Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Look on the bottom shelf for the cheapest items, because those products with the lowest profit margin are made the least visible, in the hopes that you won't buy them.
[guest]
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
At Aldi there are a number of products that are half-price compared to normal supermarkets, and the quality is usually indistinguishable from the more expensive products.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Buy in bulk. Find the closest bulk wholesale warehouses open to the public in the yellow pages. Not only is it cheaper, but you can be free of shopping for months.
[guest]
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Beware of buying in bulk, or you could end up bulky yourself.
[guest]
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Specials: Don't buy anything unless it is on special or on sale. These days the "special", or "sale" price is the price you should normally be paying anyway. That is, the "special" price is really the normal price, dished up to make it seem you are getting a bargain.
thesource (378)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Bread: When buying bread, have a look at the weight of the loaf. Heavy loaves often cost the same amount as light loaves, and the heavy loaf contains more food, and will last longer.
thesource (378)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Generally, go to the big chain warehouses like Home Depot (or Bunnings in Australia) for most products as the prices will be lower. Car cleaning products for example are much cheaper. ALDI is the cheapest supermarket by a long shot and fruit and vegetable shops are always cheaper than at the supermarket. Check your local newspaper for vouchers for fruit and veg shops - some run weekly giveaways to attract you to the store.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Supermarkets: ALWAYS check the prices meticulously when you get a docket. If the price is wrong, don't say anything to the checkout person - go straight to the counter and get a refund. This can be tricky if you don't have a head for remembering prices. The big chains (Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Bi-Lo) get it wrong about once every four visits.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Buying online (in Australia): A lot of things are as cheap as half-price in the US with current almost 1:1 exchange rates. Add a small postage fee and you are still looking at a substantial saving. Be careful of delivery times however: from the west coast (LA, California) is much quicker as they are always sending stuff to Hawaii anyway, from where Sydney is an well-trodden freight route. I recommend Techsunny.com - I have received technology products within a week from their LA warehouse - and many items are not available in Australia. Try to get a recommendation from a friend on delivery times as you can wait as long as three months for sea shipping as I have on most occasions before.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Stack it!: Do you sometimes go to the supermarket and see a favourite canned food item on special, but think you shouldn't buy many because of storage issues? You know they won't reach their use by date but you just don't know if your pantry can fit 15 cans. Cans are designed by the manufacturers to be stackable (the bottom diameter is slightly less than the top diameter). So you can store large amounts in relatively small areas, and not have to go shopping for basics more frequently than you need to, saving "stacks" of time, energy and money in fuel!
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Living > Living on a budget > Shopping
Best time to shop: Like many things, this is a delicate balancing act if you want to get it right. If you go shopping on the way to lunch, and you are fairly hungry but not too much, you will want to get in and out as soon as possible. You won't notice product superfluous to your mental list and you will be glad to leave. But if you go shopping when you are seriously hungry, your mental judgement will be impaired and you will buy more food in an overcompensation binge.
If possible, shop in an outlying and cheaper/lower socio-economic status suburb (waterside are best) just before you go to a seafood cafe for lunch, as long as its a lunch you really need hunger-wise. You'll get your mind off buying what you don't need and feel like you did more than just shop. You will also offset fuel costs with cheaper products, as the more run-down suburbs have cheaper grocery shopping.
myxlfidian (150)
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