Slim your spending on the WI plan
August 19th, 2008
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The Times has published a fascinating and useful list of money saving tips from the Women’s Institute. Fifty thrifty tips no less!
Some of them sound rather quaint - how many people store their food in a pantry these days?! But you can’t argue with the logic and most people would benefit from a quick refresher on sensible money management. |
Here’s the top 10 as a taster. Enjoy and don’t forget to ‘think tupperware’!
- Forward-plan your shopping. Five or ten minutes of planning what you need can save money as well as time.
- Check the pantry. Finding out what you have from last week before you go shopping will save you money. Also look through recipe books to see if you can do something with leftovers rather than throwing them out.
- Make a list and shop once a week. When you go shopping take a menu for the week as well as a list so you buy only what you need.
- Never go shopping when you are hungry. Shopping once a week instead of two or three times also saves on petrol.
- Don’t BOGOF. Don’t go for buy-one-get-one-free offers unless you know you will use the extra.
- Look at cost per unit, or number of portions rather than overall price in the supermarket.
- Ignore sell by dates. Don’t throw something away just because it has gone past its use by date as some things, like yoghurts, are often ok to eat until a couple of days later.
- Think tupperware. Store things correctly, in airtight containers, so that they last for longer and do not go soft.
- Buy cheap. Don’t shun supermarket value ranges. Basic items such as pasta are just as good as branded versions.
- Know your portion sizes so you do not cook too much. Bulk out meals with frozen peas and sweetcorn.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
In my experience supermarkets are fantastic value but only if you are careful. Supermarkets use a number of techniques and believe me it is all about enticing the consumer to spend spend spend! Walk through the front door and you will undoubtedly be greeted by the fragrance of fresh flowers, fruit and fragrance, this gives your local supermarket that fresh appeal and it works! Walk by the first six feet or so of the shelved product areas and chances are you won’t notice much, this is supermarket language for ‘dead space’ because there is not much profit in those items. Now then the good old BOGOF (buy one get one free), what a Bargain isn’t it? Okay it does sound good on the surface, but as the cliché goes ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’ do you think the supermarket actually decides to be nice to consumers? or do you think perhaps as part of the manufacturers contract to stock their products they may have a built in clause that allows them to pay say 50% of the agreed volume purchase price a certain amount of days per year? I can’t say for sure but let us just say I have been informed the later is true in most cases. Now examine the products on the BOGOF spin, do you see items such as tin foil, bleach or toilet rolls? I suspect not very often because these items are consumed on an ‘as need’ basis. Let us look at the traditional BOGOF offers – Crisps, confectionary, soda and basically any food or drink produce that can be consumed in a ‘whimsical’ fashion. I would bet you that the majority of consumers who buy the traditional BOGOF offers consume them almost as quickly as they would if they were simply purchasing single items. I am sure if the biscuit tin is full, then the kids (and most adults) will want another one here and there, depleting the BOGOF supply quite quickly and the consumer quickly making another purchase! In my opinion buy what you need, don’t be tempted just because you are getting something free. Try experimenting with different brands; they can be cheaper and just as tasty. If you are in a thrifty mood look up the reduced items section, many can be frozen but do not buy them just because they are reduced, it is only a bargain if it reduces expenditure, not if it sits in the freezer indefinitely, use it! Supermarkets are masters in operations management and process layout, don’t be fooled into giving them your hard earned cash on a whim!