Tip 106: Cheap supermarkets in high cost cities

Supermarkets are a reflection of good taste and healthy lifestyle these days. Yet, this is the image that these supermarkets are trying to sell to naive consumers and may not necessarily be the case. There are certainly good quality products that do deliver better value than cheap low cost products but, do they deserve the hefty premium they charge customers? What if you could get good quality products at cheaper bargains by knowing where to shop? It does make a huge difference especially when you are buying good quality products at high cost of living cities such as Tokyo and London. Yet, from my experience, its at high cost of living cities that you can save the most and get the most out of your hard earned cash. That's because there usually is a high disparity between the cheapest supermarkets and most expensive supermarkets in high cost of living cities. In the wake of the current economic environment, many are proposing that consumers take the downshift challenge of dropping a brand level down and see if they can tell the difference. If its the same, then stick with the cheaper brand or even take the challenge to even move further down the price ladder. Its about trying, not necessarily switching. Its about challenging the marketing hypnotism that we have gotten used too. Next, downshift supermarkets too as supermarkets that do not do neat merchandising and pay their cashiers to smile more does not necessarily sell better products. Of course, it may mean daddy may have to make the trips to those cheap supermarkets alone and buying those less than essential goods that mummy do not bother too much if its branded or not. As they say every cent or penny counts and daddy would be happy to save those.














I have to thank a friend of a friend, Khor May Nee for taking the trouble to email me detailed information about London including a comparison of the cheapest to most expensive supermarkets and I have added some of my own observations. Here it is (from cheapest to most expensive):

Netto
Aldi
Lidl
Asda
Morrisons
Tesco Metro
Sainsbury’s
Budgens
Marks and Spencer
Waitrose
Harrods Food Hall

Even when you are just living in a foreign city for a short period of time, it makes a difference when you join shopping clubs, apply for shopping cards and monitor shopping coupons and discounts. I have been doing that in Hawaii, Tokyo and now London. Of course, when I was a student, I went to extremes by cycling to far away supermarkets offering good discounts, or even soon to expire goods. Gone are those days, but yet its always good practice to get the most value with your hard earned cash and save and still get good quality products. In recessionary periods, its cash that's king and if you can do your bit to save while you can, why not do it healthily yet smart. If mummy refuses to do it, daddy can always shop alone on weekdays and shop with the family for the products that mummy would not downshift in brand. That's what daddies are for. Keep the bank account in tact all the time.

Would love to hear other shopping tips my readers would love to share.

(Photos show the huge British museum)