WHEN you visit the supermarket is important if you want to keep your grocery budget to a minimum.
The shop shelves are stacked high with pricey products as inflation pushes costs through the roof – but that doesn’t mean bargains aren’t out there, especially if you know when and where to look.
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One expert has revealed the exact day of the week to hit the aisles to get your hands on things like bakery treats for as little as 10p.
It comes as households grapple with a worsening cost of living crisis.
Utility bills are shooting up, and families have to make the hard decision between eating, or keeping the lights on.
John Stirzaker from NetVoucherCodes said: “We want to find easy ways to help families struggling without them having to resort to skipping meals.
“Solutions such as creating a food shop money pot can go a long way to help calculate how much you’re spending each week.”
That wasn’t his only advice though.
The supermarket pro explained that one particular day of the week is when you should focus your bargain hunting efforts.
“Many don’t usually do their food shop on a Sunday,” said John.
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“But it might in fact be the best time to get exclusive deals.”
“Keep an eye out on the bakery section in particular,” he went on to say.
“And listen for announcements, as many supermarkets sell bread and cookies for 10p to get rid of remaining stock.”
You can take that one step further and narrow down your bargain hunt to a specific time of day as well.
John says this works for yellow sticker bargains in particular.
If you’re not familiar, supermarkets will often reduce the price of food nearing its use by date to shift stock and avoid food wastage.
They’ll label up the bin-destined goods with a yellow mark-down sticker, and lump all the deals together on one shelf of the store.
The food is still good to eat, and in some cases you can freeze what you buy so it will last that bit longer too.
But as one of the most sought-after items in supermarkets, the reduced labels shine as bright as the sun for some shoppers.
Customers will queue up for hours to find the special discounted food to take home for dinner – even fights will break out over the heavily reduced goods.
That’s why it pays to time your visit to a T.
John said: “Head down to your local supermarket around 7pm on weekdays and at 3pm on Sundays to get the best deals.
“But some change the times each day to stop manic shoppers, so bear that in mind.”
How else can I slash my supermarket spend?
John didn’t stop there, there’s more ways he revealed that you can slash your supermarket spend.
If you’ve gone to the effort of arriving at your local store on a specific date and time, you might as well get more bang for your buck, after all.
The not-so ‘special’ price
Analyse special offers, he said.
“Some offers are worth it, but some clearly aren’t,” explained John.
“Read the label to find out whether the ‘larger’ bottle of fabric conditioner is worth more than the middle sized.
“Stop and think if you need to get the buy one, get one half price deal on hair products. Do you need to get them right this second?
It’s no shop and run
And don’t head straight for the checkouts, imparted John.
He revealed that you should take advantage of a store’s “scan as you shop” tools, so as you collect your grocery items you can check how much you’re spending.
Not only is this an efficient way to shop, but it also helps you save each week and stop spending on unnecessary wants.
Staying loyal
If you make use of loyalty cards you can slash your spends.
It’s worth signing up to them all – so long as they’re free – as you never know what bargains may come your way.
Check a supermarket’s website to see whether they’re using a loyalty scheme which can let you earn extra pennies on every purchase you make.
“Even on a weekly shop this can equate to an additional £5 every single month,” said John.
But check out the competition
It’s always a good idea to shop around, and check out the competition from other stores.
John warned: “This may only apply to people who have multiple shops in close range of each other but having a little exploration can be made quite fun.
“Perhaps you can get your meat from one shop, then your cupboard items from another and then guilty pleasures from the next.
“Make it a quick and snappy daytime trip to investigate the exclusive deals.”
The art of picking which exact date to visit shops like Tesco, and more, will help you save some pennies on your next visit.
Sometimes even size (of the shop) matters most.
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