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How to save money on groceries in South Africa

Compare the price per kilogram, not the price on the pack. The bigger, cheaper-looking or "special" pack is not always the better buy.

Shop from a list

Your list comes from your meal plan, less what you already have. Group it the way the shop is laid out, so that you do not walk every aisle, and then buy what is on it. If you see a real bargain on something you always use, buy it. Otherwise leave it.

Keep a price book

A price book is a page, or a note on your phone, listing the 15 or 20 foods you buy most, with the price at each shop you use and the date. After a few weeks you know:

• which shop is cheapest for which foods;
• what a real special looks like;
• when prices go up.

Work out the unit price

Packs come in different sizes, so the pack price cannot tell you which is cheaper. The unit price can.

unit price = price ÷ size

Many shelf labels print the price per kilogram or per litre in small type. Big packs are usually cheaper per kilogram, but not always.

A bigger pack is only a saving if you will use it all before it goes off, you can afford it without going short elsewhere, and you have somewhere safe to store it.

Read the label

• Ingredients are listed from most to least. If sugar or salt is near the top, there is a lot of it.
• Allergens are usually shown in bold.
• "Use by" is about safety. Do not eat the food after this date, even if it looks and smells fine.
• "Best before" is about quality. After it, the food may be a little stale but is usually still safe if it was stored as the label says.

Specials and traps

A special is worth having when it is on food you use, at a price that your price book says is truly low. Watch for:

• multi-buys such as "3 for R50" that are no cheaper per item;
• specials on food you will not use in time;
• "special" labels on prices that are not lower than usual.

Common traps:

• shopping hungry, or with tired children;
• eye-level shelves, where the dearer products sit. Look high and low;
• the ends of aisles and the till area;
• ready-cut and ready-made foods. Grated cheese and cut vegetables cost much more per kilogram.

Try the shop's own range

Most supermarkets sell their own cheaper ranges of maize meal, rice, beans, tins, flour and oil. For basic foods these are often much the same for less money. Try one. If the family is happy, keep buying it.

Count the taxi fare

If a cheaper shop means a taxi there and back, add the fare to the sum. For a big monthly shop it is often worth it. For a loaf of bread it is not.

Grocery stokvels

In a grocery stokvel, members each pay an agreed amount every month. The group buys staples in bulk from a wholesaler and shares them out equally, at prices that a household could not get alone.

A fair stokvel has written rules, a bank account in the group's name with two or three signatories, records that every member can see, and a share-out checked in front of everyone. Be wary of anyone who offers to run a stokvel for a fee or will not show the records.

Check the till slip

Watch the screen as items are scanned, and check specials against the shelf price. In general, if the shelf price is lower than the till price, you are entitled to pay the lower displayed price. Ask politely at the customer service desk.

This guide is based on Chapter 4 of Feeding Your Family Well on a Budget.