There can be very few mothers who relish the idea of doing the grocery shopping each week, especially if trailing a couple of small children whilst trying to feed the entire family on a shoestring budget. This isn't helped by the fact that the supermarkets you visit, whilst outwardly pretending to be your ally in this battle, are actually out to grab every penny from you that they can, and they will use a whole range of subtle tactics to get you to part with more money than you planned.

For anyone in this situation, there are a few tactics to employ to be able to meet the supermarkets on a more level field, and play them at their own game. Once you know the system, you can start beating the system, and the twin results of this will be a much lower grocery bill, and consequently a lower stress level.

One of the things to bear in mind is that when you visit a supermarket, it is often tempting to buy everything that you need there, in addition to food. So you buy cosmetics, toothpaste and other household goods. Very often it is possible to find cheaper alternatives nearby. Pharmacies and chemists invariably offer their own brand alternatives to medicines and cosmetics offered by the supermarkets, and as these products are often several pounds in value, this can represent a very significant saving. It is quite possible to find your local supermarket selling a cosmetic product or medicine for 10 pounds, whilst your local pharmacy will have an equivalent product for just a couple of pounds. Supermarkets cash in on the whole idea of convenience, but if someone offered you eight pounds cash just to pop in to the chemist, you'd almost certainly have no hesitation. Convenience comes at a price.

Other pieces of good advice include making a list before you go, which will help to keep you focused on what you actually need, and also having a budget. If you have a fixed maximum then it is more likely you'll stick to it. The worst thing to do is to walk into a supermarket with only a hazy idea of the sorts of things you want and with no real idea of how much you're likely to spend.

Even worse would be to do that whilst hungry. Supermarkets specialize in offering a whole range of tasty food, with images and smells tempting you to spend more and more money. Many supermarkets now have stalls where bread is made and sold, fresh pizzas and delicatessen goods are cooked and displayed fresh, and these smells, sights and sounds all help to make an even slightly hungry person lose all control over their spending and start reaching for extra items that they feel will help satisfy their immediate craving.

Another tip to bear in mind is that supermarkets cash in on the laziness of most shoppers. Surprisingly when most of us go shopping we pay very little attention to the top shelf or the bottom shelf. Anything positioned between knee height and eye height is likely to be looked at, and subsequently bought, far more often than any other item. It is for this reason that the most expensive and profitable items are positioned in the middle, and the cheaper alternatives placed very low or very high.

Armed with some of these tips, you're likely to come out with what you went in for, and more of your money still with you too.