Joseph
With just a little Easy Changes to your shopping and cooking habits, you can cut weekly costs without completely cutting out the things you love. Keep more of those pounds in your pocket and start saving instead of wasting it in the supermarket with simple and easy steps.
With food costs rising every month and many of us feeling upset, our weekly food bill is the place to look to look to save money.
By making a few simple changes, you can cut your food bill by a third. You can still enjoy everything you love and cook delicious meals but save more of your money to spend on the things you really want!
- Store food when it’s on display. Most supermarkets rotate their displays over a period of two to three months. So if you have space to buy in bulk, count how many things you use in 2-3 months and more of the purchase. It will save you money in the long run.
Currently we have a whole wardrobe full of Weetabix Minis chocolates. When it’s on display, I buy 10-15 boxes which will last approx. Two months until the next show date … it usually costs £ 3 per box (Tesco) but is usually reduced to £ 2 during the show period. This almost saves me. £ 10 – £ 15 over two months.
[45g of Weetabix Chocolate Chip Minis are classed as a Healthy Extra B when following the Slimming World plan] - Adoption of a A kitchen without waste! Many of us are quick to throw out food if it passes the “best before” date. I keep all my fruits and vegetables in the fridge (except for bananas) which will allow them to stay fresh longer. Give them a little pressure before throwing them away. Just because a potato has just a few buds doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it! Also remember that brown bananas made the best banana bread!
- When preparing meals like Bolognese or Chilli Con Carne, try to replace half of the ground meat with more bulky vegetables like onions, peppers, grated carrots, etc. It will not only save you money but also add fast food to your dishes. [Speed foods are associated with the Slimming World plan]
- Make the most of cheaper cuts of meat. Replace the chicken breast with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It is not only cheaper but actually much nicer in curry.
- Always do a shopping list or shop online. Research shows that people who skip their shopping list or go shopping without a plan spend 20% more than organized shoppers. Online shopping stops the temptation to buy household goods that you don’t really need.
- Always cook from scratch. Do not buy prepacked / prepackaged foods. The cost of cooking from scratch is much less and you will be able to extend the ingredients into more meals.
- Buy a water filter pitcher and pour out your bottled water … or better yet! Drink tap water 😉
- Ditch branded foods and use more supermarket brands. Many people are afraid of bartering but there are a lot of small swaps you can make to save money. Children’s squash, for example … We always use a supermarket brand and they don’t know anything different.
- Try to shop after you eat … Hungry bellies mean you are always spending more and struggling to make good choices.
- Watch out for the “gluten-free” price hikes. Did you know that some “gluten-free” options will be more expensive when the original products don’t actually contain gluten anyway? Read the list of ingredients carefully before purchasing.
- The check Amazon And the EBay Before buying from the supermarket. I recently found out that some of the big branded products were roughly half the price delivered from AMAZON. For example Johnsons baby talc, Gaviscon, and Toilet Roll! If you have the time to wander around, it is worth the savings of those pounds.
- Bulk purchase … When buying things like toilet paper, always buy the larger packages as they work cheaper per sheet.
