How to save money in Spain

Do you always shop in the supermarket? Like so many others, I must admit that I shop in the same supermarket every week. It is nice to go into the supermarket, and shopping is often easier when you know the layout. However, does shopping in the same suprmarket every week save you money? I am not sure that it does.

While I am a big believer in clubcards and loyalty cards, I am not so sure that I am a big believer in supermarket loyalty anymore. Yesterday, I stopped by another supermarket to pick up an offer they had on my big dog's favorite dogfood. I seldom shop in this supermarket, just go in and pick up the odd offer. They have some offers that I am normally interested in, and when they save me money, I do pop into pick them up.

Normally, I do not receive anything in the way of special discounts from this supermarket, I only take advantage of their general special offers. However, yesterday they seemed to be keen to hand out special discounts. Unusually for a supermarket, the girl on the checkout was on the ball, and noticed that my loyalty card had not been used for more than a month. "You are entitled to some personal discounts because you have not shopped here for more than a month" she said, and continued to print me off a load of vouchers.

A few minutes later, I walked out of the super market with a voucher for 25% of fruit and vegetables, a personal discount of €5 off my next shop when I spend €20 and free summer flip flops. Supermarket disloyalty certainly seems to pay, and perhaps supermarkets are beginning to realize that sometimes it takes an extra effort to atttract customers. 

They good news is that I can easily make use of the the €5 voucher next month when I buy dog food again, and I intend to use the 25% discount voucher as well. The flip flops will come in handy for when pottering around the house. Maybe we should all try to be a little bit more disloyal when it comes to our supermarket routine.