Foremost, the choice of shops. For food shopping, I adopted my husband’s. Shop at a shop owned by a local – not necessarily living in our area but as long as Aussie. Next is the completeness of the items – I don’t want to end up going at three different shops. Just in our suburb, there are 4 Supermarkets in the shopping block – two major players and two independent. When we just need few items (like milk, juice, bread), I usually hit the independent that’s very accessible.
As to choice of food and grocery items, quality comes first, followed by price. I think, looking at the quality of the product especially fresh produce is necessary. There’s also the consideration of when are you going to use it. If you’re planning to use it in the next couple of days, it doesn’t have to be very fresh if fresh comes with an exorbitant price.
For packaged or processed food, I stick with what I’ve proven and tested that suits my family. If it’s on special, I tend to buy two or three. Same standard goes with buying toiletries and baby products. And I tend to buy in bulk at is really saves me money.
A necessary evil for my husband in the hot weather is cola. We’ve narrowed down the choice between Pepsi and Coke – and then the price of the two. Pepsi is a lot cheaper (and taste a lot nicer for me) but when Coke is on Special, I get it.
Clothes shopping is a bit complicated as there are lots of factors to consider. There’s the weather, the quality, the colour and make, the design, the price.
Buying shoes for me is a different story. I haven’t developed guidelines on this yet. I am always ruled by impulse but today, I promised myself, no buying until I get them tattered. I have never trashed a pair of shoes as far as I can remember. They normally end up to another person’s feet if I get tired of them. Hopefully I can stick to this.
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