10 Tips To Save Money On Groceries – Tried And Tested Guide!

When shopping for groceries, there are many ways to save money. Whether your grocery budget is £50 or £250 a week, there are savings to be made.

The amount of money we spend on groceries is huge, but we need to eat right?

That doesn’t mean there isn’t money to saved, and we don’t have to break the bank every week while shopping.

Are you spending more on shopping than you need to?

Your grocery bill does not need to cost a fortune! It’s totally possible to feed your family healthy food without breaking the bank.

This guide will give you some tips and tricks to save money on grocery shopping.

Create a list

One of the most important things when looking to cut grocery costs, is to make a list and stick to it.

Before you go to store, think about what groceries you need for the week and make a list. Then, remember to bring that list to the store. And most importantly stick to the list!

If you prefer writing it down on paper, then do it this way, whatever works the best for you.

I prefer to create a list on my mobile phone, this way I know I’ll always have my list on me and not forget it. This way is also ideal, because you can edit the previous week and just add and delete what you need to.

Using your list to ensure you pick up everything you need in one shop is a great way to save money, because it stops you making second trips where you can impulse buy and spend more.

Prices of items

It’s important to familiarise yourself with the prices of the items you purchase on a regular basis.

Buy doing this you will know whether an item is on sale or not, or how good the sale is.

How would you know what the usual price is?

Grocery prices can vary by location, so your best option is to keep track of the prices yourself.

Keep a little note book on you, jot the prices down of the items that you regularly purchase. This way you will soon memorise the prices.

Also, take a picture on your phone of any items for sale, so you can compare when you get home.

You might feel a little silly doing this at first, but you will soon see the benefit in doing so, when you see the savings you make.

Of course, if you’re actually buying the item, you can save the receipt to record the price.

After a period of time, the prices will soon stick in you mind and you will know what’s a good deal and what’s not from the top of your head.

Swap for cheaper and healthier alternatives

Did you ever realise that raw coconut oil can work out as a cheaper and healthier option to expensive moisturisers?

Or how about reusable kitchen towels instead of paper towels?

There are many ways to swap for better alternatives and even though you might only save a bit of money, it all adds up by the end of the month.

Buy in season

In-season fruit and veg and always reasonably priced. You will notice exotic and off-season fruit maybe double the usual price. It’s good to choose wisely unless you really need to use them in a special recipe.

Scout deals

It’s a great idea to simply look at the websites of the stores that you shop at.

Just from the top of head I can tell you that Asda, Aldi, Co-op and Lidl all have weekly and monthly deals that they promote online.

I’m sure that many of you shop at different stores, but these ideas can still apply to you.

Just visit the websites of the stores that you shop at.

Take a look at the savings programs that they offer and make sure that you’re taking advantage of them!

Expiration dates

This may seem obvious to you, but the freshest food will always last the longest.

Check the expiration dates of everything.

Stores will always put the older date items to the front of shelves and push the older stock towards the back.

If you’re not bothered about having a mooch to get the newer date items, then go for it. By doing this you are lesser likely to throw away out of date products, and therefore save money in the process.

Buying in bulk

Bulk shopping isn’t just for big families.

We shop at Costco and stock up when we can. There’s a lot there that can benefit anyone or any size family.

We buy all sorts from there when we visit and it lasts us a long time. We buy our eggs, frozen veggies, meats (that we can freeze), spices, and olive oil from Costco.

Costco is also great for paper goods like paper towels, toilet paper, and tissues.

Bulk buying is great for saving money in the long run.

Here are some products with a long shelf life:

Disposables/Cleaning:

• Toilet Rolls
• Microfibre cloth
• Toilet bleach
• Laundry detergents
• Garbage liners, dishwashing liquid
• Hand wash
• Diapers, wipes and milk powder
• Sanitary towels
• Shampoo, body wash, moisturisers
• Over the counter pain killers also have a long expiry
• Batteries – can come in handy

Groceries:

• Pasta
• Rice
• Dried Lentils
• Tomato Sauce
• Salt/Sugar
• Cereal, peanut butter, jam
• oil
• Frozen food of your choice – vegetables, berries
• Canned food – baked beans, tuna, soup, carrot/peas
• Plain/Self Raising flour

Buy these items in bulk when there is a price drop and watch the pennies you save mount up.

SuperCooks

Supercooks is a website that helps you re-create recipes from leftovers.

Just list out the ingredients and let SuperCooks tell you what to cook! Never again will you have to stare at those leftovers in the fridge and wonder what to do with it.

Limit your trips

Visit the grocery store just once a week. The fewer times you visit, the less money you’ll spend. Your menu plan will help ensure you get everything on your grocery list in a single visit.

Limit Meat

Meat usually has a shorter expiry and can cost a lot more expensive than vegetables. So, if you can limit the amount of meat you buy each week, you can definitely save some money there.

Another way to save on meat is to avoid buying meat in smaller portions. Most supermarkets charge less when you buy in bulk. You can buy a larger portion of meat, use what you want and freeze the rest.

10 ideas to save money on groceries – Final thought

Saving money with groceries can be done with a bit of effort, and over time the money that you have saved soon builds up.

I use to overspend on shopping week in week out, and was surprised at how much I saved when putting these steps into practice.

This guide has really helped me cut back on the spending; I hope it helps you too.

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