Hello and welcome!So here we are the start to a New Week and I have here a new Shopping Ideas blog post, sharing the Do’s and Don’t when Grocery Shopping.
The Don’ts
- Shop in the Afternoon around lunchtime as I find that this the busiest time, go in the morning before 12 noon or later after 3pm. I hate it when I have some impatient snotty nose person huffing because of those in front and then because your in front of them, give you the look of “Hurry up”
- Go shopping on Friday or Saturday as these are supermarkets busiest days and stems from when I was a kid. Go Midweek, then you have more quieter supermarkets and miss the end of week rush hour and then in a queue when driving to get out of the Supermarket car park
- Go in the supermarket without a plan. To not over spend be concious of the amount you have to spend whatever your budget is but not without knowing what you need, and put your list on your phone. I would be a millionaire for the amount of times I have written a list and gone to the supermarket realising I forgot the list, and so makes that time I had writing the list to be a complete waste of time
- Allow those who make shopping hardwork come with you. My ex- would make shopping be a military adventure, and I am a lady who loves to browse. I hate being rushed and when I do I want to say “Urm I will shop like I want to”. I hate rush shopping, as it just leads to a row
- Don’t make it into a military issue either, because as the last one above I found that, that persons military style rubbed off on me and I like to take my time
- Get carried away with Couponing. When I saw the footage of Extreme Couponing I got sucked in big time and wanted a stock pile, but I found that in a way they did always help save money, so be wise about using coupons. Do the maths and then you’ll see that you can buy some items still at a cheaper price but without coupons
- Don’t double scan and try the scan and go method. I have once again had the Nectar card thief take that scan and shop away from me, but if you do have yours this method can save time but be aware once you use the device to scan your items, you don’t need to rescan the items. You just point the handheld scanner to the barcode on the self help tills and then you just pay and go, and the other thing is you can prepack the food you buy
- Never go shopping without knowing what you already have in your fridge, freezer or cupboards. Shop by what you can include, do a meal plan and any items you use a lot and has a long sell buy date you buy in bulk. I do this when it comes to hot chocolate sachets and going to do the same with Earl Grey Tea Bags
- See if items in store before checking the internet. It should be the other way around. Check the internet first as buying online can be cheaper and you can buy some items in bulk like toilet roll, coffee and even cleaning sprays, from Amazon, in bulk
- Never pick up fridge item products without checking when they have to be used by so you can take note of this and you pack items in the fridge with the later use by date food in the fridge first and then make sure the items with the closer use by date is the item you see first
- Have a no no spend week. I did not spend a note last week on Shopping and it made a huge difference and made me use up all of what I had before I bought other items, and it was a real fresh start
- Never go without listing your staple items, not just talking fashion, but food too. Like I always have to have a box of Earl Grey Teabags, Hot Chocolate Sachets, alternative snacks that I like to have and are there if I need to refresh my sweet tooth, but of course in moderation.
Do’s:
- Going shopping with your kids and get them involved and have them have a list, so they can help have a happy shop and pick up bits too
- Have a reusable bag. So handy and I always buy the lifelong bags or a tote bag
- Do a list and do check the Supermarket to see if they have a clearance shelf
- See if they have a magazine that can show you their weekly or monthly offers of items that you need on your list if it is included
- Take a calculator if you don’t want to use a pre-scanner device some supermarkets have now so you can keep track of your shop, and have an idea of how much each item will cost and I even budget on how much I am willing to spend on each item I need. Example buying Teabags in Marks and Spencers is cheaper then Twinnings and other stores
- See if stores are doing any bundle offers, as some are now and can be worth it
- Pick up the stores on the go magazines and like Boots if you have a Boots Card the magazine they sell you get for nothing, and will often have coupons inside, but again as in the don’ts, do your maths
- Have a store card that builds up points in stores you regularly buy from as this can help and save you a lot of money
- Use store cards only if you pay off in full and can collect points from each purchase you and spread the cost
- Have a list of every shop items separate from items you buy now and then
- Be frugal with looking on shelves and don’t always go for items on eye level shelves
- Use shops like Poundland regularly too and if you shop online always check on Voucher.co.uk as they often will have special deals and offer codes on for some shops
- Watch Youtube as some Youtubers will often give out coupon code too aswell as on Facebook and Tik Tok
- Feel your tummy before you shop, as shopping when Hungry can make you go overboard even though you still took a list
So I hope that helps you with your shop and see you in the next shopping ideas blog next week.
Many thanks for reading,
Carrie L.M X
P.S: All my blogposts can be found on my network site:
Carries Versatile Fashion 