How often have you gone to the supermarket for just a few things, and ended up with a huge trolley full?

It’s a common complaint and one way to completely blow your food budget out of the water. Why do we do this?

Well, perhaps one reason is that you’ve gone to the shops without a list of what you need. Once there, it’s very hard to wrack your brain to remember, particularly when the shop is busy and full of bright advertising with great ideas on what to buy. You grab a trolley and start to wander the aisles, hoping you’ll remember and looking for inspiration.

Along the way you see items that look good, or are new and you’d love to give them a try. You see ‘great deals’ like the two-for-one sale that not only puts extra in your cupboard but also on your hips.

Another reason for exiting the supermarket with a full trolley is that you’re a sucker for all the ‘best buys’ and ‘super sales’ that they have. You feel that if you don’t get it now, then you’ll be paying much more next time. You tell yourself that its best to stock up now, while you can.

But have you ever noticed that there is always a good sale in the supermarket? Every week the catalogues announce all the special prices and invariably there’s not a week that goes by when you can’t find something that you need.

How to avoid over-spending at the supermarket? Well the obvious way is to always take a list and stick to what is written down. Do not buy anything that is not on the list.

Or – if you are only popping in for a few items, then make sure you only use a small basket to put them in. Once the basket gets heavy, you’ll soon stop putting things into it.

©   Carmel McCartin – Budget Bitch

And don’t forget – (The views expressed in this blog are the personal opinions of the author. Don’t rely on them to make financial decisions; you have to make up your own mind. If you don’t like the content – then either stop reading or send me an email)