Shopping for Savings (Part 1)

Possibly the easiest way to save money is to improve your grocery shopping habits. Like any habit, it takes time to become accustomed to a new way of doing things, but presevere and smart shopping will soon become second nature.

Start by looking at when, how and where you shop. Swapping bad habits for good can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of ringgit over the course of the year. It will also save your time, since planning ahead ia a key part of saving money on your groceries.

Lists
Writting a shopping list not only helps you remember what you need to buy, but also helps you keep impulse buying under control. Remember that supermarkets and food manufacturers spend million of ringgit on designing and placing products, such as magazines, chocolate bars and branded desserts, to make them as attractive as posibble to you. Don't fall for their trick - or at least be aware of what is going on.

Shopping over the internet is an even better way of avoiding temptation; the money you will save on impluse buys will more than cover what you'll spend on delivery charges.

Keeping a record of what you spend can also help you save money. For example, try keeping a list of all things you usually buy, their regular price and the best special price you have seen. Then you can easily check whether you're paying too much at a particular store or whether that 'special offer' in your junk mail is really worth pursuing.

Timing
The more often you shop, the more you will spend. So limit your trips to the shops to once a week, or once a forthnight if you have enough storage space and self-discipline. Freeze food like meat and bread so you alwanys have ingredients for a meal at hand. Other tips for minimising budget blowouts include:

• Shop at the end of the day or on Sunday after 4pm. Perishables are often marked down at this time. Try shopping at markets just before closing time when traders are keen just to clear their stalls.
• Stay away from the shops when you're feeling down and might be tempted to cheer yourself up with a family block of chocolate or other treat.
• Never shop when you're hungry. You'll tend to buy more.
• Leave the kids at home. Kids who don't go shopping don't see toys, sweets and magazines and will easily live without them.
• Shopping can be a good learning experience for kids, but you need to stay in control if their nagging and don't bribe them to be good with expensive treats. Instead, distract them by giving them tasks in line with their age - choosing the perfect watermelon, for instance, or finding the cheapest jar of peanut butter.
• If rewarding children after a supermarket trip, consider buying a packet of ice cream and ripping into them on the way home, rather than shopping off at a milkbar.

Budgeting
Give yourself a set amount of money per week to spend on groceries. Stick to this limit. Not only will this motivate you to spend more selectively, you'll become more aware of where your money goes. As you get smarter at shopping, pop any unspent money from you weekly grocery budget into a special high-interest savings account. The savings will soon add up and you will have a tangible reward for changing your shopping habits.

Cooking
Takeaway and ready prepared meal may be convenient, but they are also expensive and don't necessarily save time. Think how long you wait for your fish and chips to be cooked, or for the pizza to be delivered. In the same amount of time, you could easily rustle up your own pizzas out of a bought base, tomato paste, salami or ham, grated cheese and some olives - all ingredients you are likely to have at hand. once you started putting these tips into practice and are better organised, putting together a cheap, delicious meal will be second nature.

Freezing Food
Buy fruit and vegies when they are in season and at their cheapest. Cook up a storm and freeze the results or simply blanche and freeze them as they are. Cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, peas and beans all freeze well. Corn, carrots and capsicums work well too, while fruit can be stewed and frozen ready for fast and healthy desserts or breakfasts.

When cooking a meal such as spaghetti bolognaise, cook more than you need and freeze the extra portions. Then when you're busy or don't feel like cooking, you can simply defrost a meal and have it on the table in minutes. The same goes for simple items such as garlic bread - buy baguettes or rolls in bulk or at the end of the day when they are marked down, mix up some garlic butter, and freeze in family-friendly portions.

Meal planning
Planning what you will eat each week or month can cut wastage and shopping bills considerably. Working out a menu only takes a few minutes - and if you plan carefully you will be able to get double value for each meal. For example, use leftover roast lamb for sandwich filling or use the carcass from your roast chicken to make stock for a soup or risotto the following night.

Groceries can be shopped for monthly, and fresh food bought weekly. Planning ahead alse gets around the problem of never having enough food in the house for a full meal, or finding forgotten vegies liquefying in the bottom of the fridge.

Bulk buying
Bulk buying items you use all the time can save hundreds of dollars: toilet paper, dog food, baked beans and laundry detergent are all products that don't go off and can stored at home until you need them. So if you have loads of storage space - even a corner of the garage or drawer under the bed will do - then make it a priority to find a good bulk buy or grocery clearance centre.

Clearance centres can offer savings of up to 700 percent on everyday grocery items. Some goods may be close to their use-by-date, while others might be discontinued product lines or excess inventory. Look out for marked down products with damaged or outdated packaging too - you can make great savings and the contents is likely to be unaffected.

Buying in bulk also saves you time - no more dashing to the cornerstore for an expensive roll of toilet paper when you run out. You should also buy up big at your local supermarket whenever one of your regular shopping list items is on sale. For example, by stocking up on discounted bread and freezing it, or investing in a dozen long life milk cartons when special, you'll always have these basics on hand. Plus, you can cut down on impulse buying when all you really need is bread and milk.