Savvy shopping: how far would you go to save?

My main way of saving is to keep household goods for much longer than most people. If something breaks down, I can often fix it. I’m sure that I save a lot more money than those who shop around and get the best bargain. I don’t do this items such as computers and cameras, where the technology is advancing fast.

I don’t shop around for supermarket items. If something looks expensive, I try and buy an alternative. I bulk-buy non-persishable products – such as detergents and toilet rolls – when the price is good.

Like wavechange and Argunaut, I bulk-buy non-perishables whenever they’re on a really cheap offer. My cellar is currently overflowing with toilet roll and tonic water due to a couple of particularly good deals!

I also make use of online vouchers whenever I can – I’ll do one huge online shop every couple of months, stocking up on non-perishables and things that are heavy, and I’ll usually try to match it with one of the ‘get £X off your next shop’ emails that I get through from the big supermarkets every now and then. My tip for these vouchers if you shop online is to do one shop from each major supermarket, taking advantage of the better deals you get as a first time customer, then keep an eye out for unusually good ones as they all inevitably spam your inbox to try and get you to come back to them.

I don’t trust the reduced price offers all the time. I often look for the bottom shelf stuff which is often the same product in different sizes and cheaper… Tesco is the worst for this, they blatantly try to mislead you and try to draw you away from the real price savers. One good example a few months ago… they increased the price of Shredded Wheat 30 biscuit packs to £2.99 (about a 10% increase). I looked down on the bottom shelf and the packs of 16 were £1. Another one they tried was Dolphin friendly Tuna… 4 pack reduced to £3.99.. individual tins 75p (4 for £3) same product…. I shop at Asda more often now, but you still have to watch them….

I do my main shop in my local Waitrose each week and find that I have to shop carefully in order not to pay over the odds for products. I then shop in Morrisons or Tesco every few weeks and buy store cupboard items and other special priced items. The quality of the fresh produce is very high in Waitrose but so is the price. I find it difficult to believe that Waitrose and Morrisons were given the same score for price in the recent Which? survey. Perhaps the Waitrose customers are so pleased with their customer service, they don’t bother to shop elsewhere, so don’t know they can save money by slumming in other supermarkets.

To save money on a regular basis you really need to know the prices of your items in your target stores. I’m afraid my memory is so bad for such detail. it is usually safer to stick to the one store. Perhaps when I upgrade to a smart phone, I will be able to use a little app to keep track of prices. That may not happen for a decade or so.

I’m also a great believer in “fix it” don’t scrap it. It is amazing how many cheap parts you can get for most household items, and cars on the internet. Broken key fob for a Toyota… £180. New key fob case £5. Key cutting £5… (didn’t have the Toyota logo but so what? Saved £170). New drive belt for tumble dryer… £6.50 plus a few screws removed and about an hour of my time… loads of money saved. My Dad’s 1000 candle power search lamp. Cost of a new one £54… replaced battery and bulb… just like new now… £21.. Loads more examples… just use the internet…. oh and if you break your iPhone screen don’t take it to a shop.. order the part and a special tool kit from the internet… comes with instructions etc…. mega money to be saved here….