Four tips to help you save (up to €40) on a trip to the supermarket

THEFood is more expensive, the frame continues to be a high inflation frame, and therefore all advice is important when you go shopping. DECO Proteste shares four strategies, which can even lead to savings of 40 euros.

“Vegetables Deep-frozen products cost 80% less than fresh, and familiar packaging almost always delivers. With advice from DECO Proteste save 40 euros on a basket of 16 basic foods“, says the consumer protection organization.

1. Deep-frozen foods are practical and almost always cheaper

DECO reveals that there are frozen vegetables at a fifth of the price of fresh, which means, around here, you can save money.

“When you compare fresh vegetables, bought in bulk or already washed and ready to use (such as spinach) with their frozen equivalents, the latter are always cheaper (or much cheaper): they cost a fifth of the price. it’s because everything from frozen vegetables is used,” the analysis reads.

• Spinach up to 80% cheaper: “If you want to include spinach in salads, for example, the leaves already washed in a bag are really practical. However, a bunch of spinach in bulk gives a saving of 14%, on average, and may even be in order 20%, depending on brand and store. If you’re going to cook them (to make spreads or include in a soup, for example), frozen spinach is by far the most economical option. , on average, 72% cheaper, savings can be up to 80% depending on the brand and supermarket.”
• Broccoli less than half price: The deep-freeze version has only advantages: it costs less than half the price. is it equally nutritious; is much more practical; and lasts longer;
• Frozen sliced ​​mushrooms last longer and are three times cheaper: “Fresh whole mushrooms keep longer than sliced ​​mushrooms, as long as they are well packed in the refrigerator. After washing, the time wasted on laminating is very little and there is no waste, as they are all used. While the packaged versions, the whole are on average 17% cheaper than laminated.
• Frozen fish more expensive than in the fishmonger: “Also in the deep-frozen food sector, and unlike vegetables, fish is more expensive: fresh salmon fillets (around 20 euros per kilo) are, on average, 21% cheaper than deep-frozen, the difference it is more than double, if we consider more expensive brands, around 58 euros and more per kilo”.

2. Ready-to-eat food is not worth it

• Canned beans can cost three times as much as dried legumes: “Canned beans or cereals are undoubtedly more practical than dried. But DECO Proteste advises to buy dried legumes and prepare them at home: they are half the price of large canned beans and up to three times cheaper if we consider the smaller boxes “;
• Preserves in jars up to 40% less than in cans: “Although they are more expensive, if you prefer to buy canned legumes so you don’t have to soak and cook them, choose a glass jar. The study found that canned vegetables are 17% to 40% cheaper than canned, taking into account large and small packages, respectively.’
• Nut kernels are more expensive than whole nuts: “Buying whole nuts in shell pays off. Nuts in shell are up to 26% cheaper than kernels sold in halves, since you only use about half the weight after shelling them”?
• Chop garlic and onions at home: “Chopped onions and garlic deep frozen are a temptation for anyone who uses them regularly in cooking. In addition to saving time in the preparation of dishes, you will not have that characteristic smell on your hands or your eyes run. However, this option is considerably more expensive.”

3. Family packages are generally cheaper

“Large packaging almost always saves money, apart from the economy in packaging. They are particularly interesting for products that are frequently consumed at home and have a longer shelf life, such as e.g. coffee, cereals and frozen foods“, says DECO.

For example, “choosing a package of 40 capsules instead of four boxes of ten units, you save three cents per coffee, in the case of a supermarket. 263 euros after one year: choosing boxes with more units, you will save 44 euros Considering capsules from other brands, the savings could be as high as 30%.”

However, it is worth remembering that theFamiliar packaging works if you are sure to consume the product on time” and that “should be doubly careful when buying perishable foods (like yogurt, for example)”. Otherwise, “besides wasting food and money, it harms the environment”.

4. Strategies (from DECO) for storage and warnings not to be misled

• Compare prices in stores and on the spot Buying is the first step.
• Also check if promotions and big packs are working and choose, whenever possible, cheaper alternatives of the same product;
• But be careful: the exception proves the rule, as they say. Although deep-frozen foods are generally cheaper, in the case of fish, it is worth choosing fresh fish.
• as for the familiar formsas they are, as a rule, proportionally cheaper, the consumer may have a reflex to pick up a large package without looking at the price.
• So never give up compare the price per kilo or liter or per unit. Marketers are obliged to paste it next to the products, but it is almost always in thumbnail form.

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