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August 11, 2010

6 Grocery Shopping Tips

Filed under: Manage Your Money — Gloria and Alpha @ 7:35 pm

Grocery shopping is probably the simplest way to spend more money than you anticipated. Not only is looking at all those beautifully displayed foods pleasing to our visual sense, but the lingering smells as you walk around a supermarket or shopping mall….

It’s a well-known fact that, our sense of smell has the quickest and most direct line to our brain, and so, when we smell all those tantalising aromas, our brain says, “I must have that.”

Even the most disciplined buyer can be tempted to ignore the well-thoughtout shopping list. You then end up spending at least a quarter as much again as you had planned to spend.

Here are 6 grocery shopping tips to stay on track

1. Write your shopping list in a strong colour pen, such as red, and on a proper piece of paper, not some crappy piece of torn-off piece. This gives your list power and prominence. It’s a psychological tool for your conscious mind to dominate when your subconscious mind tries to falsely please you by getting you to indulge in something it thinks you want.

2. Be forearmed with some appropriate money-saving coupons. These are still very popular on the back of payment dockets and as promotional tools.

3. Check out the ingredients on home-brand or store-brand items and if they have all the healthy ingredients that you want and none of the chemical ones to avoid, then try one that product. If then taste is also good, then you can buy it again another time.

4. Get familiar with prices of the different supermarkets and specialty stores such as fruit and vegetables you can easily access. For example, it might be better to shop at a specialty shop or a farmer’s market than at a large chain store.

Speaking of fresh fruit and veggies, some large supermarkets actually put sulphur substances into the water they spray on them to keep them fresh looking. Not good – see ** below.

Shopping at your local farmer’s market can be a great way to shop for fresh fruit and produce. It’s also great for socialising with like-minded people, you save money and it’s eco-friendly. The food has travelled less distance to get to you, thus saving on fuel.

5. If it suits your shopping style and/or the size of your family, buy in bulk less frequently

Buying in bulk can be a great way to save money. If you have the space, the money, and a large family buying in bulk is a great option, not only to save money, but also to save money on your grocery bill and save time as well.

6. Use cash. Estimate the amount of money you will need to pay for your grocery shopping and leave credit cards at home. If you have to, put products back if you haven’t enough money on you, they will always be there at that price again

Make sure however, that you follow the Golden Rule of just buying things that are on your list, and that you truly need and will use.

The only possible exceptions can be consumables that you always need such as toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap and other essentials, but only if the price reduction really warrants this deviation from your list. Also watch the quantity of perishable items you buy. We, in the Western world, statistically throw out far too much food which has gone ‘off’.

There you have 6 simple strategies to help you save money on grocery shopping. The money saved can be put into another account or for future grocery shopping when you may run out.

Remember, little steps make big journeys. No steps mean that you stand still, don’t improve.

**Health effects of sulphur

Adapted from: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/s.htm

All living things need sulphur. It is especially important for humans because it is part of the amino acid methionine, which is an absolute dietary requirement for us. The amino acid cysteine also contains sulphur. The average person takes in around 900 mg of sulphur per day, mainly in the form of protein.

Elemental sulphur is not toxic, but many simple sulphur derivates are, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulfide.

Sulfur can be found commonly in nature as sulphides. During several processes sulfur bonds are added to the environment that are damaging to animals, as well as humans. These damaging sulphur bonds are also shaped in nature during various reactions, mostly when substances that are not naturally present have already been added. They are unwanted because of their unpleasant smells and are often highly toxic.

Globally sulphuric substances can have the following effects on human health: