Smart shopping-making my money go further
Lechedzani Pitso | Monday October 13, 2014 15:46
She knows there will be some yummy looking items on sale near the breads, and then she always takes a stroll up and down the aisles to see what else may tempt her. It’s fun! Boikhutso finds that most days she will leave the grocery shop with one to two shopping bags full of groceries and treats.
Is popping into the shops everyday wise?
Boikhutso is always tempted into buying more than what she needs, and this happens every day, can you imagine what this costs? If we go shopping every day, or often, we are giving temptation a chance to mislead us into buying unplanned items, this is obviously going to cost us more than we planned in our budget each month.
After all, do we really need fresh bread every day, bread stays fresh at least 3-4 days, perhaps this is just an excuse for Boikhutso to go shopping?
Why should we plan our shopping trips?
If you want to become a smart shopper and start living within your means, then you need to plan your shopping trips and stick to your plan when shopping.
How to plan your shopping trips:
Firstly, you must have a record (Grocery List) of all the items you need to buy.
You need to choose the best shop for buying these items, usually this will be the cheapest shop (Price Comparison List).
You need to plan your shopping into four weeks, your main grocery shop in week 1. Then weekly groceries for those perishable items that you cannot buy once a month, such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products.
How many treats will you allow yourself to buy that is not on your grocery list? (This will control your temptation for items not on your grocery list).
What is a Price Comparison list?
Every week in our newspapers, there are flyers from our grocery shops offering us weekly specials. How do we know if these are good discounts being offered? If we record the prices of the items that we buy on a regular basis, we will soon KNOW if the discounts are good or not. Most of us rely on our memories of what we think the prices are, can we really rely on this? If you are really serious about being financially fit and living within your means, then you need to do some work. You need to start recording the prices of all the products you buy. Becareful not to just assume that the prices are cheap because of the advertising.
What brand should we choose?
Many of us are not brand aware; we choose our purchases based on advertising or tradition – because your mother bought that brand.
If you have tried all the brands on the shelf, and you know the best product for you or your favourite tasting one is Item X, then you are brand aware.
If you have not sampled all of the brands of the items you buy, and you choose the same brand every time, regardless of price, you are not brand aware. You are at risk of wasting your money on items that could be more expensive than other brands that may be better. Can you afford to throw your money away for a name brand?
3 Secrets on Smart Shopping
Always take your own shopping bags - Add up how many bags you buy a week and multiply this by four weeks in a month, and 12 months in a year. Your answer is the money that you throw away every year. This is wasted money, it’s an unnessary expense.
Never go shopping whilst you are hungry – You will be tempted to buy more food items and treats. Shops play nice music, have the smell of cooking food in the deli and treats in the bakery. Then they have chocolates by the pay registers, these are all tricks to tempt you to buy what you don’t need.
Plan your shopping trips and stick to your plan – Keep your grocery list handy and update it everyday. Soon you will have a pattern of your shopping needs, and temptation will no longer be a problem.
Soon you will be making ends meet, your salary will be going further, and you will have spare money for the more important things.
Good luck!
Author: Lechedzani Pitso – Financial Wellness Trainer with S.C.I. Training (Pty) Ltd. © S.C.I. Training run financial wellness programmes in Botswana. For help and information contact them on 3180243 or 72309718 or training@scifinancial.com