A frugal life is an easy life!

A visit to my local market greengrocer, every Saturday morning offers a fantastic frugal way of keeping food costs down and allows my family to eat "fresh" every week.

I flatly refuse to buy fruit and veg from a supermarket, have done for around 7 years now.
Saves time - the convenience claims of supermarkets are nonsense.
I can shop far quicker around my local market, for most of my shopping, in half the time it takes to trawl around a supermarket.

Fresher produce - Market greengrocers have less storage space, little access to refridgeration, so the produce they sell moves quickly from wholesaler to business to me.
No "up to a year" shelf life for their fruit and vegetables, as is the case with supermarkets, so it is rare that their produce goes off and starts to turn within days of putting it in the fruit bowl/veg rack.
Onions are a great example, my local market greengrocer's "English onions" can last up to a month and still be fit for eating, without any refridgeration.

Better quality produce - an apple today is not the same as apples sold years ago, before supermarket dominance of our shopping bills.
Why do you think many supermarket apples (for example) are grown as far away as China?
Countries outside of the EU do not have our strict food regulations, so anything can be added to the produce in it's growing stage, to increase size, texture, appearance (gas waxes), etc.
Shopping at local markets doesn't eliminate this process, but you are less likely to come across it and more local produce is more often available.

More seasonal produce - do you know the season for raspberries off the top of your head? (Raspberries are an early summer fruit traditionally - June to early August - there are some varieties that are late summer - August to late October)
Supermarkets sell raspberries almost all year round, for really high prices.

Saving me money - I've saved the best for last.
The whole point of being frugal, saving your hard earned money.
Potatoes, a complete no brainer and on it's own, worth shopping at my local market greengrocers.
A quick look at Asda's website, shows me the per kilogram price of what they charge.
I am buying king edward potatoes at the moment and can tell you I am not paying more than 40p per kilogram for them.
Asda's maris pipers (a water holding, budget potato), are currently 90p per kilogram!

I can buy my king edwards in half or a full sack amounts from the market greengrocers. (£10 divided by 25kg = 40p per kilogram)
They are fresher, do not turn for weeks, they stay the same price and don't fluctuate week to week, I only have to buy them once every month, so I am not repeat visiting a supermarket, less temptation to buy other things, saving yet more money.

If I bought 2kg of maris pipers from the supermarket each week, compared to how I buy my king edwards or similar from my market greengrocers, just look at the saving;
Supermarket - 104kg per year at 90p per kg = £93.60
Market greengrocers - 104kg per year at 40p per kg = £41.60
A saving on one product line alone, of £52.
Factor in, that there are just 12 visits to my market greengrocer needed to get them, against 26 visits to the supermarket (buying a 2kg bag each week) a reduction in carrying, buying, temptation of buying other things and saving money.
How can this not be better for you?

Flexibility - how many times have you had some fruit or veg from a supermarket and it's gone off or been damaged so it's beyond edible, told them a week later on your return and been given some more for free?
Never? Once?
Market greengrocer's business depends on local custom.
They are more felixible, more reliable sellers of fruit and vegetables than any supermarket can come anywhere close to.

Better service - I know most of the staff and the owners of my local market greengrocer by name and they know mine.
What's your supermarket fruit and vegetable department, shelf stacker's name?
How long have they been in the business of fruit and veg?
Do they know recipes? Do they know what's in season? Do they know where their produce comes from, how it got to the shelf, how old it is? Do they even care?
I TRUST them.
Can you taste produce from a supermarket?

Profits, waste, moral arguments - I use a local market greengrocer business, there is less waste produce because it doesn't go off anywhere near as fast as supermarket's produce.
Less packaging, less distance from grower to shelf (less CO2) so better for the environment. Most produce is grown in the UK and what isn't is clearly marked. None of the supermarket repackaging in the UK so it can be labelled as from the UK nonsense.
I understand that my greengrocer is a business, but where do their profits go?
Supermarket profits go towards a total profit line that disappears abroad, into money markets, shareholders etc.
My local market greengrocers live around the area I live, they buy products and services in the local economy. This is better for me in the long run as it helps to keep other local businesses open and trading, which increases local competition which in turn, keeps prices of other goods and services down and gives me more choice.
My greengrocers pays the set levels of tax, they don't move or exploite tax loopholes, so services benefit also.

Bonus savings - I've saved this one until last as it's a cracking way to be frugal!
Look for a market greengrocer that supplies restaurants, bakers, hotels etc.
They do not only sell fruit and vegetables!
Ask them about eggs.
When was the last time you paid 88p for half a dozen medium to large eggs?
For the last year I have been paying £3.50 for a tray of 24 (2 dozen) medium to large eggs from my market greengrocers.
They buy trays of eggs direct from the auctions and savings are passed on to their customers.

I hope I have given you enough reasons to shop at your local market greengrocers, I do, my family and my local community benefits from it.
So why don't you give it a try?
How can you afford not to?