‘Just stop buying them!’ savvy shoppers yell as frugal couple list 30 items that are making your bill 50% more expensive
HANDS up if you’re horrified every time you look at the total cost of your weekly food shop?
Well, according to a frugal couple named Hope and Larry, there are 30 items you need to avoid next time you visit the supermarket – and they could just slash your food bill in half.
In a video shared to their YouTube channel, Under the Median, the savvy shoppers begin: “Any time the store cuts up produce for you, it’s going to be more expensive.
“Check out this watermelon – 18oz, each of these containers is 4p ($5) but that’s a whole lot more expensive than waiting for the whole melon to go on sale and then buying the whole watermelon.”
Next up, she notes that “pre-packaged salad greens are always going to be fairly expensive” and advises looking at a local farmer’s market for something cheaper that lasts longer.
Hope also points out that “prepared snack trays” are “really super expensive per pound,” and advises ditching “pre-made smoothies bottled juices and bottled teas.”
Instead, she advises: “Get fruits and vegetables and put them in your blender and make your own smoothies at home – it’ll be a lot less expensive.”
Another item Hope advises ditching on the weekly food shop is fizzy drinks, which she warns is not only pricey but is also really not good for you.
She goes on to point out several small bags of popular kids snacks and notes that while they might seem like they’re “convenient” for lunches, it works out more cost-effective to buy the larger box or bag and divide them up at the beginning of the week.
Hope and Larry, who are plant-based, told how they’ve also decided to cut out pre-packaged vegan cookies due to the hefty price tag, along with “fancy chocolate.”
She was also unimpressed with the price of an “incredibly expensive soup” – adding: “Really when you think about i, instead of being labelled ‘soup,’ it should just be labelled salt with a few vegetables added.”
The money-saving whizz goes on to point out that there’s nothing wrong with buying condiments, but says the problem is that a little bottle of soy sauce retails at 20p ($3), whereas she snapped up a gallon for 415 from a restaurant supply store.
When it comes to rice, Hope recommends purchasing a big bag of that takes 15 minutes on top of the stove rather than boil in the bag stuff, which is pricier.
She also recommends buying larger jars when it comes to nacho cheese, while she admits to only buying pricey granola when it’s on “steep mark down.”
According to Hope, the supermarket is not the place to buy greeting cards or wrapping paper and gift bag cards.
She continues: “Here’s the exclusion on this rule guys – wait until about 10 days after major holidays…supermarket stores will slash this stuff to like 75 to 90%…
“I’ve also gotten some really great candles but I’ve gotten them all on from the markdown aisle.”
Hope also recommends ditching name-brand toiletries and avoiding purchasing items such as ‘three pre-made personal size pizza crusts.’
She says: “Don’t waste your money on this, in fact don’t even buy pizza crust at all.
“Pizza is incredibly easy to make from scratch, including the crust.”
Amongst some of the other items which are far too pricey includes potato skins, pre-made meals that are even on sale, items from the bakery, 30 tiny pigs in blankets, power mop pads, egg McMuffin-type sandwiches and Haagen-Dazs.
She adds that instead of forking out on baby food such as pureed bananas, make your own instead.
“I made my own baby food for all four of our kids “I just cooked stuff and then pureed it to a pulp and froze it in ice cube trays,” she says,
“One ice cube – two tablespoons of baby food.”