass, in a bag, in plastic, paper, or cardboard. Their prices differ, but why pay extra for a package that you throw away anyway?
8. Some shops have happy hours. Usually this morning is the slowest time, during these hours either all goods become cheaper by 5-10%, or some specific group of them.
9. Consider price tags carefully… Deliberately or accidentally, a price tag of a completely different, similar one can be attached to the product you need. In this case, only at the checkout you will find out that the product you have chosen costs several rubles more. In order not to get into such a situation, compare the barcodes indicated on the product packaging and on the price tag.