Most of us rightly or wrongly do the majority of our shopping at supermarkets. Now overall they may be cheaper than going round the individual shops but every aspect of them is designed to make us spend more money than we want too. All the money saving offers are designed to get us to buy more than we actually need. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of them, just make sure you aren’t buying things that will get thrown out.

One of the best ways to save on your shopping is to use one of the smaller trolleys or even a hand basket. The reason for this is that it makes you think about everything you buy, rather than just piling it into the trolley. Obviously for big families this is no good but otherwise you should try it. If you have limited space you only buy what you really need and you end up wasting less. Try to think about the meals you will use the food for rather than just picking anything up. Most people waste up to a third of all the shopping they buy.

On a similar note to using a smaller trolley is paying for the goods with cash rather than a credit card. If you only take money with you, and know that you definitely can’t spend more than you have in your pocket you will also be vary careful with what you buy. You may think these type of ideas wont work but everyone who tries it changes their mind. You will be amazed what a difference having to give some thought to what you buy can make.

Supermarkets are always full of all sorts of offers, as long as you are careful you can take advantage of them. Make sure that you don’t buy stuff that will sit in the fridge or freezer for ages before ending up in the bin. Throwing food away is the biggest waste of money possible. When you do see an offer that is right for you, make sure you read the details carefully. It could be that it only applies to certain products within a range or certain sizes. It also might not always be under the correct product. Once you have made sure you are buying the right item you should make sure you check your receipt at the checkout. In the worst cases up to 50% of offers don’t appear on your bill, and you are missing out. This can be down to your own mistake or because of an error on the part of the supermarket.

Most supermarkets have certain times of the day or week when they heavily reduce items that haven’t been selling. You used to be able to go before closing to pick up these deals, but 24hr opening made it more difficult. Sunday afternoon is a good time for these type of bargains as all the big shops will be shut until Monday morning. The best deals will be on fresh items that will have to be binned if they aren’t sold. You can get loaves of bread that started off at over a pound for less than 20p on many occasions. So learn when your local store sells stuff off and grab lots of great savings.

Finally you should consider shopping online. This isn’t always a good idea as there is usually a delivery charge to pay. However the good thing is that you tend to buy exactly what you need and you can easily compare all the different options to see which is best value. Buying non perishable items in bulk is a good way to save if you have the space to store them. Shopping online makes it a lot easier to spot the best value products. If you follow all this simple advice you can easily save up to a third off your bill.