Those yellow reduced stickers can potentially mean scoring FREE food, even if you may have to battle your way against other shoppers in what feels like a High Street version of Game of Thrones at times.

When to get the best reductions

Precisely when to get the best supermarket reductions can vary but the table below provides a rough guide. Remember the times will change depending on the day, for example Sunday’s shorter trading hours will see earlier reductions.

Supermarket reduction times

Sources: StudentProfit / moneysavingexpert.com

Our tip: Waitrose is pretty good

Waitrose is generally the most expensive of the chain supermarkets but its price reductions are actually very good, in our experience actually better than those offered by Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys. A seemingly higher criteria for ‘freshness’ for their full priced products means that reductions come quicker and often prices are cut right down.

Aldi and Lidl also do price reductions

Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl also do price reductions, usually just as a flat percentage of 30%, although they seem to be much rarer to find.

When they do cut prices, both Aldi and Lidl tend to reduce their items at the start of the day as opposed to their rivals.

If you can, shop daily

If you’ve got a local shop then be sure to pop in regularly (e.g. on your way home from University or in the evening) to go deal hunting. Go with a focused mind for cheap and reduced food rather than getting distracted by things you don’t need: Going home empty handed is fine!

Watch out for extra offers!

Waitrose and Tescos both honour most offers in conjunction with reduced items and this can sometimes end up leaving stuff completely FREE. Yes. FREE frickin’ food.

Be flexible

If you’re buying reduced goods you don’t usually get much choice in what you get so buy whatever and try something new. Look up some good easy student recipes and get cooking!

NEVER buy if you definitely won’t eat it

Remember, if you’re not going to eat it (or have somewhere to keep it – see below) it’s still a waste of money no matter how cheap it is. Don’t be drawn in to buying things just because they’re on offer…

But you can freeze it!

… but remember your freezer! You can freeze a lot of things (Here are 8 surprising foods you can freeze) from the obvious such as meat to stuff like cakes, bread and milk. By freezing food you can keep it for months beyond its use by date.

Check you actually get the reduced price

It’s one thing having an item with a reduced label on it but whether or not you actually get that price at the checkout is another, so make sure. If using the self-checkout, scan the correct barcoded sticker to get the lower price.

Check your receipts and be quick to flag up any issues or discrepancies with Customer Service.

With the news that consumer watchdog Which? is to launch a probe over so-called supermarket bargains, we highlight some of the dirty tactics shops use to get us to spend more… and how to avoid getting caught out.

Non-existent offers

Sometimes a supermarket offer just simply doesn’t exist so make sure you actually read what that bright red or yellow label is saying.

‘Fake’ offers

Other times offers may be genuine reductions in price, but you may discover that the price was only that high for a week or two sometime months ago. Use a price tracker like MySupermarket to check if price reductions are genuine bargains or rather just the typical price.

‘Hiding’ cheap products

Supermarkets exploit a lot of inconvenient human tendencies to get us to spend more and one of these is placing more expensive brands within eye level. Flashy displays and and prominent packing also helps to distract. Cheaper brands end up situated out of the way, usually on the lower or high shelves so look out for them.

Buying loose v packaged

It’s usually cheaper to buy loose when it comes to fruit and veg… but not always. To get the best deal, simply use the scales nearby in the fruit and veg isles and weigh the packaged, fixed-price product. If the price given is cheaper than its being sold for then ditch it and buy loose, else stick with the pre-packed items.

Dubious bulk prices

For reasons unknown, economies of scale and the usual reduction in price when buying in bulk doesn’t always tend to happen in supermarkets. Get your brain into gear and do some maths when whizzing down the isles to see what’s the cheapest deal, sometimes three smaller packs of something works out better than one bigger one.

Deals designed to shift stock

When it comes to offers such as ‘Buy 2, Get 1 free’ ask yourself whether you actually NEED more than one, let alone the three.

Wrong price at the checkout

Finally, you may find that despite all your hard work in hunting out the best deal, the price given at the checkout doesn’t match up. Check your receipts and be sure to talk to Customer Services about any discrepancies.

And with more and more of us turning to the internet, rather than the high street for our retail therapy, it’s important to ensure you’re online shopping savvy. Fortunately, our handy guide is here to make sure you get the most from online shopping and hopefully save some money!

via wikimedia.org

Shop Around

Make sure you get a good deal by shopping around. Using online price comparison sites like Money Saving Expert’s Mega Shop Bot is a great way to find the best prices available on the web. You might also be able to find some excellent deals on auction sites, such as Amazon Market Place. Sites like eBay also allow room for haggling, or at least attempting to bargain with the seller should you wish to.

Unlike a trip to your local shopping centre, online shopping allows you to buy goods from almost anywhere in the world. Whilst overseas shipping might take slightly longer, the web makes the whole process much smoother, often letting you track your purchase from placing the order, right through to delivery.

Also, why not take advantage of the wide range of stores you won’t find on the high street?! Sites such as the aptly named Notonthehighstreet.com and Etsy, offer quirky, imaginative and personalised items you won’t find just anywhere.

Discount Codes

Before making a purchase from a big brand it is worthwhile to do a quick internet search to check whether there are currently any discount or promo codes running. If you have a Student Discount Card then be sure to check out UniDays to see which stores offer discounts.

Also keep an eye out for any additional promotions, many shops such as Topshop offer up to 20% student discount from time to time. Sites and apps like VoucherCloud are regularly updated with new offers, ranging from money off purchases to free delivery and restaurant deals.

