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As food inflation begins to bite, we’ve seen a steady increase every month on the amount of money that people are spending on food.
Your food shopping is one of the biggest costs you have to budget for. By looking for ways to save money, you may find increased food costs easier to deal with.
If you’re trying to pay off debt or have a limited income, you may be considering cutting your food costs down by a drastic amount. Please don’t do this. Your wellbeing always come first, and that includes being able to eat healthy and filling meals.
By giving these easy tips a go, you might find it easier to keep your weekly food shopping on track…
The best way to save money on food is to base your meals around what you have already. It can help you spend less on food shopping, because you’ll only buy the items you need.
Take note of any tinned foods you have, as well as any dried foods such as rice and pasta. It also helps to know what seasoning and sauces you already have. Keep your cupboards tidy so you can see what you have in stock quicker. Don’t forget to check your freezer as well.
Do you sometimes pop to the supermarket to pick up an emergency ready meal? Do you find yourself tempted by a cheeky takeaway more often than you’d like? You probably don’t need us to tell you that this can cost quite a bit over time.
If you spent just £15 on a takeaway once a fortnight that’s a whopping £390 a year you could be saving instead. That could be money you set aside for an emergency.
There are several great benefits to learning how to cook staple meals from scratch. Not only is it often cheaper to cook your meals yourself, you’ll also get bigger portions for less money. You can then freeze these extra portions to eat another time.
Our pal Rickey Willis a.k.a money blogger Skint Dad got fed up of wasting money on takeaways, and set himself a ‘fakeaway challenge’ by cooking the meal himself. Give it a go. You might surprise yourself with your culinary skills!
Lots of people are reducing how much meat they eat because of the health and environmental benefits, but it’s a great idea for your wallet too.
Popular meats such as chicken breast and lean mince can be expensive, so there’s significant savings to make by at least having a ‘Meat free Monday’.
Here’s some tips to get you started:
A 500g packet of mince can be as much as £4 at the supermarket, but a few potatoes and a bag of lentils could be half the price.
Planning every meal sounds like a chore, but it’s a 15-minute job once a week, and it’s been shown to save money. Just follow these steps:
This handy beginner’s guide to meal planning is a great place to give yourself a kick-start. There’s also Supercook, a fantastic online recipe database that tracks down recipes for you based on what you’ve got in the cupboard.
As part of your meal planning each week, check to see if there are any coupons available which you can print off at home or use on your phone to get discounts on your ingredients:
You’ll be amazed at what you can save on bulk buys and by picking up discount store basics:
Stock up on these cheap, everyday essentials.
Everyone loves a cheeky discount don’t they? Don’t be afraid of checking out the reduced section and stocking up on useful items that are going out of date. You’ll sometimes find ‘dry goods’ with damaged packaging have discounts too – although these are often hidden away in a different area of the supermarket.
A few tips on visiting the reduced section to get cheap food:
If you’re trying to budget then you’ve probably already moved to a more better value supermarket, but if none are available locally try the MSE downshift challenge.
The concept is simple: it’s about dropping down one ‘brand level’ on a product, testing it, and if you can’t taste the difference – buying that in the future.
Can you really tell the difference between the branded dried spaghetti and the value one? Cheap food doesn’t mean losing out on taste!
Need some inspiration to get you started? Find some recipes to suit your needs:
1. Big family to feed? Try Eat not spend – this blog will help you make family-sized meals for £1 per portion
2. Nervous in the kitchen? Hop over to £1 meals – top chef Miguel Barclay shares simple, £1 meals with handy YouTube videos to follow
3. Want to eat less meat? Try recipes from Cooking on a bootstrap – Jack Monroe has a library of cheap meal ideas with lots of veggie and vegan options
4. Feeling adventurous? Frugal Feeding is a super stylish food blog from Bristol with some gorgeous and modern dishes to try at home on a budget
We want to hear about your experiences! What food budgeting tips would you share? Comment below or tweet the MoneyAware team.
We’ve got lots of great tips and hints for saving money on meals, including:
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