Conned by the special

Every week the Local Area newspaper is filled with stores holding ‘special’ deals.  I read through them all to see what is on special, and this week I realised I am quite lucky, being kosher means I often can’t buy what’s on special!

Why am I lucky? Well, it’s easy!  How many of you go to the shop specifically because of the special deals on offer? When you get there, do you only buy the special or do you land up buying other things too?

Here is what you need to ask yourself. Do I really need this or am I buying it because it is on special?

Those bulk specials at the fruit and veg shop, how much of that will you be throwing away because it is too much for your family?

If you are going to that particular shop only for the sale item, how much will it cost you in petrol, especially now that it has gone up?

I know of someone who would travel to a new store opening just for their specials, sometimes the new store was 20km away!

Now that you have bought your bulk specials, where do you keep them? Do you know that hair care and beauty products have expiry dates? http://kasheringyourlife.co.za/index.php/2015/07/22/how-old-is-it-2/

The only time it really pays to go for these specials is when it comes to baby products like nappies (diapers) wet wipes and, maybe formula (watch that expiry date) .

The bulk fruit and veg are often only worthwhile if you are going prep and freeze (hope you have the space) or if you are having a big function.

One way to benefit from bulk specials is to share with a friend.  Get together and work out what you need and then you can split the petrol and the produce!

So, the next time you see the specials in the paper, or on TV, or on any other media platform, think carefully, is it really going to save you money or is it actually going to cost you money?