'Wais tips from Lola': Alden Richards shares his grandma's shopping hacks

MANILA, Philippines — “Sutil” and “malikot” were the words Alden Richards used to describe himself as a child. As such, he had been lost in the mall for several times.

When that happened, he said he was conditioned to go to the nearest security guard and cry there until his guardians arrive to claim him.

But that was not the only thing that the actor learned to do when inside a mall.

Apart from safety measures, Alden discovered a thing or two from his “lola” (grandmother) especially when it comes to grocery shopping, which he did a lot with his family growing up near Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Since he started living alone during the pandemic, grocery shopping has become one of his stress-relievers – and you might just bump into him doing the chore alone in any WalterMart mall – just wearing a cap and face mask!

Here are some of what he dubbed as “wais tips” for his fellow shoppers:

Make an inventory of your pantry first

During his recent launch as new WalterMart endorser, Alden shared some shopping hacks and first of which is checking what he already has to avoid duplicates. 

Make a list based on your inventory

Alden suggested making a list not only when grocery shopping, but every time when you’re going to buy many items. He recommended to also list down different choices or alternatives in case your first picks are not available.

Be sure not to miss any aisle

“Kapag kasama ko po ‘yung lola ko sa grocery, ang tinuro n’ya po sa’king technique, simulan mo sa farthest tapos (umikot ka at every section) parang zigzag-zigzag. Tapos (i-cover) mo lahat ng kanto para wala kang ma-miss na spot. Kasi medyo OC (obsessive-compulsive) din ‘yung lola ko. So ikot ka muna… tapos ‘pag wala ka nang mahanap, tsaka ka magbayad sa cashier,” he advised.

“Kapag nakita mong naka-check na ‘yung lahat nang ‘yun (in your list), parang you reached your goal, so very satisfying.”

Stick to your list, buy only what you need 

As a breadwinner who’s into budgeting his income for his family, Alden is not fond of impulse-buying and hoarding.

“Kasi kapag ‘di mo kailangan, maii-stock lang d’yan, for sure, mag-eexpire lang d’yan, kasi kumuha ka lang nu’ng nakita mo ‘yung product.”

Buy on-sale items

“Pero ‘pag du’n ka sa sale, tignan mo ‘yung expiry date… ‘Dun ka sa mga buy 3 plus 1, mahilig ako sa ganyan!”

When buying fresh

What he learned from his grandma: Look at the eyes of fish and its scales and when buying meat, inspect its color.

“Kapag mapula na ‘yung mata ng isda, ‘di na fresh ‘yun. S’yempre malalaman mo rin sa amoy. And pagdating naman sa meat, ‘pag pale na s’ya or maputla, s’yempre ‘di na okay. You go for color when it comes to choosing for products in the wet market.”

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