I know what you’re thinking. “Not another list of ways to save at the supermarket – I’ve seen these all before!” I must admit, that’s often my own first reaction when I see articles about supermarket savings.
But occasionally I’ll stop and think, “Well, it can’t hurt to remind myself of some of these tips.” And then I do stop and take a few minutes to look at the latest tip list.
Sometimes, such lists act as a prompt to get back into a good money-saving habit. I had forgotten, for instance, that many supermarkets will run specials on the same item in cycles. So I’ll be reminded that I can stock up on my favourite item every third week when it’s on special. Then I’ll make sure I have enough to last me until it’s next on special.
Occasionally, such a list will actually provide a new, previously unseen tip. In fact, that happened quite recently. An article appearing on the RateCity website gave me a fresh one to add to my supermarket savings tip list. And it involves, of all things, AI – artificial intelligence.
How can AI help me with savings?
The tip is: “Utilise AI to repurpose leftovers and loose ingredients.” I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but I’m not sure I ever would have come up with such an idea myself. The author, Peter Terlato, asked ChatGPT (one of the new AI chatbots) to come up with a weekly meal plan. He specified allergies, likes and dislikes, so the chatbot took that into account.
Within seconds, ChatGPT had provided him with that weekly plan, complete with recipes. What the chatbot had done is search the vast array of knowledge available online and distilled it in moments. Of course, you could do your own google search and come up with a similar plan, but not in just a few seconds.
Conceivably, you could ask a chatbot to come up with some recipes using whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. Of course chatbots are still developing and have been known to make errors, but where’s the harm in giving it a go? If it gives me an extra meal or two without having to spend another cent, that’s surely a good thing.
A supermarket savings tip from long ago
Mr Terlato’s list of tips also provided me with another insight: “Exercise the scanning code for free items.” The ‘scanning code of practice’ came into effect in the early days of product scanners.
The code, adopted by all major supermarkets, deals with items that scan higher at the counter than their shelf price. In such cases, the consumer is entitled to claim one item for free and any others at the lower price.
I remember this code well, but for some reason I thought the major supermarkets had abandoned this practice. Apparently not. So there’s a tip I’ll be bringing back into my supermarket savings portfolio.
The rest of Mr Terlato’s tips are more familiar ones. Buy in bulk; check unit pricing; shop on a full stomach; take advantage of loyalty programs. You’ve likely heard them all before, as have I.
But it’s not a bad thing to be reminded of them. Especially in this current climate of spiralling interest rates and prices. If rereading some of these tips bring you some supermarket savings, you might just stay within this month’s budget.
Are you always on the lookout for savings tips? Do you have any of your own to share? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: Is owning your home better than super?
