Stokvel buying hacks

BIG SAVING: POOLING FUNDS ALLOWS BULK BUYING, WHICH CUTS COSTS

- Ina Opperman

The main reason that drives many to join a stokvel is to save money. Stokvels can help you save a substantial amount of money if you use them to buy in bulk.

All you need is a bit of stokvel savvy to create strategies for nutritious yet affordable non-perishable shopping, according to manufacturing company Unilever.

"The current cost of living in South Africa has all of us tightening our belts and consumers are therefore doing whatever they can to save on essentials such as fuel, electricity, household items and food.

One of these solutions is food stokvels, also known as grocery stokvels," says Unilever.

Similar to the traditional stokvel, a food stokvel consists of a group of people coming together and collecting funds to buy food and essential groceries in bulk.

These groceries are then shared equally among the members of the group to keep their households fed.

The stokvels buy the groceries monthly or annually, depending on the agreement between the members.

To get the most out of their monthly or annual shopping sprees, most of the items bought are non-perishable.

Multinational consumer packaged goods company Unilever says these items are more affordable and last longer, making them easier to store.

What is the advantage of joining a food stokvel?