Basics Of Grocery Shopping

Going to the store, you want to buy only the "essentials", but in the end you brought home a lot of excess. How to avoid unnecessary expenses?

Going to the store, you want to buy only the "essentials", but in the end you brought home a lot of excess. How to avoid unnecessary expenses?

We all buy food in a small store or in a large supermarket. How to buy all the necessary products, follow a healthy diet and not spend extra money? It is very difficult not to overspend, because for a gullible buyer, all stores have marketing networks that motivate customers to buy more. If you shop at a supermarket, follow these simple rules to avoid falling prey to marketing strategies and save money.

Rules of profitable purchases

Before going shopping. Check the contents of your fridge and check for essentials. This way you can avoid buying products that you already have and that can spoil quickly. A significant portion of the budget is spent on products that are then thrown away because more than needed was bought.

Think about what you will cook next week . If you calculate your menu for a week in advance, then you won't need to think about what to cook. And in this way, you will be able to save time and avoid unnecessary purchases during the week.

Make a list of necessary products . After you have reviewed your food supplies and planned your diet for the week, before going to the store, you must make a grocery list. The list of products makes it possible to make purchases quickly and not to buy unnecessary goods. With a list of products, you know exactly what you need and do not waste time on thoughts and doubts. You will be able to avoid unnecessary expenses, and you will not have to go to the store a second time if you forget something. In the conditions of a big city, it is better to spend 15 minutes on making a list than 2 hours on repeated visits to the store. When you go shopping, take a pen and cross out the goods placed in the basket.

Determine the day for purchases . Warn your household that you need to do shopping and ask for their help, determine the day and time of shopping. Agree with them on the list of necessary products, maybe you need to add something so that there are no spontaneous and unnecessary expenses.

Cart or basket? If you have a list, you can roughly estimate how many items you will have. If you plan to make a large purchase at the supermarket, take a correspondingly larger cart. If there will not be many products, then take a small cart or basket for shopping. With a small basket, it is easier to move around the store, and it is easier to resist the temptation to put unnecessary products. After all, if the cart is large and empty, then you want to add something, but often it is not necessary.

Try to avoid free tastings . Free tasting is a method of promoting product sales that is actively used in the marketing market. This method has a psychological basis, after tasting most people feel obliged to buy the tried product. The price of a new product offered for tasting is often overpriced. Therefore, if you still tried something, praise the product and go further shopping.

Shop on an empty stomach . It is better not to go to the supermarket when you are hungry, you want to buy a lot of tasty and unnecessary products, for example, candies, cakes or other sweets. In most supermarkets, there is a bakery, past the aroma, it is impossible to pass, and it is difficult to refrain from buying buns or expensive bread. The bakery is another marketing ploy that makes you spend more. Also, aroma marketing is actively used in supermarkets: attractive aromas are distributed in the store departments. When a person himself does not know what he wants, he is unobtrusively offered a tasty product.

Location of goods on the shelves . Be careful and attentive, there is another common marketing move - the most expensive products are always located at the eye level of buyers. Therefore, in order not to become a victim of marketing, pay attention to the lower shelves, where cheaper and more affordable products are often placed.

Do not walk in rows . Do not waste time on aimless walks between the rows of the supermarket. Go only to those rows where the goods you need are located. Usually, essential goods are located in an inconvenient place, so that you have to go through the entire store, passing the shelves with expensive delicacies. Try not to look around and do not succumb to the temptation to buy products that are actively advertised. According to statistics, a visitor, standing in line, buys a magazine, chewing gum or bar that he does not need.

Read the label . Be sure to pay attention to the date of manufacture of the product or the expiration date indicated on the package. Pay attention to the ingredients included in the product. Do not buy products that contain a lot of preservatives, dyes, transgenic, hydrogenated fats and other chemicals.

Do not believe in shares . Every supermarket offers a promotion - buy 2 products for the price of one, or get the third one for free. Usually, these bargains offer items that expire in a few days. Before buying a product on sale, check the expiration date.

You need to go shopping with knowledge of the business so as not to fall under the influence of marketing gimmicks.