How can you save money on your groceries? Is it possible to eat healthily when your budget is smaller? Here you’ll find loads of advice and tips on how to reduce the amount you spend on your weekly food shop without compromising on feeding your family nutritious food.
Plan Meals and Prepare a Shopping List
It sounds obvious, but when food shopping on a budget, the very first thing you need to do is look at the food you already have in your fridge, freezer and cupboards. Not many people do this before they go shopping and skipping this step could cost you a lot of money. Write down what you already have and think of some meals that could be made using those items. Then write your shopping list adding only what is necessary. I like to plan my main meals and buy basics for lunch, breakfast and snacks. Other people like to plan everything. There’s no right or wrong way, just do what works for you.
Meal planning reduces the need to buy food “on the go” and reduces waste. You can write your meal plan and list on paper, use an app on your phone or try a magnetic fridge whiteboard like this…
I use one of these regularly and take a photo of my shopping list on my phone which I take to the shop. I try to stick to buying only what is on the list to avoid overspending.
Shop in Season to Save Money on Groceries
To save money on fruit and vegetables it makes sense to buy foods that are in season locally as they will be cheaper (and often taste nicer). Buying out of season fruit and vegetables will be more expensive and less nutritious having travelled further. Here are some examples of what is in season in the UK during the year…
SEASON | FRUIT & VEG |
Spring | kale, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, onions, swede, new potatoes, oranges, rhubarb, bramley apples |
Summer | aubergine, broad beans, runner beans, courgette, cucumber, watercress, fennel, french beans, beetroot, sweetcorn, apricots, nectarines, bananas, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries |
Autumn | aubergine, butternut squash, pumpkin, beetroot, cabbage, kale, radish, sweetcorn, swede, brussel sprouts, pears, plums, satsumas, pomegranate, apples |
Winter | beetroot, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, brussel sprouts, kale, parsnip, swede, apple, bananas, satsumas, clementines, pears, rhubarb |
Swap Brands
Buying supermarket own brand products will save you a lot of money. Here are some examples of common items bought in UK supermarkets and how much you could save by swapping to the supermarket’s own brands.
You can see that switching brands saves a whopping £5.83 on just 5 items!
Kellogs cornflakes 500g | £2 | Asda cornflakes 490g | £0.60 |
Heinz ketchup 460g | £2.50 | Asda ketchup 550g | £0.75 |
Heinz baked beans 415g | £1.20 | Asda baked beans 410g | £0.42 |
Robinson’s orange squash 1 litre | £2.50 | Asda orange squash 1 litre | £1.25 |
Hovis wholemeal bread 800g | £1.45 | Asda wholemeal bread 800g | £0.80 |
£9.65 | £3.82 |
Processed Doesn’t Always Mean Unhealthy
A processed food is one that has undergone some kind of treatment before being sold. The process may simply be freezing or canning. Some of these types of processed foods can be quite handy to have on your shopping list if you’re on a budget. Examples include tinned fish, tinned pulses, frozen fruit and vegetables, greek yoghurt, hummus, peanut butter and wholegrain breakfast cereals. They are all highly nutritious and relatively cheap processed foods which are very handy when food shopping on a budget.
The type of processed foods to avoid or eat rarely are the “ultra-processed foods”. These are foods that usually have a long ingredients list and many of those ingredients will not be found in your home kitchen. For example monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate are all ingredients of Pringle crisps so this would be an ultra processed food.
Always Try to Look at the Price Per Kilo or Per 100g
It can be very confusing looking at the “offers” available in supermarkets and trying to figure out which is the better deal. Look at the deals below – which is better value?
If you look at the price per kilo, that is underneath the main price, you can see that the chicken that costs £4.70 is better value as it is £6.71 per kilo whereas the other one is £8 per kilo. So if you are able to buy the larger pack and ensure it doesn’t go to waste, then you will be saving money overall.
