Saving money in Sweden. Can it be done? Being a newbie for 9 months in Sweden and unfamiliar with the language can be a tad intimidating, and sometimes altogether confusing. In the beginning, grocery shopping in the supermarket can even seem a little frightening as there are just so many Swedish words all over the place.
But the more I shop at the different Swedish supermarkets, the more I begin to understand and learn how to look out for deals along the way. Here are some tips that I found useful to help me save some money while out grocery shopping.
Dagens Lunch
One of the nice things about the bigger ICA supermarkets is probably the hot cooked food section, where I can find the “dagens lunch” menu. Only on weekdays, there will be a list of different daily freshly-cooked food, choices from salmon and potatoes, cream pasta or lasagna at only 60-70 kronas which is one of the cheapest option for lunch.
Bagging your own groceries
The first time I shopped at a Swedish supermarket I had a culture shock. It was so different from where I came from where all plastic bags are given out free and the cashier does all the bagging of groceries. Here, the plastic bags are to be paid for and everyone does their own grocery bagging. It resulted in shorter queues that moved quickly as the cashiers need not spend so much time on each customer.
Membership Price
Signing up for the supermarket membership allows me to get discounts on various items that are member-priced, which will be deducted upon the final payment. Membership is free for ICA and Willys, and there is always some awesome deal or other, so it’s a great way for saving money.
Do you have any tips on how to save money on groceries or shopping in general? Let me know in the comment section:-)
Written by June Low
Hi, I am June and I am a newbie in Sweden! I arrived in Stockholm from Singapore together with my husband and our little French Bulldog named Mochi in March of 2017 and it has been our home sweet home ever since. We’ve just welcomed a little human in our lives, so we’ll be looking forward to more adventures and future travels! Follow me on Instagram @junilicious or our dog @mochifrenchie for more updates!
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