The country is in a recession and as a result, most of us have had to change our spending habits. While many of us are cutting back on the luxuries in life, even more of us are making small changes in our supermarket spending that can actually have a massive impact.
Have you ever noticed that your local supermarket's own brand product is significantly cheaper than your favourite branded product? Three out of four Brits are now opting to buy supermarket own brand labels, a figure that has tripled since August 2008. Supermarkets have long been catering for a range of different customers, from those who are happy to forgo their favourite brands for value, to those who will pay premium prices for the highest quality food and products.
You might be wondering if the quality of the products in the own-brand packaging is significantly worse than those made by a branded company. Overall, this will depend on your preference, but it has been said by many that the difference is so minimal that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So if you're not willing to sacrifice quality for price, bear in mind that you may be able to get the best of both worlds.
Customers are also keeping a keen eye out for vouchers they can use at the checkouts. 74% of shoppers are now regularly using money off coupons during their weekly shop, compared with only 26% in 2008. Vouchers can really make a difference, as you can often collect them just by buying your favourite product or by cutting them out of a magazine or local newspaper.
Don't miss the opportunity to collect reward points from your favourite supermarkets either. Most supermarkets run their own loyalty point schemes that you can join for free. If you want to be extra savvy, try applying for the supermarket's own credit cards
You can often earn extra loyalty points for spending as well as gaining other financial benefits that are specific to each card.
An excellent way to avoid over-spending is to plan and buy your shopping online. Making a list and only buying what you need can help you avoid the well placed temptations you'll find on the shop floor of most big supermarkets. 15% of us have turned to online shopping up from just 5% in 2008, which goes to show that it can be a popular and helpful budgeting tool.
Last but not least, it seems that over 8 million of us have turned to growing our own fruit and vegetables to save money on our shopping. Tesco are currently planning to set up their own allotments, selling starter kits to those who are new to growing their own food.
So if you're feeling the pinch during the recession, why not follow some of these simple tips to saving money on your everyday spending? You could find it makes a bigger difference than you expected.