It’s all too easy to find yourself on auto-pilot when you’re doing the weekly food shop. Here’s 15 simple ways to save money on food by thinking first!
- It’s much easier to spend less when you shop for food online because you’re less easily distracted by the little emotional traps supermarket leave around the place, strategically, to ambush you: sweets at the till, full cream next to the fruit…
- Write a list before you go and stick to it
- Work out a route around the shop and stand firm, so you go past the stuff you need and avoid the aisles which are packed full of temptation
- Take a calculator and tot up as you go to avoid going over budget
- Use our month’s worth of simple recipes, featured earlier in this blog, and only buy the ingredients you need each week
- Buy own brand goods wherever possible instead of expensive or luxury brands
- Never go food shopping when you’re hungry or thirsty, you’ll only buy more than you need!
- Check the price per kilo on the shelf labels to make sure you’re getting the most for your money
- Buy large packs of coffee, tea, loo roll etcetera – they’re often cheaper per kg than small jars, packs and tins
- Remember that supermarkets often charge more for fresh foods like fruit, veg, meat and fish than greengrocers and butchers
- Loose fruit and veg are cheaper than stuff that’s ready-packed in cellophane and plastic containers and you cut the amount of waste you generate
- Buy goods that are close to their sell-by date, therefore on special offer, and use them straight away or freeze them
- A bargain is only a bargain if you actually use it, so resist temptation unless it’s something you know you really need
- Leave the kids at home and avoid pester-power!
- All supermarkets are roughly the same. Shop at your nearest store rather than driving somewhere further away through habit, and save cash on fuel
(Thanks to http://www.sxc.hu/profile/mindicator for the lovely free image)
