SAINSBURY’S is one of the biggest supermarket chains in the UK, and there’s plenty of bargains to be had.
We reveal all the things you should pick up at the supermarket, and what to leave behind on the shelf.
Sainsbury’s is known for its dealsAlamy
With everyday costs of food and essentials still skyrocketing at the moment, it’s important you’re savvy with your shopping.
Don’t forget to bring your Nectar card, otherwise you’ll miss out on discounts and points.
Shoppers earn points when they spend money at Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s petrol stations and other retailers including eBay and Dulux Decorator Centres.
You can get 1 point per £1 on all qualifying spends at Sainsbury’s supermarkets and online.
You can also collect 1 point for every 1 litre of fuel when you fill up at Sainsbury’s petrol stations.
One Nectar Card point is worth 0.5p, so you have to get 200 Nectar points to get £1.
500 points are worth £2.50 at Sainsbury’s.
Here’s what items we think you should buy and avoid at the store.
Laundry detergent
This week, Sainsbury’s revealed it will be switching up the packaging of its laundry detergent from plastic to cardboard in an effort to be more environmentally-friendly.
While the price of the product has gone up by 30p,
the detergent is also getting reformulated – it will now be super concentrated meaning you won’t need to use as much per wash.
That means you’ll get five extra washes per carton, the supermarket said.
Here are the lines affected:
tropical super concentratedbio super concentratednon-bio super concentratedcolour super concentratedlavender super concentrated
So it’s definitely worth considering by weighing up how much you put a wash on.
You can also compare it to the size and price of the same product from other supermarkets.
Wonky veg
Sainsbury’s, like lots of other supermarkets, runs a wonky veg scheme where customers can get misshapen fruit and veg for less.
Most of the time there’s no drop off in quality either.
Shoppers can buy a £2 box which contains enough fresh veg to feed a family of four for five days.
So if you’re not fussed about how your fresh produce looks, you could save yourself a few pounds.
Shop to save
Sainsbury’s is actually one of the cheapest supermarkets, according to research by Which?.
It found that the supermarket giant came just behind Asda, which was the top store for shoppers to buy a large trolley from
At Sainsbury’s a large trolley with 139 items would have cost you £358.77.
While a basket with 49 items would cost you £358.77.
It was ahead of Alid, Tesco and Morrisons.
Your lunch
You can save a maximum of £3.75 at Sainsbury’s if you pick the most expensive items and that’s with its meal deal costing £3.50.
You make the saving when you buy a £3 sandwich or wrap, nomadic yoghurt pot for £1.55 and a regular costa hot drink for £2.70.
The £3.50 meal deal is available nationwide across local stores, superstores and petrol service stations.
Sainsbury’s was another grocer forced to up the price of its meal deal due to increasing raw material costs and soaring wage bills.
What should I avoid at Sainsbury’s?
You might want to avoid buying flowers at Sainsbury’s as you could be disappointed with the quality.
Angry shoppers claimed Mother’s Day was “ruined” after flower orders from major retailers arrived dead and mouldy.
Customers slammed shops including Sainsbury’s after allegedly receiving dead floral arrangements.
A shopper opened their bunch of flowers only to find they were rotten.
They tweeted at the supermarket: “@sainsburys was so happy when my kids gave me some lovely flowers this morning but on opening they are full of mould and half dead (which was hidden with the paper and wrapping.”
If you like to mix things up, we also tell you which items to buy and avoid at Tesco as well as Iceland.
How else can I cut my grocery costs?
Research what you need before you go. Prices always vary by supermarket and it can pay to change up your shop.
One shopper ditched going to supermarkets altogether in favour of their local wholesaler, that way they could stock up in bulk, at lower prices.
You can also cash in on reduced foods like yellow sticker bargains – these will be items reduced because they’re about to meet their best-before date.
They’ll still be safe to eat or freeze to make them last longer, but it means you can pick up the same products at an even cheaper price.
Sometimes even timing your shop to stock up just as items are discounted on the shelves can help you get the best bargains – lots of shoppers have said this is in the evening typically.
But being smart about how you shop isn’t the only way to slash spending.
Especially as prices continue to rise, there are schemes in place to help the most hard-up buy essentials.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]