Be relaxed but check prices

I have a buying price for just about anything I buy so I am always checking prices. I also don't like it when I really love a product and they either stop making it, raise the price really high, or change how it was made.

Lately we have compared Sainsbury's with Tesco's and Sainsbury's has worked out so much dearer, they are all busy competing which each other, and have all these price promises about if you find it anywhere cheaper etc... Of course they have the special buys that entice you in, and then you find prices are higher than you usually pay. I like going to Aldi as they have a lot of fruit which is so much cheaper than the big stores. You do have to watch fruit as it varies so much.

I check the ingredients first and find that some products may be cheaper, but not as good for you. For instance, I love ice cream, but I love the full fat one with the natural ingredients, but I was trying to save a little, so bought one that was also natural but instead of having regular three and a half percent fat had skim milk. Sure it was natural but did not taste as good. I think for a single person it is simpler to buy fruits and vegetables separately because no matter how careful, one of the veggies or fruits in the bag may be starting to rot or mold, so you wind up throwing the fruit away. So in the long run it is cheaper to buy the products separately unless there is a good sale.

I keep a mental list of grocery prices for the products I buy regularly. I tend to do most of my shopping in one main store then purchase the items that are cheaper elsewhere when I am near the other supermarkets. I know that tuna is cheaper in one particular supermarket for instance, so when i have to do to my son's school I pop in there and bulk buy. As for veggies, it depends! Normally it's cheaper to buy veg unbagged. But last time I went shopping Lidl were selling carrots ridiculously cheaply bagged. I think you have to keep checking.