10 Ways to cut food costs and save money
The food budget is one of the things that many of us are feeling the pinch during this inflation. Despite our best efforts, the prices for the weekly shop have shot up massively over the last few months as food costs are spiralling and we are all finding that our money is stretching that little less every time we go to the supermarket.
If you combine that with rising costs elsewhere, it is easy to see why so many of us are cutting back where we can.
How can I reduce my food spending money?
There are lots of ways to look at reducing your spending every time you go to the supermarket and we are going to be sharing our top ways to cut the food costs in this post.
What is the average food bill in the UK?
The current calculations show that the average person in the UK spends around £140 – £150 a month in the supermarket for food. So for a family of 4 (which includes 2 very hungry teenagers in this house), it is not unusual for it to be in the region of £600 a month for some months. For us though, this cost includes things such as toiletries, household cleaning products and other bits like that.
How much should I spend a week on food?
Now, you don’t have to spend that average price given above in fact there are plenty of ways to save money on food. You just need to work out first of all what you can afford to spend and what you want to spend.
If you are here to look for ways to cut food costs, here are our top tips to make sure that you keep the food shopping spending under control.
10 Ways to cut food costs and save money
Take stock of what you have –
Too many times I come back from shopping with something that I needed for a meal and then realise that I already had it in the house. It might seem like a trivial thing, however, if you do that every time you shop, it will soon start to add up.
Every now and then I just do a little stocktake of what we have in the house and usually use this to give us some inspiration on the meal plan for the week.
Meal plan –
Before you head anywhere near the supermarket or online shop, do a meal plan for the food you are planning to have between now and the next time you go shopping.
If you have done a stock take recently, use this to make the starting basis for your meal plan. Using up what you already have is a great way to reduce the weekly bill but also reduce food waste too.
Use less meat in your meals –
If you are not a meat eater, this will not apply to you, however, for those meat eaters, it may be time to start reducing the meat in your dishes or look at alternative cuts. For example, if you need chicken in your curry, maybe look to use thighs rather than breasts as it cuts the costs by the cut.
I have found that meat is one of those things that has pushed our food bill up, a large chicken now is almost £6.
Bulk out your meals –
This is a favourite of mine and a great way to use up some of those leftover veggies in the fridge.
Bulk our things like curries, chillies and bolognese with things such as peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes and mushrooms. If you have chopped tomatoes in your cupboard, these are a great thing to use when bulking out meals.
You can also use things such as lentils to give you a great base for any meal.
Leftovers make great meals –
I never throw any leftover food away. If it can’t make a full portion for the whole family, it is a great meal for lunch the next day or maybe over a jacket potato for 2 depending on what you have left.
When you bulk out the meals like suggested above, you will find that you can usually get an additional day’s worth of dinners from it. I usually freeze these portions for another day, but it is up to you.
Make the most of the offers but don’t overbuy –
It is so easy to get sucked into an offer in the supermarket and then either things go to waste or you don’t eat what is on offer. Multibuy offers are great when used properly, for example, if you buy things such as beans or tomatoes to be used throughout the week, take up the offer for these.
I try and avoid looking at the offers unless it is in an area that I am purchasing. Otherwise, I end up with bakery products I don’t need and veggies that are not on the plan for the week!
Use vouchers and reward cards where you can –
I know we can’t do couponing here in the UK like they do in the US however, there are still some great deals to be had here in the UK. I am a big fan of the Asda rewards card as I have found this has grown quicker in terms of the pot in comparison to what my Tesco Clubcard used to do.
When I shop online, I also use Quidco to make some money back per shop. It is not going to make me rich or reduce the food shopping back to pre-inflation costs however it is going to start to save some money in the long run.
Switch fresh for frozen –
There is a bit of a stigma around frozen food at times however things have improved massively over time and lots of the frozen food is just as good as fresh. I use lots of frozen vegetables, simply as it is easier in the week just to pop them in the pan from the freezer. For things such as fish though, it is about the price saving, fresh fish is really expensive and frozen fish can be up to 50% cheaper!
Pick up yellow sticker offers when you see them –
I never time my supermarket runs to make the most of the yellow sticker offers however if you are in the supermarket it is worth a look. I only buy things that I know we will use and I can freeze. My savings have never been huge, however, there are some great ones to get! Read this ultimate guide to buying yellow stickers for more great tips on getting the best deals.
Switch shops –
If you have tried lots of different ways to reduce your shopping, why not look at switching where you shop? Places like Lidl and Aldi are becoming hugely popular with shoppers as they look to cut their food bill costs and the quality is not that dissimilar to that in other supermarkets.
There are signs that the costs for food are starting to stabilise a little, so we may see that in our baskets soon. However, I don’t think we will feel the real savings any time in the next few months!
