Have you ever reached the supermarket checkout and had a moment of panic as the final total flashes up on the screen? I know I certainly have. It’s so easy for our food bills to increase and often we find that this expense starts to creep up despite our efforts. Here’s a look at easy ways to save money when food shopping.
Always Create A Weekly Meal Plan
Meal plans are an absolute lifesaver. Not only do meal plans allow you to get ahead of the game by planning ahead for each meal, but they also encourage you to do a stock check in your kitchen to determine what ingredients you already have, and create a shopping list that only features items you need.
To save money when food shopping, create a meal plan based on ingredients you already have in stock. Search your cupboards and write a list of ingredients you already have, then start to build a meal plan centred around those food items.
You will, of course, need to go shopping for additional items to finish off your meals. For example, you may have a packet of sausage casserole mix and a fridge full of vegetables, but you may find you would still need to go to the shop for sausages. If this was the case, you’d only need to add sausages to your shopping list because you already have all the other ingredients needed to produce this meal.
Planning a week’s worth of meals in this way not only encourages you to use up the food you already have – resulting in less food waste – but it also means your shopping list will consist only of items you actually need, therefore you will be saving money on your food shop.
Buying In Bulk Is Cheaper
There are so many food items that can be bought in bulk. These can then be decanted, separated, and stored until needed. Popular bulk buying food choices include dry foods such as 10kg bags of rice and pasta, as well as large quantities of meat products such as mince.
Typically, most fresh foods such as meat and poultry can be frozen for later use, or cooked off and stored in the fridge or freezer until they’re ready to be eaten.
It’s likely that you will need to rearrange your kitchen storage to accommodate bulk purchases. To make food easier to access, decant it into plastic or glass storage jars and top up as necessary.
Take Advantage Of Reduced-To-Clear Produce.
Many of the same principles that apply to bulk buying also apply to purchasing reduced-to-clear produce. It is possible to save hundreds of pounds each year by changing the time of day you head to the supermarket. If you’re able to start your food shopping in the evening, after the main rush of supermarket customers have been and gone, you’ll find that many of that day’s fresh items have been marked as reduced-to-clear.
These products will still be perfectly good to eat, making it a great way to stock up on meat, vegetables, and other foodstuffs. To keep these items for longer, you can divide them into portions and freeze them until you’re ready to use them in your meals.
Never Go Shopping On An Empty Stomach.
The number one rule for saving money on your food shop is to never go shopping on an empty stomach. If you’re hungry when you step foot in that supermarket, you will undoubtedly find yourself gravitating towards food thaSave Money When Food Shoppingt you don’t need. Your stomach will get the better of you and it’s likely you’ll find yourself putting all sorts of carb-heavy and sweet treats into your shopping trolley.
Don’t Forget To Batch Cook.
Batch cooking, as the name suggests, is the act of cooking food in batches. This means that you can spend a day using all the ingredients that you’ve previously bought in bulk or at a reduced price, cook them, turn them into meals, and then freeze them. If you’re following a meal plan, this is a great way for you to have an entire week’s worth of meals prepared for you already, so that all you need to do is to remove the meal from the freezer and heat it up before eating.