Stop inflation killing you

STRETCHING THE BUDGET: RESEARCH DEALS AND PLAN MEALS

Being strategic with supplies will help stretch your income further.

best grocery deals are and go for all the items on sale. Then plan your meals based on the ingredients you have.

Do your research

How can you know if you’re saving money if you’re not entirely sure the supermarket you shop at has the most competitive prices? Make a list of the 10 items you buy most often and then visit all the stores in the area to compare prices and find the one that will help you save the most on all

10 items.

Be loyal

It pays to be loyal, quite literally. Don’t switch from grocery store to grocery store every time you go shopping because not only will you be unable to correctly estimate amounts, you’ll be wasting a lot of your money. Pick n Pay has the Smart Shopper rewards programme, Spar offers their own loyalty programme, and Checkers has Eezi Coupons available online. Initiatives like these all help you save.

Look at weight

It’s easy to be misled by the prices on stickers and then decide which product is cheaper, but is it true? Keep in mind that the sticker is only the price of that specific item and that you should instead be looking at the price per weight to determine the better price.

Buy several weeks’ worth of on-sale items

Sales and promotions at grocery stores usually run in cycles, rotating every eight or 12 weeks. When you see your most commonly used products on sale, buy enough of this product to last you until the next sale (remembering that you’ll have to freeze perishables).

Stretch your supplies

Be strategic. If the items you buy go unused and are eventually thrown out, you’re essentially throwing money away. Prevent this by sorting through your fridge and kitchen cupboard on a weekly basis and put all the perishables that need to be used soon in one area. You can then give them priority when planning your next meal.

There are ways to save on the monthly grocery bill

Dilute dishwashing liquid

Dishwashing liquid is so highly concentrated it will work just as well if it’s diluted slightly. When it reaches the halfway mark in the bottle, simply add water to fill the bottle up and mix it.

Being frugal and finding clever ways to save on daily expenses will contribute towards greater savings at the end of every month.

Shirley Smith is chief operating officer at Old Mutual Finance

This was first published on Old Mutual Finance’s blog