Savvy Spring Shopping or Not

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Today I met a family member for a chat over a pot of tea during her office lunch break. I paid for the tea with vouchers I had received through the post, opening the envelope and placing the vouchers in my purse for use on such an occasion. That's not really difficult planning is it? How often during our working lives, however, do we even bin apparent junk envelopes without exploring their contents or, if we do open them, let any such vouchers lie around for weeks until they are lost or else out of date. Family member was impressed enough to comment on this fact.

After she left I browsed around the clothing department of a local store in search of a couple of T-shirts, now that the sun is finally shining. There were several sale rails but nothing of any appeal upon them, so instead I picked up two from the newly arrived stock but got them for the equivalent of the sale price with, you've guessed, another voucher.

Then I headed for the supermarket, shopping list in hand.  The mad days of the trolley dash around the aisles, where throwing in and counting the cost only at the check-out have receded and grocery shopping, like most things in retirement, is conducted at a more measured pace. I haven't quite reached the stage where I have so much surplus time that I go from store to store comparing food item prices before I buy. I do, however, now actually examine the in-store displays and pricing, carefully calculating where a bulk buy is a saving and where it is not.

So today I spotted that washing powder capsules  were £4 for 19 washloads or £9 for 38 washloads. One of those occasions where, contrary to instinct, the smaller pack is actually better value. Smugly I placed a pack from the shelf in my trolley. It was only later after I had left the shop that I realised that someone (I'd hate to think it was the store itself) must have misplaced larger packs in the smaller pack area of the shelf and I had, of course, picked up the wrong one.

Retirement may be bliss but it doesn't stop you winning some and losing others!

 

Comments

Jane said…
Usually sales are on items I neither want nor need, however, my grocery store is pretty good at putting staples on sale on a regular basis. I must say, like you, I have more time now to take advantage of the good deals and have noticed bigger savings when I check out. I would say my grocery bill is down at least 25% since I've retired!
1 April 2018 at 16:11
Maddy said…
Our supermarkets here in Australia have to state the unit price on most products, so we don't need to actually work anything out. For example toilet paper is marked next to the price at so much per 100 sheets, ham in small packets is shown at (yes, it is!) say $30 per kilo. But the sheer number of products and the resulting increased length of the aisles, not to mention the self-serve check-outs, make shopping a very time-consuming activity!
3 April 2018 at 14:50
Caree Risover said…
Wow, that's some difference
7 April 2018 at 15:11
Caree Risover said…
We have the same kind of regulations here in the UK but the information on the packet and shelf label is invariably thwarted by the marketing techniques suggesting that something's a best buy when in fact there is a cheaper size on the shelf next to it, meaning you really do need to take your reading glasses to the supemarket to check the smallprint.
7 April 2018 at 15:14
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