Batch Cook to Save Money on Groceries
If you’re making a meal like curry or Bolognese, it makes sense to cook double the amount and freeze portions for another day. Cooking this way saves time and money. If you’ve had a busy day, it’s great knowing that you have something in the freezer that requires little effort to prepare. Always label your frozen portions, unless you like a lucky dip dinner!
Learn How to Use Leftovers
In the UK we waste so much food with households throwing 6.6 million tonnes of food in the bin a year. Making use of leftovers is a great habit and skill to save money and reduce food waste. One of the easiest ways to use leftovers is to have them lunch or dinner the next day. If I cook fajitas and there’s some chicken and vegetables left then I’ll have it for lunch at work as a pasta salad or wrap. Leftover meat is also great in stir frys, noodle soup, fried rice, pasta salad or a curry. Leftover vegetables are great in frittatas or try bubble and squeak with poached eggs (and brown sauce – yum). Leftover potatoes can be made into a potato salad with chopped hard boiled egg and mashed potato can be reheated the next day with a little extra butter or olive oil.
Know the Difference Between “Use by” and “Best Before”
Another way to reduce waste is to know the difference between the terms “best before” and “use by”. A lot of people throw away food that has gone passed it’s best before date thinking that it is no longer safe to eat. This rule applies only to items with “use by” written on them but best before means that it is not at it’s best after the date shown. It can be safely consumed and is not harmful if eaten after the best before date.
Reduce Meat and Add Pulses
It’s useful to remember when you’re food shopping on a budget that meat is often the most expensive part of a meal. Meals such as stir-frys and pasta dishes are handy to feed the whole family with smaller amounts of meat. Try to include a few meat free meals during the week to reduce the cost of your shopping.
Tinned lentils and beans add protein and fibre to a meal. They can be used to fully or partially replace minced meat in any dish. Try using half minced beef and half tinned lentils in a spaghetti bolognese, or try making a curry with chickpeas and cauliflower.
Eat More Eggs!
Eating eggs more often will save money on your groceries. Eggs are also full of protein and are a very cheap alternative to meat. They can easily be used to make a filling and delicious meal. Some of my favourites are poached eggs on toast with tomato, vegetable frittata, egg salad or a simple mushroom omelette.
Buy Cheaper Cuts of Meat
When money is tight it makes sense to buy cheaper cuts of meat such as chicken thighs and drumsticks, minced (ground) meat, stewing beef and pork of any kind. Buying a large whole chicken and roasting it can be an economical way to make two or three different dishes and the carcass can be boiled down to make delicious stock for soup. Liver is a favourite in our house (ok, maybe not with the kids). It is highly nutritious, cheap and easy to cook.
Be Savvy with Freezer Items
There are a few items that I always buy from the frozen section in the supermarket. There’s no waste as you can take out what you need at the time and they are much cheaper to buy frozen than fresh:
- Cauliflower, broccoli, sliced peppers, sweetcorn and peas – much cheaper to buy frozen and all taste fantastic
- Mixed berries – great for breakfasts, desserts, smoothies and baking
- Bread – slices of bread defrost in a matter of minutes. I like to keep pittas, wraps and bread in my freezer.
- Fish – it’s much cheaper to buy frozen fish than fresh and it can be cooked from frozen.
My Final Shop Smart Tips to Save Money on Groceries
Vegetable oil is the cheapest oil and contains healthier omega fats compared to sunflower oil. In the UK it is usually 100% rapeseed oil.
Buy mature cheddar as this means you get more flavour with less cheese and less saturated fat.
Check out the discounted food section but only buy something if you’re sure you’ll need it and it won’t go to waste.
Some things are a lot cheaper if you are able to buy them in bulk. For instance, 500g of pasta will cost you 19p per 100g, but a 3kg bag will cost 13p per 100g.
Do not go shopping on an empty stomach as you will be tempted to buy unnecessary items.
Sometimes it can be cheaper to shop at your local green grocer and butcher if you have one close by.
Try some of my budget friendly recipes like this delicious sausage traybake or homemade burgers.
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