Delivery Options

Many sites, such as Amazon and ASOS, offer year delivery subscriptions, where for a flat fee you are entitled to next day delivery for an entire year. There are also other perks that can come with this, such as early access to sales and free returns. While Amazon Prime will set you back £79 a year, there is an initial 30-day free trial, with no obligations to subscribe after that period has elapsed.

But beware, you must cancel after the 30 days if you don’t wish to continue with it, as otherwise Amazon will automatically take the £79 from your account. However remember, although Amazon is undeniably the biggest online retailer out there and offers student discount on some items, there are other options available, with many high street book and electrical stores having sites of their own and some offering free delivery when you spend over a certain amount.

Don’t Be Shy

A great deal of retail sites now have a ‘chat’ function, meaning you can talk to an advisor almost instantly. Though you might argue you could talk to an advisor just as easily in store, it can be assumed that the person online has more information available to them on subjects such as stock levels. The chat function is also great for obtaining advice or more information about products you may know little about.

via wikimedia.org

Read Reviews

One of the things that sets online shopping apart from hitting the high street is the reviews. Unlike in a shop, online stores often allow feedback – both positive and negative. This allows you to become more informed about the product you wish to buy and other people’s experiences of them. While you might not wish to follow the reviews to the letter, and some will no doubt be contradictory, it is a good means to get a feel for the product before making a final decision.

Know Your Rights

It might come as a surprise to learn that you can return most goods bought online for a full refund within 2 weeks, even if there isn’t a fault with it. Make sure you read up on returns policies before you purchase, it’ll make things easier should you need to send anything back.

Also, returning items has never been easier with Collect+ and Royal Mail return options made available by most online retailers. Plus, if the website has a real-life store, you normally have the option of returning items there too, which means you will get your money back quicker.

Payment Options

You might not be able to use cash but there are still plenty of payment options available to you, including debit and credit cards, and PayPal. Making purchases on credit cards will give you extra protection as the law stipulates if you pay for something costing between £100 and £30,000, the card company is jointly liable if anything goes wrong – meaning you won’t be out of pocket.

Also, some banks such as Natwest have schemes where you earn points or money for spending at certain shops. Take a look at the offers available with your bank and check out whether you’re eligible for any extra rewards!

So, next time you reach for your debit card for an online shopping spree remember these handy tips and hopefully you’ll end up saving a few pounds!

You can now earn cash back and save money just by doing your weekly grocery shopping with the Shopitize app.

The free phone app – available for both iOS (iPhone) and Android devices – will provide you with vouchers to take advantage of offers in supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and The Co-Operative.

When shopping you can unlock offers before scanning the barcode of the product to make sure you’re getting the right deal.

Once you’ve made your purchase, you upload a picture of your receipt to get cash back which is paid to you either via Paypal or straight into your bank account (there is a minimum £5.00 withdrawal limit to meet).

This means that you can earn cash for wherever you shop and spend it wherever you want and on whatever you want, rather than being confined to a certain shop by loyalty card schemes.

> Download the Shopitize app

Currently the app only works when shopping in physical stores but the team behind the app are working on bringing the technology to online sales too.

As a business they’re there to make money but some of the sneaky tactics used by the big shops today make Dastardly and Muttley look the good guys.

Injecting scents

Yes, shops inject smells to entice you to want to buy more and it works. Supposedly at least, the sense of smell bypasses many parts of your brain’s rational thinking to encourage impulse buying. While we wouldn’t suggest popping down to your local supermarket wearing a clothes peg on your nose, just remember next time you smell that freshly baked bread or sizzling sausage it may just be a mutli-million pound marketing trick.

Free samples

It goes against the basics of business to give away your product for nothing so why do shops often have free samples? Well there’s the obvious reason: to persuade you to buy some more but also a psychological reason. Free samples encourage the reciprocal response in our brain and make us feel like we owe something to the shop, and unsurprisingly that often comes in the form of an unneeded purchase.

Cunning positioning

If you’ve ever gone into a large supermarket for just a few essentials, say just some bread and milk, you’ll probably find they’re about as far apart as can be and that’s a feature, not a bug. Common items are spread out to make sure you walk past more products, increasing your purchases.

Deals that just don’t exist

That product may have a snazzy, bright and colourful label but what is the actual text telling you? A lot of the time there’s simply no deal to be had so be warned: Always read the label carefully!

The eye level con

The most expensive items are placed at eye level (and when it comes to products like toys, that will of course be a kid’s eye level) so be sure to look up and look down for a bargain rather than grabbing the first thing you see.

Music to make you buy

The music played in shops is also tactically decided: Slower tunes make you lag around the store, therefore spending more time looking at products and increasing the likelihood of a purchase. Furthermore, classical music has been shown to result in more expensive purchases.

Checkout coaxes

Even with self-service tills, supermarkets are still littering their checkouts with point of sale opportunities such as sweets, chocolates and chewing gum in the hope of instant impulse buys. Resist the temptation!

Taking advantage of laziness

When it comes to fruit and veg you can usually but it in pre-packaged quantities or buy it loose by weight. Unsurprisingly, even for the exact same amount of product, the pre-packaged options are almost always more expensive and chances are contain far much more food than you’ll ever eat before it goes off. Grab a plastic bag and buy exactly what you need!