Save money on food without compromising

When I was younger and started to live independently my food expenses used to be a little silly, on a good week I would spend £30-£40 on a weeks food but at other times it would double ridiculously. I realised that I had to change my approach and since I did 8 years later I haven't looked back.

Never go food shopping on an empty stomach!

This may seem obvious but if you are hungry or are due a meal, never ever go food shopping, honestly you will spend more than you need and everything looks so tasty. For me personally I go straight after breakfast, this way I have a belly full of food and I can concentrate on what I really need instead of what I think I need.

Make a weekly meal plan

Seriously this has saved me sooooo much time and money. Stick a shopping list pad and pen on your fridge, when something runs out just write it on the the list. Now the day before you go shopping flip the list over so you are on the other side and write Mon-Sun (or whatever day you do your weekly food shopping) leave a few lines after each day. Then think of what you would like to eat on each day, write it out then flip the list back over and list what ingredients you will need to create these meals. I hate going up to the fridge in the evenings and trying to make a meal of whatever is in the fridge. If you have a plan you know exactly what you eat each day and you can buy just what you need for the week.

Buy food at store closing time

Towards the end of the day all stores start putting reduced stickers on certain produce, there's nothing wrong with them but by law you cannot sell something after it's sell by but the use by date is usually a few days after but when it comes to fruit and veg there really shouldn't be any problems. I have saved a lot in the past when shopping at my local Budgens just before closing, you can really half your shopping bill.

Freeze food

Did you know that there are many foods you can stock buy and freeze until you need it? We regularly get through 2 or more loaves of bread a week, but I don't like to keep nipping to the shops in between my weekly food shopping so I buy two loaves and freeze one. They thaw out really quick and taste just as good. Here is a good list I found of foods you can freeze.

Buy in bulk

More often or not by buying a little more you can save more money, I buy a lot of multipacks of juice, cakes and other goodies but you do need to check from time to time because there have been times when it does work out more expensive.

Buy meat from a butcher

Prices for meat vary a lot from place to place but supermarket meat tends to be the priciest. Budget meat is not a good option because it is often injected with water to make it look plump, when it is cooking it releases a lot of water that takes ages from it to cook. Also you heard about the horse meat scandal but now there are concerns that rat meat and dog meat has also been slipped into our seemingly innocent food chain.

These are just some of the things that I do to save money on my food shopping. Six months ago I realised that my mum was spending £80-£90 on her food shopping but its just for her and my sister who live at home. I told her it was far too much, since she started a meal planner she is spending just £50 a week saving a whopping £40 a week or £160 a month! 

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