Easy ways to slash your grocery bills

Asks experts how households can save more money on their weekly supermarket shop

GROCERIES are one of the biggest expenses to hit households’ hip pockets, but it’s a cost that cannot be avoided.

Supermarket giants are becoming more competitive, delivering customers hundreds of specials every week in a bid to get them through their doors.

However, it takes an organised shopper to save on overall costs.

While it’s easy to stick with the same products and brands each week, there are simple savings to be made without seeing much difference in products in your trolley.

MoneysaverHQ asked the experts 12 ways shoppers could bring their grocery bills down in an instant.

1SHOPPING LIST

It sounds obvious, but penning a list each week or making notes in your phone as to what you need is the first step to being organised.

When you visit the supermarket, make sure you are armed with the detailed list.

It will result in you being less likely to make impulse buys and throw items you don’t need in your trolley.

2CATALOGUES

The supermarket giants release their catalogues once a week – usually at the beginning or mid-week – so make sure you are signed up to receive one.

It could be received via your supermarket app, an email or simply digging it out of the junk mail.

Coles chief executive for commercial and express Greg Davis said this helped shoppers maximise snapping up cheaper items when they were on special.

“We aim to have a mix of offers in most product categories each week to offer customers an option to save money across their entire basket of goods,” he said.

3If you’re happy for supermarkets to know what you are buying each week, sign up to their rewards programs, such as flybuys and Woolworths Rewards.

There are often extra points to be earned, which eventually translates into cash off your shop if you activate weekly bonus offers.

4It’s a fact – if you shop when your tummy is rumbling, you’ll likely grab more groceries and run up a higher bill.

Queensland Consumers Association spokesman Ian Jarratt said it could quickly lead to making “bad decisions”.

“If you are hungry when you go out shopping for groceries, you tend to buy more,” he said.

Instead, shop after you have had a meal.

5REWARDS SCHEMES

DON’T SHOP HUNGRY LOOK AT HIGH AND LOW SHELVES

Supermarkets strategically place products higher or lower on the shelves and they are often the ones that are cheaper and better value.

“There’s products and low shelves that aren’t at eye level and they are better prices,” Mr Jarratt said. “You can miss out on getting a bargain so don’t just look at eye level – look up and down the shelves.”

He also warned consumers “not to be guided by the specials at the end of the aisle”.

6UNIT PRICING

Mr Jarratt said this was a shopper’s “best friend in the supermarket”. “Unit pricing tells you the price per unit of measure,” he said. “It might be grams or per kilo or litre, and it gives you a base for comparison.

“If you’re not brand conscious then you should look at the unit prices of the special and other sizes and brands.”

7ODD GROCERIES

Most supermarkets have a trolley or shelves of items that are odd, whether it’s because they are close to going out of date, there’s a problem with packaging or the supermarket is simply trying to offload old stock.

Woolworths director of fresh food Paul Harker said customers should look to save on fruit and vegetables by keeping their eyes peeled for its Odd Bunch range.

“This is a range of fresh produce that doesn’t always look perfect but tastes great and is priced up to 40 per cent lower than the conventional range,” he said.

8BRANDS

Buying a brand name can end up costing you more money. No-name brands are becoming far more common in supermarkets – last year Coles rolled out more than 730 Colesbranded products, which Mr Davis said could result in significant savings.

9BUY FRESH AND SEASONAL PRODUCE

Knowing what fresh produce is in season can often be determined by seeing an abundance of that particular item on the shelf at a lower price. The more supply, usually the cheaper the cost.

Mr Davis said shoppers should always try to buy items that were in season to get instant savings.

“It is less expensive to buy ingredients in season as they are abundant, plus they pop with natural flavour,” he said.

PACKAGED ITEMS

Don’t assume that just because an item is packaged up nicely it’s going to cost you more. Carrots are the perfect example – often costing more when bought loose. “Don’t assume that unpackaged will be better value than packaged or vice versa,” Mr Jarratt said. “It varies greatly between prices.” This again reverts back to tip six: check the unit pricing.

PICK UP

Supermarkets are creating innovative ways to make shopping easier for time-poor customers, and this includes offering free pick-up services, Mr Harker said. “We offer an increasingly popular free pick-up service for the convenience of our customers who want to shop online,” he said.

SHOPPING FREQUENCY

The more frequently you go to the shop, the more likely you are to overspend.

Limiting trips to the supermarket means you have to shop smarter and actually use the items you have already purchased before going out to buy more.

Try and limit your shops to weekly or fortnightly.

If you need to make an inbetween shop that’s OK, but you’ll find your overall grocery bill will fall if you spend less time paying the supermarket a visit.