The cost of living has seen a historic rise this year, as energy prices and inflation both continue to soar – and wages remain stagnant. Families across the country are already struggling, and it has become more important than ever to cut costs where possible. The weekly food shop is a huge investment, and a prime contender for cutting costs. Here are some handy tips for doing just that:
Use Supermarkets
While your local off-license might be a convenient way to pick up essentials and snacks, it is also an expensive way to shop – and that expense can add up quickly, with frequent trips out each week. Through planning your weekly shops more judiciously, you can eliminate these convenience trips completely.
By conducting all of your shopping in supermarkets instead of local convenience shops, you can save a significant percentage of money. According to Which, the difference in average expenditure between a Sainsbury’s Local and a regular Sainsbury’s is as much as 9.5%.
Coupons, Discounts, Loyalty Cards
There are dozens of ways in which you can reduce costs in a grocery shop, from discounts to limited-time coupons and beyond. Knowing what you’re eligible for and when to apply it, alongside some shrewd drafting of shopping-lists, you can make these discounts work for you – and shave a good chunk from your weekly expenditure.
There are discounts available to people who work in different professions; for example, the Morrisons teachers discount can see you saving money on home deliveries, while other retailers may have discounts for NHS workers and servicemen. Loyalty cards are also a lucrative way to subsidise your shop, with Nectar cards and Tesco Clubcards alike offering exclusive access to deals and a points-based loyalty system that can pay for items outright.
Shop Unbranded
Buying non-brand-specific iterations of popular items can be a strong way to reduce the cost of your overall shop; often, the inflated price of branded goods is paying for little more than the brand itself, and the products are functionally the same. By getting used to shopping for products that don’t have the same flashy packaging, you could stand to cut a third from your grocery shop total.
Don’t Shop Hungry
A simple suggestion, but a key one – the emptier your stomach, the more likely you are to splurge on food items you don’t need. Shopping when full means you’ll be subconsciously less likely to wander from your pre-planned shopping list, and your judgement will be less clouded by supermarket marketing strategies.
Cut the Meat
Meat may form a significant part of your daily diet, but cutting down on the amount you consume can result in a sympathetic reduction of your weekly shop’s cost. There are other, cheaper forms of protein you can replace meat with; try to buy half the meat you usually would, and replace the deficit with pulses.
