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Expert tips to reducing cost of your weekly supermarket shop

ended 25. June 2025

Looking for money/personal finance/consumer/food/shopping experts to provide expert comment on reducing the cost  of the weekly supermarket shop.

Advice should be aimed at over 50s (it's for Saga), middle-class shoppers (so not on the breadline, but wanting to save some cash). Tips should include looking at the psychology of food shopping and the tricks supermarkets use to get us  to spend more. Also advice on which items are good to bulk buy, which ones are cheaper elsewhere or online, the importance of meal planning/batch cooking etc.

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Philly Ponniah
Chartered Wealth Manager and Financial Coach at Philly Financial
Supermarkets are designed to make you spend more but a few simple strategies can help you shop smarter.

1. Meal plan first. A quick plan cuts waste, reduces impulse buys, and helps you batch cook.
2. Know your prices. Don’t fall for 'value' distractions where large signs make out it is a saving and check the price per unit. It’s often in small print but makes a big difference.
3. Shop with intention. Don’t go hungry, don’t go bored, and try to shop alone, we tend to spend more when shopping with others, especially partners or grandchildren who add “just one more thing” to the trolley.
4. Bulk buy smart. Stock up on long-life essentials like oats, rice, loo roll and tinned goods but skip the multi-buy on perishables unless you’ll freeze them.

Getting clear on your money isn’t about restriction, it’s about making intentional choices. When your spending aligns with your values, even the weekly shop becomes a way to support the life you want to live.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
Supermarkets are less food shops these days and more finely-tuned psychological traps where middle-class shoppers pay extra for convenience they didn’t ask for. Eye-level shelves are reserved for overpriced brands. BOGOFs usually will be on things you didn’t need one of, let alone two. And don’t get me started on pre-chopped veg. They are 30% more expensive for the privilege of not owning a knife. The over-50s, many of whom remember when budgeting was a lifestyle, not a TikTok trend, should lean back into old-school tactics: meal planning, batch cooking and bulk buying pantry staples online (Amazon often trumps in-store prices by 20%). Avoid “personalised offers” via loyalty apps, they are just algorithmically disguised upselling. And if you're not shopping the yellow sticker shelves after 7pm, you're leaving money on the table—up to 50% off meats and essentials. In a country where £60 a month is binned in waste per household, saving money isn’t radical. It is simply common sense.