Brits have been warned they’re ‘massively overpaying’ for popular supermarket items due to one common mistake.
Many households are desperate to cut down on their food bill and save an extra bit of cash – especially during the cost-of-living crisis, which has seen even buget range groceries skyrocket.
Analysis published last month highlighted how the prices of the least expensive budget lines in supermarkets jumped a staggering 32.6 percent from 2021 to 2023 under a phenomenon dubbed ‘cheapflation’.
Luckily, there is a simple hack to help you tighten up the purse strings and save up to 80 percent on certain items, without having to change supermarkets, according to one social media user.
Herbs and spices are the basis of any tasty meal, elevating a once tasteless dish into a more enjoyable experience that makes ditching the takeaways a lesser sacrifice.
But YouTube account Save the Student says most shoppers are missing a trick when it comes to buying their seasonings.
“Stop buying your herbs and spices from this part of the supermarket, because if you are you are massively overpaying,” the channel said, showing an aisle in the shop where all of the seasonings are stored in small glass jars.
Instead, it urged viewers to go to the World Food aisle and buy larger bags of the same seasoning for less. For example, a 85g jar of crushed chillies cost £1.90, while a larger 250g bag from the nearby aisle cost just £2.20.
While this is a higher price point, it works out much cheaper when you factor the weight of these products (22.4p per 10g vs 8.8p per 10g).
“Those little pots might be convenient, but you’re much better off buying from elsewhere in the shop for savings up to 80 percent,” the channel added.
“And if you’re desperate for the convenience of the smaller jars, you can always pour the bigger (and cheaper!) bags into them when you get home. Best of both worlds.”
Buying in bulk has long been a popular method of reducing your food bill, and applies to many foods – not just spices and herbs.
For example, a 10kg bag of rice from Sainsbury’s costs £13 with a nectar card (£1.30 per kg) whereas a 1kg bag for £1.85 works out 55p more expensive (per kg).
It’s always worth checking the best before date on any item you pick up, especially when it comes to spices, to assess whether you will be able to consume the whole product before it expires. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting even more money. Bulk buying also requires much more space and up-front cost, which makes it unfeasible for many.
