Befriending Your Food Suppliers
In the Philippines, we have this concept called “suki”. If you know a food supplier long enough, he will know exactly how to prepare the food for you and you can be assured that your “suki” supplier will always keep you in mind when the freshest products come in. This tip is handy enough if you’re saving up cash for other necessities.
Befriending the butcher is the oldest trick known to shopping. It started back in medieval times and continues today, just not as strong. With supermarkets importing much of their food, finding the right place to shop is growing more difficult by the day. Taking a good look around in your city, as well as a few outlying areas can still prove useful when looking for the best deals on items you buy regularly.
Butcher – Finding a local butcher is the best thing to do if your family consumes large amounts of meat. The butcher can provide certain cuts that you may not always find in larger supermarkets. Not only can they make specialty cuts of meat for you, they always know what is fresh and can provide tips on how to prepare certain types of meat.
Many butchers also can provide lower prices on meat because they are distributing operations. When the meat has to be sold to a supermarket, you have to pay the mark-up from the butcher as well as the supermarket that bought the product. Many butchers, if you get to know them over time, will be able to let you know exactly when meat goes on sale.
Fish Monger – For the seafood lovers out there, finding a fish monger to befriend can also aid in cost savings. The fish monger has the inside scoop as to what fish is the most fresh and can prepare different cuts depending on whether you are planning for sushi, a catfish fry or a high quality tuna steak. If you get to know the fish monger, he or she can also suggest new items that you may like, but would have never thought about buying in a local grocery store; they may just turn out to be your favorite type of seafood.
Depending on your shopping habits, and how much money you wish to save (so that you will have just enough for other necessities like safe weight loss supplements), should, at least somewhat factor in to your decision on where to shop. Many of the smaller cities still have a butcher, fish monger and even a local farmer’s co-op where many items can be purchased for a fraction of the cost.
