Want to know how to save money when shopping in Nigeria? The economy is hard o. But despite that, man must shop.
Have you ever returned home from the market only to make your calculations and end up frowning?
And possibly angry too because you just ended up buying things you don’t need and spending a butt load of money in the process.
Only thing is you are fighting with yourself, and from someone who fights with herself often, this can be very frustrating.
I have compiled a list of ten things I watched my grandmother do over the years.
Trust me, she is your ideal homemaker.
Table of Contents
Plan ahead
A week to month end, she takes inventory.
What do we have left? What items have we exhausted, what items did we not use, in case of times we try out new brands, she just waits till everyone is seated and then asks us if we like the specific product.
Like this time when she bought powdered and liquid milk when she asked us, we were divided, each half like powdered and liquid form.
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So she knew that the following month, she had to buy both makes but in limited quantities.
Shopping list
If you go to the market without a shopping list, chances are you give in to impulse buying easily.
Go around the whole house, and note down things you need.
Then prioritize, remember the scale of preference in economics?
It comes into play here especially if you are short on cash.
Which of the items do you need as a matter of urgency, which ones can you do without, which ones should you buy in limited quantity, and the list goes on.
New brands
You might be shocked to know that new brands have a quality just as good as your old and trusted brands.
And the upshot? They are almost always cheaper at least when the brand is trying to break into the market.
So if you are stuck on a particular product that you feel is unnecessarily expensive, it might be time to try something else.
Don’t fall for buy 2 get 5 discount
My mum always said, nobody, will do anything for you free.
I am sad to report that she might be right.
Whenever I see buy 2 get 5 discounts, I instantly get wary. It’s either, you find out it is actually more expensive, or the quality is not up to par or something sha.
If you need just one bag of detergent, do not be tempted into buying 3 for the price of two.
The point is you need just 1 bag and you have a budget for one, so buy 1.
Expiry date is super important
When I was growing up and I was asked to go buy something, most times I forget to check the expiry date. Once I get to the entrance, I would remember (which is strange).
Pitying my ear drums and the liquids that will leak from my ears if the product’s expiry date was probably a week away, I would run as fast as my stick legs would carry me back to the seller and tell her to change it. Mi o le wa je egba.
I thought my people were being necessarily harsh, but when you buy expired products, you have to throw that away and buy another one.
That is simply wasting the money you are trying to save.
Local markets always win
Yeah, mehn! I’ll pick the local Bariga market any day over Shoprite’s grocery section.
For a lot of reasons actually but one stands out.
It is cheaper! And that is nothing but the solid truth.
Not only are the items cheaper in the local market, you have variety too.
You don’t see what you want, walk the length and breadth of the market until you are satisfied.
Negotiate
A Nigerian woman does not need me to explain this point. We live in “price” goods.
I dreaded going on these kinds of errands because I was sure to get criticized for being cheated(Won ti gba e, o na daadaa) meaning they have cheated you, you did not negotiate very well.
The general rule is to keep beating down the price of the item until the seller sends you away, then you buy for the last price.
Buy what you need
I can’t stress this one enough.
Forget the fact that the wrapper looks attractive, if you don’t need it, you don’t need it. Period.
Do not fall for the shopping cart/basket syndrome
When I visit super markets, It is always a time for me to laugh and observe, you see people who pick up baskets and are unable to fill it to an “acceptable” level look around and check out other people’s basket.
As a matter of fact, I’d gone shopping with a friend who insisted we combine our stuff in one basket so it looks like we did some heavy shopping.
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Abeg who fronting epp? Buy what you need and what you can afford.
Anybody that looks at you is doing so because you are beautiful!
You’ve picked something you don’t want? Ditch it
This happens to me a lot! I pick something from the shelf, but the price was not there, only for me to get to the payment counter and discover that it is way more expensive than I can afford, I will just jejely remove the disgraceful item and return to the shelf.
I can’t stress na.
Why will I end up buying something I can’t afford because that nosey woman behind me on the queue is looking down at me from her nose?
Will she pay for me?
If you have other tips that work, please share. Thank you!