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1. Create a budgetThe best way to help make sure your food shopping doesn’t leave you skint is to create a monthly budget of your outgoings and incomings. Factor in how much you spend on food and stick to your budget when you shop. It’s easy to go over by a few pounds each week but over a year this really adds up. Subtract money from your budget every time you pick up anything to eat while you’re out and about to get a handle on how much you’re actually spending on food - you might be surprised by how much you’re actually spending on takeaway food.
2. Take a shopping list
Before you head to the supermarket, write down everything you need and work out if you’ve got enough in your budget to buy it all. Shopping without a list can be lethal – you might end up with goods on offer that you don’t really need and you’re far more likely to blow your budget.
3. Plan your meals for the week
If you plan what meals you’re going to make in advance, you’ll reduce waste and create your shopping list at the same time. Cook meals in a batch and freeze the leftovers, this will save you money and time to study (go out).
4. Shop on a full stomach
Shopping when you’re hungry means you’re likely to buy more because you’re starving. Try to shop when you’re satisfied, and you’ll avoid splashing out on items you’d never normally buy but you’re craving because your body is telling you that you need it.
5. Shop with a calculator
Use the calculator on your phone to add up how much you’re spending as you go around the shop so you don’t have any nasty surprises when you get to the till. It will really help you to stick to your budget.
6. Try shopping in a different store
Loyalty doesn’t always pay when it comes to supermarkets. Switching where you shop could save you a fortune. Try out a few different stores to see how much you could save. It might mean you have to visit more than one to get all the things you need. You can use sites like My Supermaket to compare prices. Buy non-food goods like detergent, bin bags and toilet roll at discount stores to save a few extra pennies.
7. Hunt for yellow stickers
Find out when your local supermarket mark goods down. If you can get into the habit of shopping around the time the yellow stickers start to appear on things that are about to go out of date, you could save yourself a fortune each week.
8. Pay smart
If you have a decent credit score and you’re good with money you could consider getting a credit card which gives you cashback on your goods. This way you’ll earn money from your weekly food shop. You’ll need to pay off what you spend in full every month to avoid interest charges and ensure it’s worth while. Although it’s a pain to sign up for them don’t forget to use supermarket loyalty cards. Over a year your points will add up and you’ll get money off your food shopping or a balance to spend at online stores like Amazon.
9. Get organised
Clean out your cupboards and fridge once a month. Use up what you bought before buying more. If you don’t know what you have or can’t find what you’ve bought you’ll end up buying more of the same unnecessarily.
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