Clever ways to cut your supermarket bill

With just a few easy changes to your shopping and cooking habits, you can cut down your weekly costs without cutting out the things you love completely. Keep more of those pounds in your pocket and start saving for treats instead of wasting them in the supermarket with my simple easy steps.

With food costs rising every month and many of us feeling the pinch, a good place to look to save money is the weekly food bill. 

By making a few simple changes you can cut your food bill by a third. You can still enjoy everything you love and cook tasty meals but keep more of your cash to spend on things you really want!

• Stock up on food when it is on offer. Most supermarkets rotate their offers over a 2 – 3 month period. So if you have the room to bulk buy, work out how many you use over a 2 – 3 month period and over purchase. It will save you money in the long run.
  Currently we have an entire cupboard jammed full of Weetabix Chocolate Minis. When they are on offer I buy 10 – 15 boxes which will last approx. 2 months until they are next on offer… They usually cost £3 per box (Tesco) but are usually reduced to £2 during the offer period. This saves me approx. £10 – £15 over 2 months. 
  [45g of Weetabix Chocolate Chip Minis are classed as a Healthy Extra B when following the Slimming World plan]
• Adopt a ZERO WASTE KITCHEN! Many of us are too quick to throw away food if it’s past the “best before” date. I keep all of my fruit and vegetables in the fridge (not including bananas) which allows them to stay fresher for longer. Give them a bit of a squeeze before throwing them away. Just because a potato has a few sprouts doesn’t mean theres anything wrong with it! Also remember brown bananas made the best banana bread! 
• When creating meals such as Bolognese or Chilli Con Carne, try swapping half of the mince for more bulking vegetables such as onion, pepper, grated carrot etc. Not only will this save you money but it is adding Speed foods to your dishes. [Speed foods are associated with the Slimming World plan]
• Make the most of cheaper cuts of meat. Swap Chicken breast for boneless skinless chicken thigh. It is not only cheaper but actually so much nicer in a curry.
• Always make a shopping list or shop online. Research suggests that people who stray from their shopping list or go shopping without a plan spend 20% more than organised shoppers. Shopping online stops the temptation to purchase household goods that you don’t really need. 
• Always cook from scratch. Don’t buy pre-made/packaged foods. Cooking from scratch costs a lot less and you will be able to stretch the ingredients to more meals. 
• Purchase a Water filter jug and scrap the bottled water… or even better still! Drink tap water  
• Drop the branded food and use more supermarket own brand. So many people are scared to swap but there are so many small swaps you can make to save money. For example children’s squash.. we always use supermarket own brand they don’t know any different. 
• Try to go shopping after you have eaten… hungry bellies mean you always spend more and struggle to make good choices.
• Watch out for the ‘gluten-free’ price hike. Did you know that some “gluten free” options will be hiked in price when actually the original products don’t contain gluten anyway. Read the ingredients list carefully before buying.
• Check AMAZON and EBAY before purchasing from the supermarket. I recently discovered that some big branded products were almost half the price delivered from AMAZON. For example Johnsons baby talc, Gaviscon and toilet roll! If you have the time to shop around it’s worth it to save those pounds. 
• Bulk buy… when purchasing things such as toilet roll always buy the bigger packs because they work our cheaper per sheet. 

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