Grocery Shopping 101: Pro Tips
- Always go shopping after having a full meal – Going on an empty stomach makes you want to buy a lot of food that you don’t really need!
- Look for cheaper substitutes – For example, an Ikea milk chocolate bar (100 gms) is only AED 3 and tastes very similar to some of the other milk chocolate brands (only it’s a lot cheaper!) Another example is making your favorite frozen yogurt at home (click here to check out the recipe) You could easily have 4 times the store-bought servings
- A common tip – check your fridge and pantry supplies to ensure that you only buy what is required
- Plan your weekly meal prep in advance – prepare a list of meals you’d like to prepare and buy only the required items. This also keeps you focused and helps you steer clear of the aisles that do not warrant your visit!
- Replace some of your regular brands with white-labeled goods of popular stores like Spinneys, Carrefour, etc.
- Watch out for coupons and vouchers – some supermarket bills often have deals/coupons printed on the backside
- Sign up for store loyalty program and rack up those loyalty points
- Compare and divide – I shop from 2 or 3 supermarkets on a regular basis. Identify your go-to shops for fruits, vegetables, pantry supplies, etc – more often than not you will notice that while certain products are cheaper to buy from your local store, some others might require a hypermarket visit or vice versa
- Make sure you scan all the racks when looking for a product. Many times the more expensive products are placed at eye level while the economical/popular ones might be far below or not easily within hand’s reach
- When buying perishable products make sure you reach out for the units at the back of the rack first. Typically, the ones near expiry are placed out front. This applies to dairy products, eggs, frozen foods and juices
