Shopping.
It's Easy When You Know How!

Your first move is - never venture out without a Shopping List and all the Coupons or Vouchers you can find. Make this your golden rule. See our tip below - No. 15.

If you use your credit card for payment of your supermarket bill set a pre-determined target write your List with this in mind. Also if you use Tesco Master Card, this will collect a bonus from Tesco every few months.

If your situation is really serious take a small calculator with you and click the price as you put each item in your trolley.

Most Supermarkets offer the 'own brand' products. These are usually very good value, compare well with branded goods, and are always much cheaper.

A Shopping List will help keep you focused.

Keep your List in a convenient place at home and jot down any item when you are running short. This simple idea will cut down on the number of shopping trips you have to make to the shops.

Take a look at our new page Here you will find an easy-to-read Food Index which lists all the foods that are healthier and cheaper for you. Really easy!

1. If you shop at Tesco, as well as your shopping list take several of your own carrier bags. They give bonus points for every one of your own bags that you use. These mount up and are paid quarterly. The money you receive will go towards paying your next shopping bill. What goes around, comes around.

2. Make sure you look to the top shelves and the bottom shelves as this is where you will find the cheaper goods. The higher priced items are always in the centre eye catching position.

3. Always make a quick, final check on your bill before you leave the supermarket. Check-out operators are only human, and they do make mistakes.

4. Always look in the ‘Reduced to Clear’ section first when you are shopping and take advantage of any meat or fish that is available. Take a look at the recipes which should help you here. Take advantage of any of these cheaper items that you may see, mentally doing a quick revision of your planned menu for that day or week, if necessary.

5. If you are an imaginative cook, take a look at the list of ingredients on any M & S ready meals. You should find it relatively easy to work out just how they achieve their high-class results.

6. Probably the most expensive time of the year is Christmas so read our tips. Also credit crunch has masses of tips.

7. Many food manufacturers prepare large batches of a specific food, i.e., duck a l’orange. This same recipe and batch is used to fulfill orders for Tesco, Waitrose, Asda etc. The only difference is in the outer packaging and the pricing. The contents are the same in all three cases. Watch prices - don't be caught out.

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8. This also applies to fruit and vegetables when they are being packed. The goods are all the same, coming off the same production/packing line. The only difference is in the prices charged and the bags being changed from Asda, Tesco, Waitrose. This has been seen - Fair Trade bananas in Tesco - £1.00. Exactly the same number of bananas on the exact same day in Waitrose £1.50.

9. Some of the minor supermarkets (Aldi, Netto - now sold to ASDA - and Lidl) operate to a small percentage mark-up, 3 or 4%. compared with likes of Tesco, Sainsbury etc., where the mark-up can be as high at 10%. This naturally affects the prices on the shelves. In addition, these minor supermarkets sell the goods directly from the cases they arrive in, every inch of floor space is used, and the stores are very basic. This is reflected in the cheap prices. A monthly stock-up is recommended for staple items. (Waitrose really is the most expensive supermarket).

10. Buy English vegetables when in season not expensive imported beans, etc., flown in from far away places. The English produce will be fresher.

Better still go to Our Gardening Diary and find out how to 'grow your own' vegetables and soft fruit. Nothing tastes better than produce harvested from the garden and cooked straight away.

11. Bottled water costs 500% more than tap water. Just refill the bottle from the kitchen tap instead of wasting your money.

12. Some 'special offers' are not so 'special'. During May you will be able find fantastic offers on frozen garden peas, often three packs for just more than the price of a single pack. This may be due to the fact that these peas can be nearly a year old and harvesting of the new crop is only weeks away. Beware.

13. Think about using the Barter System.

14. If you are prepared to venture into the so-called world of 'sell by dates', take a look at Food Bargains to see what you can find.

Another very good site is Approved Food Both sites sell food that has reached the sell by date, but they specialise in tinned goods and other foods that haver a longer shelf date life.

15. It is also worth keeping your eyes on On-line Discount Codes

Plan your meals for the week ahead then you will know exactly what you need to buy. Again - you will save time and money the easy way.

Make sure you don’t shop on an empty stomach – pangs of hunger will lead you to buy food that you ‘instantly’ fancy. A bad move!

Also, perish the thought, this is the easy way to put on unwanted weight.

If you can leave the children at home, It is easier for you to concentrate and avoid the latest-as-seen-on-TV-junk-food.

If they should be with you – remember you hold the purse strings. Learn a two-lettered word - ‘No’. You may well be doing them a double favour - less sugar to damage their teeth and less fat and salt to ruin their young figures. Obesity in children is on the increase, so watch their figures as well as yours!

Soooo...... When you are on a shopping expedition - be firm - the budget is at stake. Think of the state of your bank balance!

As you walk around the store with your Shopping List to hand take the easy way - imagine you are wearing a pair of blinkers so that you do not deviate from the list. The 'Reduced to Clear' shelf is the only deviation. This is where the real bargains can be found.

If you are familiar with the layout of the store and you are able to write your list out in the order of items that you will pass, this will also help you. You will be less tempted to look around at the other items.

If you have a Tesco Credit Card use it where ever you possibly can on all other purchases. You will be rewarded by extra points on your Club Card statement. BUT do make a point of settling the amount due on your card each month, otherwise this tip will be pointless.

Also, if you shop with either Tesco or Sainsbury you can send money direct into your savings account from the check out. So if you save on your shopping bill, send that amount direct into your savings account.

It is possible to save time by ordering goods on line, but the downside is that some shoppers reckon that some fresh goods ordered from a supermarket in this way are less than fresh when they are delivered. It may be a case of experimentation.

If you do order goods on line from Tesco and order goods to be delivered during the week, you can save up to £1.75 on weekend charges.

One of our readers suggests that the very best way to save money where shopping is concerned is to become a member of www.freecycle.org and swap your items. You must donate an article first before requesting something that you need. Chrissie of Chelmsford says she has donated many items and in return has equipped her house with numerous items including: a wide-screen, TV, rugs, books, stools, chairs, tables. so maybe it is worth following her example, stopping goods being dumped in the local amenity tip and putting them to good use instead. One man's junk is another man's treasure! Many thanks Chrissie, and well done.