Tricks to cut your grocery bill
Groceries are the second-biggest household bill for most Australians — and there’s one shopping hack that will slash your grocery bill by hundreds of dollars.
VIC News
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Shoppers craving grocery bill savings should try going to the supermarket at night.
Kill Bills! author Joel Gibson said filling your trolley after dinner, or at other times when you are not hungry, lessened the likelihood of impulse buys.
Evening shoppers could also often take advantage of end-of-day specials and price reductions as stores tried to get rid of stock, especially baked goods, fresh produce and other perishables.
The money savings expert said that with groceries being the second-biggest household bill for most Australians behind home loans or rent, customers should be cautious of the tactics supermarkets used to try to convince us to spend more.
“Every square centimetre of your local supermarket is carefully designed to maximise the amount of stuff you put in your basket and to maximise the margin they make from those products,” Mr Gibson said.
“The cheap milk is at the back so you have to walk by more expensive items on the way to it, the products they make the most money out of are on the end of the aisles, and the cheapest products are on higher and lower shelves, with the more expensive ones at eye level.”
Mr Gibson said developing good habits to avoid paying a premium and avoid making too many unplanned purchases could save households about $1000 a year.
“The best way to pay as little as possible for your groceries is to shop at two or even three supermarkets and pick the eyes out of their specials and their specialties.”
Making a list and checking what you already had in your pantry and fridge and actually needed was also crucial.
“Impulse buys are the enemy of grocery savings.”
Ideally, people should try to shop at a centre where multiple supermarkets were located, as competition would be fiercest.
“Even though most products are uniformly priced, there is some leeway for store managers to price match with the supermarket nearby.”