Markets and shops #thrifty

The Aldi super-six this week are cucumber, lemons (3), little gem lettuce (2), broccoli, onions (1 kg) and baking potatoes (4). They are all 39p this week and the offer ends on the 22nd of April.

Markets

The supermarkets buy in bulk and sell fast, so they can have fresher fruit and veg on sale than many street markets, but the street markets can be good value too.

Today’s special buys at Aldi are mostly garden related, but there are some offers on Asian food and Sharwood’s poppadoms.

The Sunday special buys are all for cyclists and include waterproofs, shoes and gloves.

I went to Aldi on Monday, but didn’t spot any bargains that interested me. I took photos around a bric-a-brac market on Tuesday and didn’t buy anything there either. A narrow-boat gathering on Sunday was supposed to be like a floating market and I did buy a pen from the pen maker’s boat. We can save money wandering around markets of all sorts, but impulse buys are a danger. Impulse buys are a danger at any time, but more so on markets. We tend to have a false impression right from the start and expect a bargain on markets. We don’t go looking to save money when we go around markets, we go with the intention of spending money!

In the supermarket or any other kind of market, it is a good idea to have a list of what you really need and so be determined to not impulse buy. Markets of all kind are meant to tempt us!

You can save a little money by preparing your garden now and watch out for seeds and cheap equipment. There was a wheelbarrow in Aldi I was tempted by. I need to make a special trip there to buy that. I intend to grow runner beans again this year and maybe some other veggies.

I have just seen a Nikon D3200 on offer for £261.76 at Expedite electronics. That’s the same camera I use and they are good. That has the VR 2 18 – 55mm lens which might be better than the lens I had. I have had lenses from Expedite Electronics with no problem. I bought the 55 – 300mm lens and the 18 – 105mm lens which I use all the time.

The weather is changing now and so many stores like Matalan are putting winter knitwear on offer and stocking up on summer clothes, so you might find a bargain there. Markets sometimes have cheap clothes, but not always the well known brands.

Have you spotted a bargain? Please share your find in the comments box. You can also subscribe to this blog or follow me on Twitter.

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