Food shopping – the bane of many and a real chore, and money pit if you make the horrendous mistake of heading there hungry! There is no denying, your food bill can get bloody expensive!
And yet your friends and family members seem to gloat at how cheaply they have managed the shop on such a small budget! How?
Over the past year, we have fluctuated in our shopping costs, yet we seem to come in at under ÂŁ50 every time. That’s half of what we were spending previously! Our shop includes lunches for work, and 7 nights of dinners. How do we manage it? Here’s how!
Make a menu for the week.
Every week I *try* and plan ahead for the meals to come, buying just what I need. I make sure what I’m having from one night to the next will support if needed to cut down waste. I don’t like chucking food and I hate opening food and not using all in consecutive days.
This is a great way to just shop what you need, and be organised on cooking post a day at work.
Check the deals
It may sound silly, but why not buy two for the price of one? I am always checking the deal section and if something is half price I always pick up two. If I know its something that will be handy in the cupboards or something I regularly reach for, I stock up when the price is right.
Freeze meat.
When you find meat at a good price, stock up and bulk freeze. It may sound a hassle to defrost to cook before hand, but freezing fresh meat at a good price can save you pennies in the long run. You can always take out of freezer the night before, ready for the evening meal the following day.
Make extra for future meals.
Even when there is two I make enough for four. If all is not eaten I just freeze, or even have it for lunch the following day. When it comes to the odd nights I can’t be asked to cook fresh, or hubby is alone, he has a pick of the bunch in the freezer!
Don’t be shy of the own brands.
More and more people are open to buying non branded products and its hard to see why it took some so long. I always buy home brands when I can. Cereal, crisps, cereal bars, biscuits, pasta sauces  and juice are all perfect examples of a own brand that can taste as good as the real deal.
Swapping your brands can drop pounds off your shopping bill weekly.
From fresh to frozen.
Why is frozen veg always looked at as the fake version. Did you know, most frozen veg are fresher than fresh ( if that makes sense ). So don’t turn your nose at it, especially if you are prone to let food go off.
We like to make smoothies, breakfast granola and have simple veg on the side of meals with frozen. It allows you to always have healthy side , but the time frame on fresh picks put me off. Swapping from Fresh to frozen not only gives you a greater length of life on your food but saves money too.
Shop around.
It’s well worth changing your store every once in a while. Of course we have our fav stores, but venture into some of those other supermarkets to grab some deals. As we know, the popularity of such stores like Lidl and Aldi are on the rise – and rightly so. With a good range, and at unbeatable prices, if you haven’t already, heading to either of these supermarkets should be a weekly occurrence.
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