This is what you should do before you go to the market

During 2021, according to National Institute for Statistics and Informatics (INEI), a Peruvian spent S/201 per month on his main family basket. Seven months later, due to rising prices and with inflation around 9.32%, it is necessary to apply all the financial advice that we have at hand in order for the money to reach us.

Silvana Linares, a housewife and mother of three school-aged children, likes to do weekly shopping and always carries a list with her. She shared with us her recommendations to spend less on market.

“I cook dual meals, look for deals, buy in bulk or by weight, compare prices, plan meals, don’t overbuy, go straight to what’s on the list. I try to see different kinds of brands, check expiration dates so they last a little longer, and the foods that are needed are rice, sugar, noodles, tuna, oatmeal, onions, potatoes.”, he clarified.

What do experts and financiers say?

For his part, Pacífico Business School financial expert Jorge Carrillo Acosta advised several families to get together to purchase large quantities of food from wholesale markets and then distribute it; in addition to using technology as an ally.

“There is an application from Midagri (Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation) called my Caserita, where I can see how much each product costs in the markets and in that sense I can compare alternatives and find the best price. And the control should be at least weekly, if I planned to buy products for S / 200 a week, then in a week I would see if I really completed it, ”he explained.

it’s time to replace some products

Fertilizer shortages, which directly affected the production of some food and, in turn, in price, it puts us in a scenario of returning to our native crops like quinoa and kiwicha to replace more expensive imported cereals.

Nutrition experts recommend using beans or dried legumes instead of chicken or iron-rich organ meats such as baso or liver; Apart from fruits and vegetables, but seasonal because they are the cheapest. Mixing rice with peas or broccoli stalks to increase the quantity is another alternative to save money on this porridge.

Another input of daily use is gas, which, according to the Facilito Osinergmin platform, ranges from S/38 to S/65 in metropolitan Lima and in Huancavelica, one of the poorest regions, costs S/57.

Learn how to save gas and oil

In 2021, Indecopi created a guide so that the consumer knows how to replace products that end up driving up their prices while still maintaining the same nutritional levels; in addition to saving on the use of gas and oil. Ana Peña director National Consumer Protection Authority recommended how to cook foods to save the last two inputs.

“You can skip foods, you can also use a bain-marie, you can steam them, and you can also cook them using an ironing method that doesn’t require oil. Similarly, we recommend eating foods that require little cooking time, such as fish and vegetables.”

If we find out what is produced in our regions, we will get cheaper resources. In the Amazon where a whole chicken exceeds S/35, can be easily replaced with trout or Karachama, and in Takna the same bird can be replaced with pork or turkey. Information is power.