Supermarket Snobbery

I recently realised what a snob I was when it came to doing my weekly food shopping. My supermarket snobbery has now become a die hard habit.

If I know that Sainsbury’s is a rip-off and Asda saves me at least £30 every week, then why do I keep finding myself in Sainsburys on a Sunday morning? Even though Asda is literally less than 1 minute further from where I live.

Am I really buying into a shopping experience when I should be getting value for my hard earned cash?

There’s been times when I’ve been forced to go to Asda for one reason or another. And although I walk in desperately craving an anti-depressant or 2, I leave the checkout smiling and feeling very proud of myself.

So now although I feel like I’m giving up a crack addiction I force myself to face the doom and gloom and head off to Asda instead. What the hell, I may even give Lidl a shot!

Good Saving Accounts – And What To Look For

Most people begin their financial journey by opening a regular account which they use for nothing more than depositing and issuing checks. A lot of these people allow money to remain in these accounts till it reaches a particular amount and then they begin looking at options for saving accounts.

It is needless to mention why people would want the best saving accounts they can get at this stage, because their financial life is almost on the verge of or already has become stable. The account they are opening now is an instrument of savings.

Probably you are contemplating on opening a saving account too. If you are doing that, there are certain things you must look for. One of the first things that you have to remember is that the bank where you have your regular account is not necessarily the bank with the best saving accounts too.

With a saving account, the stakes are higher because banks have to pay you interest on the deposits that you make. Naturally, the bank that can provide you the best rate of interest will be the best saving account bank for you. But there are some other considerations to make here.

Here we list the four important points you have to look at when you are scouting for banks that can provide best saving accounts.

1, The first thing you have to look at is naturally the rate of interest. Since it is the bank that will be paying you the interest, you have to select the bank that provides you the highest rate of interest. This should be one of the primary points that you should be looking at, but certainly it should not be the only point.

2, The second thing you need to check is the amount that the bank needs you to deposit so that you can open the account. Different financial institutions have different limits here and hence you need to ask them personally or check their written brochures.

3, Since these are savings accounts, you will need to keep some amount in the bank each month. This amount is called as minimum deposit. It acts as a kind of security for the bank as well as it helps you to really save that amount of money, adding more meaning to the concept of savings accounts. But you have to see if you can really afford to keep this minimum deposit with the bank because if your total deposited amount goes less than this, you will have to pay an additional charge.

4, There may also be a limit on the number and the amount of withdrawals that you make from the savings account. See if that meets your needs. With some banks, you can make more withdrawals than the number that they allow but you will have to pay an additional charge for that.

5, One more point that you have to check is the notice period before you can make a withdrawal, which is typical of most savings accounts. If this period stretches out to too long (in some banks it could be as much as three months), the account may not be suitable to your needs.

Hence, choosing best saving accounts is not a very easy task because there are several things that you need to consider. But being aware of what you need to look at, you are liable to make a better decision.

Saving Money At The Supermarket

Your food shopping budget is one of the most flexible expenses you have, you can save quite a bit of money just by sensibly planning out your food shopping each week.

Your food shopping budget includes all of your food expenses for the week, so this also include eating out at any restaurants or fast food placers you decide to visit.

As eating out can be quite costly this can be a great place to start. If you can eliminate eating out all together then this is great, if not then at least try to cut down or even opt for the cheaper place around the corner, which is sure to be just as great tasting and delicious.

There are also many restaurant vouchers available with deals from 10% – 50% discount or even 2 meals for the price of 1. You can usually find these by visiting the restaurants’ websites and booking online.

Plan Your Food Shopping In Advance

That’s right just buy taking a few minutes to write a shopping list before you set off for the supermarket can help you to save a considerable amount of money. The supermarkets have spent millions developing ways to make us spend more of our money than we intended when we go shopping.

Ever noticed how the main things you always need like bread, eggs, milk, etc… are all way up at the back of the store, and that you have to walk past all the buns, chocolate and other goodies just to get there?

If you haven’t noticed this before then keep an eye out the next time you go shopping and you will see what I mean. What about the lovely soothing music playing in the background while you do you’re shopping?

That’s just two of the many ways the supermarkets get you to part with more of your hard earned money then you set out to, Not to mention all the sales and the two for one offers, but we are sure you get the point.

So how do you avoid becoming victim to the persuasive tactics of your local supermarket?

By simply planning in advance and writing a shopping list before you set out to go shopping, this will keep you focused on what you came for in the first place, so you don’t end up walking down each and every aisle thinking, “what was it I came for now?”.

Plan your list and stick to it.

Effective Household Budgeting

When it comes to household budgeting, saving money on the small things as well as the big things can help make quite a difference to your spending.

A good place to start is to differentiate between wants and needs. Decide what you need and then put aside a few of the wants, for instance do you really need that new 50 inch flat screen TV or can you make do with the one you have for just a bit longer.

We often trick ourselves into wanting to be and have the best, not to say there is anything wrong with this, but if you are buying that new car or that latest gadget just to keep up with your friends or to impress your neighbors; stretching your budget to the maximum and or going into debt in order to buy it may not be the wisest thing to do.

So next time you plan on purchasing those new items, stop and have a good think and then decide do I really need them? Or do I simply want them? Just buy picking out what you really do need, from what you simply just want will help you hold onto much more of your hard earned money.

The more you do this the more you will see there really is a big difference between your wants and needs … needs are those things that are necessary to your survival: food, clothing and a roof over your head etc…

On the other hand wants are the things that are somehow going to enhance or better your life in one way or another.