How to Stick to Your Food Budget

 

Once you have set your weekly or monthly food budget, the big challenge is to stick to it! Use these 11 tips to learn How to Stick to your Food Budget and stay happy and healthy at the same time.

This post is all about how to keep your weekly grocery shop within budget, without compromising the quality or healthiness of your food. We will look at how you can prepare for your food shop and what you can do during your shop that will help you stick to your budget.

If you are looking to save even more money on your groceries, with some secret money saving hacks including the best cashback apps for groceries , make sure to also check out my guide to Saving money on Groceries in 2023.

 

Make a List

Following a list when shopping is the single best method to make sure you stick to your budget. By making a list before you go shopping, you are more likely to just buy what you need, and not end up with lots of extras in your basket. In fact, research suggests making a list could help you reduce your food bill by 25-30%.

A list is also great because it will stop you forgetting any important ingredients you need for the week, and could stop you having to go back for a “top up” shop midweek, which is sure to be more expensive.

As well as saving you money, making a list will also help you save time when you are in the supermarket, and reduce the amount of food waste you produce. So it is a win for you and for the environment!

 

Meal Plan

 

Similarly to lists, having a meal plan can significantly lower your food expenses every week. If you can plan in advanced your evening meals for the week then you can buy exactly what you need for those.

Whereas, if you do not meal plan you may walk around the supermarket picking up things saying “oh I could make that” and “this will be great for that” and ultimately you may not pick up everything you need for a whole meal. Alternatively, you could end up with far too much food for the week, meaning unnecessary expense and more food waste.

Once per week, before your food shop, try to sit down and plan out each meal you would like to make and add all of the ingredients to your list. Not only can you meal plan with your budget in mind, but you will also find yourself with extra time throughout the week because you won’t have to face the dreaded question of “what should I make for dinner tonight?”.

 

Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry

 

For me, this is a very important step! If I go to the supermarket hungry, I always end up buying much more than I planned and much more than I could ever eat!

Shopping on an empty stomach can result in you getting distracted by clever marketing and aesthetic packaging, and before you know it you have filled your trolley with loads of prepacked junk food that is way out of budget and completely unnecessary.

I also find that if I am very hungry, I will do my best to rush through the shopping so I can go eat something. This means I do not take the time to check if anything I need could be discounted or if it would be cheaper to bulk buy something. By rushing I miss out on deals that could save me more money and help me stick to my food budget.

 

Bulk Buy

 

Which leads us straight into buying in bulk. Of course this does not necessarily mean you should fill your garage to the roof with toilet rolls and canned goods that you will never use. But by buying some of your most used items in bulk, you can occasionally get a great deal and end up saving yourself a lot of money.

You may have noticed that the price of products sold in large quantities actually work out significantly cheaper compared to their smaller counterparts. This is because you usually pay for the convenience of buying the right amount of product, and not having to store a large bag or box for a long period of time. But by taking advantage of this and buying the big quantities, you can save yourself a lot of money and stock up so you always have food in the cupboards.

Bulk Buying will also help you stick to your food budget because you will have to make less trips to the supermarket, meaning less chance make any more unnecessary purchases, and less money wasted on petrol to get there!

Unfortunately, you can’t do this with everything. You will still need to buy fruit, veg and other perishable products weekly. But just by bulk buying some of your cupboard staples such as rice, pasta, Nuts and Beans you could save yourself hundreds on your annual food spend.

 

Look on the Bottom Shelves

A little known tactic used by the supermarket giants is the product placement on the shelves. The idea is that most shoppers start at eye level when looking at a shelf, so this makes these shelves the most shopped and therefore the most desirable for brands. It is the large well-known brands that then take pride of place at eye-level on the shelf.

In many cases, this works because impulse shoppers are usually quite suggestible and will therefore not stray from the well-known brands in the middle shelves.

However, if you look down, towards the bottom shelves, you will find that you can get virtually the same products, for much cheaper!

Value brands and own brands tend to take a lower position on the shelves, meaning if you know to look down, you can grab yourself a bargain.

Larger packs and bulk products are also placed towards the bottom, meaning you can get much more for your money per 100g/ml.

So next time you are in your supermarket, don’t get distracted by the big brands, bend down and see how much money you can save!

 

Look for Yellow Stickers

 

Supermarkets don’t want food to go to waste unnecessarily. So when it is getting to the end of the day, any products that are about to reach their best before date will get a sizable reduction in price, indicated by a yellow sticker.

This is great news for us as consumers, because it means if you time it right, you can get many products from your regular food shop, for a fraction of the original price.

As long as you are happy to use the products in the next day or two, this is an excellent way to save yourself some money and stick to your food budget.

 

Buy Own Brand

 

I know many of you will feel loyalty to certain big brands and retailers, making you reluctant to switch over to any supermarket own brand products. But trust me when I tell you buying own brand is a Gamechanger!

By switching to cheaper value ranges for your everyday essentials you can cut your food expenses significantly.

“But what about the quality?”

In many blind taste tests, the own brand versions of products have easily held up against their better known branded counterparts. In some cases, people reported actually preferring the cheaper products!

Obviously, this will depend on each individual product and on your own tastes. So the best you can do is just give them a go!

If you don’t try these things, you’ll never know. You could end up with a new and cheaper family favourite!

 

Buy Frozen Vegetables

 

It will come as no surprise to you that buying frozen vegetables works out cheaper than buying fresh in most cases. But we have all been somewhat reluctant to switch to frozen veg as we worry whether it is less healthy for us than fresh produce.

According to the Which! Nutritionist and Principal food researcher Shefalee Loth: “The vitamins in fruit and veg start to deteriorate once they’re harvested, and it can sometimes be weeks until they reach the supermarket shelves.”

Whereas because frozen veg is frozen very soon after harvesting, it is likely that they contain a higher concentration of valuable nutrients compared to the fresh produce. Freezing the veg helps to lock in those nutrients so they are not lost before you get a chance to eat them.

Rejoice!

By buying frozen vegetables, not only will you save money, but you may actually be making the healthier choice!

 

Avoid Prechopped and Prepacked Food

I know that many of us do not always have time for hours of cooking, but prepacked “convenience” foods are not only typically less healthy for you, but they are much more expensive. You really are paying for the convenience of it, when preparing it yourself could cut the price in half!

And prechopped food is even worse! You could save so much money just by spending an extra couple of minutes chopping ingredients yourself.

For example, at my local supermarket, you can buy a block of Mature Cheddar Cheese at a cost of £5.63/kg. However, for the exact same brand and type of cheese that is pre-grated for you, it costs £8.00/kg!

Although it may take a little more time in the kitchen, this is one of the easiest changes you can make to your food shop that your grocery budget will benefit from.

 

Don’t Get Caught out by Quantities

 

We have already spoken about buying in bulk, but what about when you don’t want to buy a certain product in bulk?

You should still watch out for quantities!

Even when one product looks like its is the cheapest, it may not work out as the cheapest when you look at how much product you are getting.

On most supermarket labels they list the price and then the price per 100g/ml underneath. If it is a product that you buy frequently, it is this price that you should be looking at!

In many cases, the same product in slightly different or bigger packaging will work out cheaper per 100g compared to the standard product. So make sure you check to see the cheapest price per 100g/ml of your favourite products before you buy your usual ones!

 

Don’t Buy something just “Because it’s on offer”

Finally, we come to the most difficult step of them all. Buying something because it is on offer.

This is one of the hardest habits to stop, but one of the biggest problems when it comes to accidentally going over your allotted food budget.

Everyone likes a sale! And if you were planning on buying the product in question then by finding it in the sale you have instantly saved yourself some money!

But what if you were not planning on buying that product? Even though it is in the sale, it does not count as a saving. You have actually cost yourself more!

When sticking to a budget, you cannot be tempted by the sale signs and the once in a lifetime offers. You will end up going over budget and buying stuff you never really needed or even wanted.

Don’t worry, there will always be another sale that will be worth it for you!

 

 

There you have it!

11 tips to help you learn How to Stick to your Food Budget!

Remember that a budget is meant to help you feel in control of your spending, and should not be a constant source of stress in your life. If you go over budget one week, try not to panic, regroup and try again next week.

Don’t forget to check out How to Save Money on Groceries if you want to find out even more top tips including my personal favourite way to save money on my weekly food shop!

What is your favourite way of saving money in the supermarket? Let us know down below so we can help each other save money and live better!

 

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Save for Later!